Welcome, October...

Morning, folks...and ummmm, HAPPY OCTOBER!

Oh...and by the way:  HI!  Sorry I've been MIA for a few weeks.  But I knew I had to get back here soon before the FALL got swept away in a blink.  I can't even believe Halloween is none too far away...even if I think this month is gonna be torturous for Katie, who asks me every day if it's time to go Trick-or-treating yetJ  I'm sure I'm not the only parent in THIS boat...but I'm SUPEREXCITED she's getting so into it allJ  So crazy since 3 seconds ago we were at this moment in life:

WILD.

ANYWAY...Throwback Monday aside, I was so excited to get back here since I had a GREAT meal to share with you guys for my first post of October.  It's not very SEASONAL, but it was DEF TOO DIE FOR!  And thanks to a Living Social coupon, we were able to enjoy one of our VERY favorite restaurants for a great price...even betterJ

You just can't say enough great things about El Tule in Lambertville, NJ.  The food is exquisite, creative, original & delicious, the service is EXCELLENT and top notch and the outdoor dining area  makes you feel like you're on vacation.  We showed up on the first legit VERY CHILLY day/night in NJ (I even busted out my ole winter coat!), but the outdoor heating lamps provided enough warmth to be comfortable and let's not even discuss my LURV for dinner by pretty lights...J

ANYWAY, I should probably get back to that food, huh?  We chose from the Mexican side of the menu and started with nachos...cause, well, Scott & I just can never get enough nachos in lifeJ

And what put these on FABULOUSNACHO status:  They were layered with chips, melted cheese, refried black beans, sour cream, guacamole and CHIRIZO!  Ohhhh....that made them just soooooooooooo tasty, not to mention savory & warm.  LOVED this variation.  (beef & chicken is also offered, fyi)

And then after MUCH deliberation (including a moment of sadness given that my FAVORITE DISH from our last visit was not offered for dinner), I grilled our poor waiter to help me narrow down my entree selectionJ  And in the end, these flautas won out...

After the nachos, I can't say these fried rolls were the WISEST of choices, but I hope they 'balanced' out a bit by being LOADED with grilled tilapia & spinach.  I'm NOT a fan when you order something, especially with fish, and you get mere flecks throughout.  Not here.  These were STUFFED to the brim with tilapia.  And how can you argue with all of those glorious toppings?  I'm such a sucker for shredded lettuceJ  It's sad, really.

And even though we were BEYONDSTUFFED, we just HAD to dip into the dessert menu given these unique options.  I regretted not ordering Scott's CHOCOLATE Tre Leche cake (never seen that variation, made with chocolate MILKS, not just chocolate cake) for a sec since the bite I got was DIVINE...but changed my mind quick once I sampled the....ok, I have no clue what it was called, but it was a traditional Peruvian dessert of DULCE DE LECHE TOPPED WITH MERINGUE!  OMG...

The crunchy & crumbly meringue broke through to blend with the smooooooooooth and DIVINE dulce de leche making for a delicious and multi-textured dessert.  Not to mention, sweet x 1029340293420834.  I mean...

Did I say unique???  LOVEEEEE THIS PLACE.  If you are in the area, it's a MUST try.  And not to mention, it has that extra 'glow' of being family-owned where you can feel the love.  FEEL THE LOVE, peeps???  Isn't that what it's all about??J

OK...I think that's enough gushing & exclamation point usage for the day.  Hope you enjoyed this first post back.  I'll have more SEASONAL eats to share with you guys tomorrow.

Have a good Monday!J 

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

First cozy meal of the season...

Hey, all!  Well, another weekend and barely any food picsJ  I was too busy runnin Katie to the boardwalk one more time...

...over a friends house for a playdate, with 7 amazingly well-behaved kids!...

...and a lazy Sunday lunch date with Scott & IJ

She liked her requested soup & crackers enough that she gave us enough of a window to actually eat our pizza in peaceJ A rarity these days with this little booger...but such is the life with a 2-year oldJ

And to counter act the pizza and boardwalk goodies from this weekend, it was time to kick off a healthier week...

Monday Recap:

Morning Workout-  Full-body Tone it Up workout

8:30am:  Breakfast- Toast with peanut butter & jelly

Mmmmmm...I bought this SALTY Strawberry Jelly from the farmer's market this week and it HIT the spot on this toast!  Sweet & strawberry with SALT!  I'm in LOVVVEEJ

12:30am:  Lunch- Autum Squash soup & Fiji Apple Salad

While my Mom & I were out and about running errands, our stomach's started rumbling mid-Katie shoe shoppingJ  So we hit the local Panera and both got one of these combo platters.  A TOTAL FALL win since the soup was ABSOLUTE FALL perfection!  And the salad, topped with dried apple chips, was not too shabby either.  All together they clocked in around 500 calories.  A little more than I usually like to spend on lunch (and did leave almost half the salad), but not bad for a decadent/healthy lunch combo.

3:30pm:  Snack- Extra Sharp Cheddar + 7 dried mandarin orange slices

I am OBSESSED with these 90-calorie Cracker Barrel cheese sticks.  They are NOT the usual 2% ones I have, but the portion control keeps the serving in check so you get ALL of the full-calorie cheese goodness...that you CAN tell the difference vs. the low-cal cheese.  Sometimes it's worth itJ

6:00pm:  Dinner-  Roasted Tomatoes over creamy basil polenta

Mmmmmmm...I'm positivly GIDDY to announce the FIRST COZY MEAL OF THE SEASON!!!!!  WEEEEEEEEEE!!  It was all-set for salad last night, till I spent nearly the whole day bundled up in a sweatshirt, which just meant we needed WARMTH for dinner!

So I took these beauties from the farmer's market...

...gave em a quick dice (along with a few cloves of garlic) and drizzled em with olive oil, salt & pepper, then tossed em in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I whipped up the polenta.  Which is as easy as heating up 3 cups of milk to a simmer and whisking in about 1 cup of polenta, then adding a pat of butter, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese & a handful of diced fresh basil...

Layer up the poletna & tomatoes and dinner is servedJ

I'm not sure if it's just these lovely September zebra tomatoes, but they roasted to sauce-y perfection.  And polenta was the perfectly creamy companion to bring this to our faces.  EASY & COZY...they may just be the THEME of FALL this yearJ

Evening workout:  Beginner's Power Yoga

Alright...it's already late because I did some special food shopping today...I'll share more tommorrow!

Have a great TuesdayJ