Chili & Chilly...

 Tuesday Recap:

Workout:  2 sets arms & squats 

Breakfast:  Oatmeal with strawberry jam + almonds 

Ummmm...technical difficulties that I can't get this picture to flip for the life of me!  Oh well...hopefully one of my 3 leftover bowls of this recipe will photograph uprightJ

Snack:  Apple + 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Lunch:  Banana Smoothie Bowl

Snack:  Luna Coconut bar

Dinner:  Tone it Up Pumpkin Turkey Chili 

When I saw this recipe on the Bikini Series menu for week 8, I scoffed.  Chili?  IN JUNE???  Who wants that??  Especially considering last week I waved the white flag on cooking TWICE cause it was JUST TOO DAMN HOT!  But how bout this week in Jersey is a chilly & overcast mid-60's (which now feel like 40's!), making this dinner COMPLETELY appropriate.  And it's a good thing since the recipe above makes EIGHT servings.  Perfect for a couple quick lunches & dinners this week.  Good thing the rest of the week's forecast is just as chilly as it's been so farJ

Dessert:  Sweet Dream Smoothie

And because it was so darn chilly out, I was craving something warm & cozy once I hit the couch.  I found this warm milk/banana/cinnamon/vanilla/honey drink on my Pinterest board and quickly whipped it up.  It came a little thicker than a drink, but far be it from me to complain about eating anything with a spoon (smoothie bowls, much??)  Nice & cozy.

Have a great Wednesday!

And by fun, I mean horrifying...

Morning, all!  Hope you guys had a great weekendJ  I had the best one I could think of in a long while since it was PACKED with fun stuff from beginning to end, including...

...dinner with family on Friday night, complete with homemade cupcakes by Katie...

...followed by seeing my niece's band play at half-time (oh, those ole high school days)...

...Saturday brought some dancing school for Katie...

...and some Halloween fun at my friend's party on Saturday night.  (this costume's more appropriate than you'll ever knowJ)

And by fun, I mean completely horrifying since THIS happened all night...EKKKKKK!

And we rounded out Sunday with a little Harvest Festival...

...and a visit with friendsJ

...oh yeah, and teaching my FIRST EVER Yoga practice 'class' with 2 friends!  Oh, was I terrified before it started but very proud when it was OVAJ

Oh yeah, we also had some good eats mixed in there too, starting with our traditional German Apple Pancake for breakfast on Sunday morning...

...Pre-flip...

...POST flip...

This one may have been one of my favorites of all-time since it spent a LITTLE less time in the oven, leaving the center more custard-like.  Mmmmm...just divine.

And COLD FALL OFFICIALLY came to Jersey Sunday morning, as the weather went from mid- 70's to LOW 50's!  Brrrrrrrrr...that was a quick change, but not an unwelcome one after that mid-80 degree day last week.  And with that change, we knew WARM & COZY was on the menu in the form of chili cooked low & slow all day in the crockpot...

Scott created this Chipotle-laced variation and I hope he remembers the recipe for next time since it was sooooooooo delicious.  PACKED with lots of goodies with just a little kick of spice at the end, definitely one of our favs.

And, oh yes, cornbread also came to the party in the form of...

Mmmmm...I finally found the TJ's Pumpkin cornbread mix and I'm so glad I did.  It was moist and dense with just an extra little flavor kick from the pumpkin.  It was sooooooooooooooo hard to resist another piece.  The only thing that stopped me was knowing THIS was in my future...

Browned butter apple cutard pie?  Ummm...yes, please!  Still trying to use up ALL our apple pickin and pie just HAD to happen this weekend and this recipe was a pretty damn good one.  Give it a try!

And not long after my final bite of pie, I hit the hay for an EARLY bedtime after alllllll that busy-ness this weekend.  Hope you guys had a great one and are ready to start the week.  Me thinks SOUPS gonna be hittin the table quite a few times this week since it's going to be a BRISK one.

Have a good Monday!J

Barely made it...

Morning, all!  How 'bout we're already past mid-week AND the Kansas City Royals have made it into the World Series!  Wohooooooooooooo!  I'd chalk that up to a pretty good week so farJ

What also made this week pretty fun was visiting my Aunt & Godmother on Tuesday afternoon, where we had a DELICIOUS lunch of homemade hummus & pita chips (no pics...we were eating too fastJ) and these MONSTER burgers & salad....

And the highlight was my dear Aunt Annie CRACKING UP while trying to blow out her birthday candles....

After, we chowed down on homemade carrot cake...

...while Katie tormented chased my Godmother's dog around relentlessly all day.  Me thinks that dog got a good night sleep after an afternoon with KatieJ

And yesterday was a little more 'back to normal'...

Wednesday Recap:

Breakfast- Apple Cinnamon Oats yogurt & almonds

LOVEEEE this yogurt with its chunks of apple & chewy steel-cut oats.  The addition of almonds wasn't really even needed since the texture was so spot-on with all the add-ins.  I went and bought a new variation of this yogurt yesterday and think I'll be trying it out todayJ

Morning Workout:  Power Yoga

Not sure why, but this class seemed tougher than normal.  Probably because the humidity shot up about 24802384% yesterday and maybe the ole bod wasn't ready for it.  I honestly didn't think I'd make it to shavasana, but I did....barely!

Lunch- Apple with Peanut Butter

Snack- Skinnygirl Mini bag Popcorn

Was sooo excited when I saw my girl Bethenny's popcorn sitting on the shelf of my VERY 'local' grocery store (aka-not a chain).  I LOVEEE mini-bags, and 160 calories of butter & sea salt popcorn is just what the afternoon needs.

Evening Workout:  Body Jam

Another sweaty one, but sooooooooooooo fun since it was one of my ALL-TIME favorite routines last night...weeee!

Dinner- Salad

...with arugula, olive oil, grilled chicken (coated in Montreal steak seasoning) & white cheddar cheese, this salad was ACES.  One I'd eat 4 days a week, actually.  The creamy & cool cheddar matched so well with the slightly spicy chicken.  This one made me happy happyJ

Dessert- Pumpkin Cake and....

THE GREAT PUMPKIN!  Katie, Scott & I split those slices of angelfood/pumpkin cake (made by my Godmom) while watching the seasonal classic!

Katie was enamored!

...I mean, we've already watched it 10 times this year via my old 80's VHS tape (complete with 80's commercials!), but we couldn't help watching it again on its 'designated TV special' nightJ

Alrighty...gotta get movin on this day!  Have a great ThursdayJ

Coziness...

Morning, all!  Sorry for my delay, but here sums up my Wednesday:

Breakfast- Pumpkin quiona

Made with:

• 1/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin butter
• cinnamon & nutmeg
• dash of almond milk
• diced pecans
• craisins

Workout:   Power Yoga

Done in a Benadryl haze...I'm still shocked I didn't face plant any of my poses.

Rest of the day:  SOUP, soup & more leftover soup

As suspected, Katie so generously shared her cold with me and left me dazed & drowsy for the rest of Wednesday and part of Thursday.  At least I'm already on the mend and Thursday made for a WEE bit more of an interesting food dayJ

Thursday Recap:

Breakfast-  

I totally missed this in my Trader Joe's haul since my Mom & I split a couple things and this (and one other treat I'll share sooooon!) ended up in her bag.

I'm not usually a huge fan of packets of oatmeal since I think they are WAY too small for WAY too many calories.  But this one, with its diced pecans, held me over for quite awhile.  Plus it was perfectly pumpkin & spiced deliciousness.  Can't complain about that on a cool, FALL morningJ

Lunch- Chicken Tikka Masala

(image source...since I forgot to take a pic of the box...oppps!)

While the rice & sauce were spot on, I have to say the chicken was...weird.  Initially I kept thinking it was frozen, since every time I went to cut it, it felt TOUGH.  After making sure it was warmed through, it definitely was just the chicken that was tough.  It didn't TASTE bad, but was just kinda odd.

Snack- 1/4 cup banana chips & 1 cheese stick

Yes...that is ONE 160 calorie SERVING of banana chips, folks!  PROCEED WITH CAUTION around dried fruit.  I've been wishing for the sweetness & crunch, but dried fruit is hardly ever on my shopping radar and here's why.  Just BE CAREFUL with your serving size and only have these as an occasional treat.  (and after I thought about it, a 35 calorie Laughing Cow cheese would have been a MUCH smarter idea here)

Workout:  Tone it up "Frisky Fall HIIT" + 6 minute arm workout

Not sure if it was the lingering cold or not, but that new HIIT routine was TOUGGGGHHHH.  I had to take a breather in the middle of the FIFTEEN MINUTE WORKOUT.  Fifteen minutes, folks.  It's really not pushin the boundaries here and I STILL needed a breakJ  Try it out and see how quick you break a sweatJ

Dinner- Polenta-topped chicken pot pie

Comfort food is ALWAYS the answer when you feel lousy, AMIRIGHT??  I made a few swaps to this recipe, including swapping the cream for 1% milk, tarragon for thyme & cheddar cheese for the Gruyere since I had all of those things on hand.  But, ummmm, as you can tell:  I didn't skip that BROIL stepJ  

The polenta added a little something extra to your standard pot pie topping.  It almost made it very chicken & dumplings-esq.  And despite it seeming a little 'involved,' it actually came together in ALMOST 30 minutes.  Not too bad.

Alrighty, well I have a FALL-ish weekend on tap to usher in the BEST TIME OF YEAR!  Hope you guys have a great weekendJ

Giving PEAS a chance...

Tuesday Recap:

Workout:  2 mile walk away the pounds with weights

Breakfast:  2 slices Flaxseed toast with peanut butter & salty strawberry jam

AND I had to eat an early breakfast so we could get to Trader Joe's before the rush!  It's the only time of the day where you can WANDER in that place.  The rest of the time, you're fighting your way up the aisles.  So here was my 'haul' of the day...

Morning snack:  Dunkin Donuts small pumpkin spice coffee

First of the season!  Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Lunch:  PEAS & Yogurt

Sooooooooooo lunch began the very second I finished that video and ripped open this bag of baked Inner Peas.  I HAD the thought process of "Wow, I need to portion these into mini bags cause these are SOGOOD that you can down the whole bag."  I stopped within a reasonable portion and moved on toooo...

...my video mentioned new FAVORITETHING of these flip-cup yogurts.  I mentioned the banana + chocolate + almonds was awesome and this coconut (OBVIOUSLY) was just as divine.  These are FANTASTIC and so worth a few extra calories for all those satisfying add-ins...

Snack-  YEP...

I had succumb to the peas.  Sigggghhhhhhhh...  Next time they are purchased, the bag is being IMMEDIATELY divided up into smaller portions.  Those things are ADDICTING.   

Dinner- Kale, tortellini & thyme-turkey meatball soup

This wasn't in the original weekly menu either, but yesterday's gloomy day coupled with Katie's cold just made chicken soup sound WAY too appealingJ

I sauteed some carrots, celery, onion & thyme in olive oil for about 10 minutes before pouring in about a box & a half of chicken broth and brought that to a boil...

While it was boiling, I got to working on the mini turkey meatballs (ground turkey, egg, breadcrumb, thyme, Parmesan, salt & pepper).  I gave them a quick roll and tossed em into the soup and let them boil for about 10 more minutes...

Lastly, I tossed in a couple handfuls of diced kale & the tortellini...

I had gotten these fresh at Trader Joe's, so they only needed a couple minutes to cook, but usually they would take about 7 minutes.  So just plan your soup & meatball cooking appropriatelyJ

This was soooo warm & cozy and tasted like it had been simmering for hours.  I suspect the little flavor burst from the fresh herbs, but experiment and use whatever you have on hand....just make this soup!

Dessert- Cinnamon Honey Water

Let's just say my allergies cranked up to 7000000000 and Katie's cold lingering in the background led to craving MORE warmth at the end of the dayJ  Figured this was a 'healthier' way to goJ

Alrighty, well I'm just BARELY standing on the edge of not falling over and catching this cold, so I foresee some more warm & cozy meals possibly in the mix for today, tooJ  Oh yeah...and a mess of exercise classes I have scheduled for the day...let's see how much energy I have to make them allJ

Have a great WednesdayJ

Namaste undone...

Morning, all!  Hope you guys had a great weekend.  Mine included plenty of pictures...just not too many of foodJ  Hahahahahahaha...it was spent going to birthday parties for two of my little cousins...

...one including a petting zoo, which was pretty much thecutestthingeverJ

And Saturday night was spent with a sleepover with my niece that involved homemade pizza...

...and pumpkin cookies, which we ate while bundled up in hoodies and pretending it was FALLJ

Oh yeah...and it was only about 2984023572032 degrees on Saturday when we took this pictures, as we were placed directly in front of the fan when we took this picJ  But thankfully the pumpkin cookies must have ushered in the COOLNESS, as the weather has been nothing short of GLORIOUS around here ever since!  MAGIC COOKIES...mwahahaha!

Andddd that brings us to Monday.  I tried to be VERY consious over the weekend and PAY ATTENTION to what I was eating (including ONE of those cookie sandwhichs), and that helped set me up for a healthier Monday...OK, with one treat in the mixJ

Monday Recap:

10:00am:  Breakfast- 12 almonds & watermelon

1:00pm:  Lunch- "Happy Salad"

3:00pm:  Snack- Chicago Popcorn

Well, it had to happen sooner than laterJ  Cheese & caramel popcorn was DYING to be tried...and it was worth the wait for sweet & salty deliciousnessJ  I used my large ramekin to keep the portion in check, but in honest, the small one would have been just enough tooJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Taco Salad

I was VERYTEMPTED to have anything BUT salad for dinner last night, so I knew taco salad was the easiest way to 'stick to the plan.'  They're always just so damn good.

• Kale mix
• Avocado
• Ground turkey, seasoned with taco seasoning
• Diced roasted peppers
• Red beans
• Corn
• Mexican cheese blend

Workout:  Power Yoga

I took a 2 day yoga-hiatus after my Friday class BEAT ME UP, so I was SUPER ready to get back in the swing last night.  And I always love a class that ends in headstands/handstands/shoulderstands....they're just fun to mess around with.

AHHH!  AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENED AFTER CLASS!  So I was standing outside the gym talking to my yoga buddy (HI SHARON!!!!) and we were laughing about something and all of a sudden we heard a loud laugh coming towards us...we look over and a car drove by and a man was laughing at us out the window wearing A SCARY CLOWN MASK!!!!!!  I mean, WTF???  I, like MANY FOLKS, do NOT like clowns and I felt an INTERNAL LEVEL of PANIC of about 10000000!J  I've seen different 'reports' of people seeing CLOWNS STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THIER STREETS AT NIGHT in thier neighborhoods.  Dear Jesus, please don't let this become 'a thing' this Halloween season.  I don't think my ole ticker can take itJ  

How's THAT for undoing all of my 'calm Namaste??'

So yeah...thought you'd enjoy my little TERRORJ  Make no mistake that I watched that car and made sure he PULLED AWAY before we ran off to our carsJ hahahahahhaha

ANDDDD on that note, hope you guys have a GREAT/non-terrifying TuesdayJ