Interview Day and Goodies in the Mail

Hi everyone!  Have you all had a good Thursday? I hope so!!

It’s been another busy one around here. First off, I went to school, as usual. I came home on my lunch hour to grab a quick bite to eat and get changed into dress clothes because this afternoon was Interview Day. I am doing a business/intern program at school next year where you go and work in the afternoon. It counts as credits towards school, so I will still be perfectly on track to graduate my senior year. The people who run this program have the connections to get you a job that you will really like…and help you find a job in an area you are interested in. This is exciting for me because every day next year, I will be done at school at 12:00! This way, I can go to school, have a job, AND actually have a life! All the businesses came to us and we met in the cafeteria to do the interviewing. I had 4 interviews total…a couple banks and other local retailers. But there are much more options that I will have to choose from…this was kind of a practice run. I feel like it really helped me a lot though!

Speaking of jobs, I called the fitness center that I applied at last week, on the quest of looking for a small summer time job, and they said they should be starting the interviewing process soon…I guess there is a lot of people wanting to work there? Noooo! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Now I’m sure you all would like to see what I got in the mail today, right?!

Here is what I came home to tonight: Not one, but 2 PACKAGES!

Thanks to my paint tool, I concealed our identities, haha :)

I was like a kid on Christmas morning! After seeing it over the blogworld for the last couple weeks, I decided to order some Chia Seeds!

That’s right, 3 pounds of pure Chia. Ahhhh!

I ordered from: www.therawfoodworld.com The service and shipping was great. They also have some other cool raw stuff that I’d love to try sometime! You will definitely be seeing many Chia-licious foods in the near future.

The other package was from my very sweet friend, Megan! This is the package I have been dreaming about all week. Megan and I did a bar trade and here is what I ended up with:

Wowza!! So much delicious-ness! I can’t wait to enjoy all of it! Thank you so much, Meg!!!

Now, lets rewind a bit to breakfast:

A breakfast cookie containing:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 scoop of plain protein powder
• 1/2 mashed banana
• lots of cinnamon
• 2 tbsp of unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze
• natural peanut butter spread on top (Mighty Maple on one side, Kroger natural on the other)

This never fails me.

And here is what I threw together when I came home on my lunch break: a toasted whole wheat bagel half topped with goat cheese, turkey, and turkey pepperoni, chickpeas, overnight slaw, and carrots.

A random mix of foods, I must say. But it satisfied me!

Once I got done with my afternoon of businesses drilling me with hard questions chatting with the lovely interviewers, I came home and had a snack:

A cereal mixture of Kashi Go Lean and Kashi Honey Sunshine with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and frozen blueberries. You’ll MUST try putting frozen blueberries in your cereal and then topping it with your milk of choice. It is SO yummy! The milk freezes around the blueberries…it’s pretty nifty, hehe!

Then I headed to the salon, my current job. I am just all about jobs lately, it seems!

Dinner was leftovers, but I still took a pic :)

Baked porkchop with green beans and a salad mix.

For dessert, I was, as usual, wanting some yogurt…preferably greek! But as it turns out, I finished off the last of the greek yogurt last night. Major sad face :( BUT I did find this in the fridge and decided to give it a try. 

The flavor was White Chocolate Raspberry. I thought it was pretty good. It packed 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein for 100 cals. Not bad…but not greek yogurt ;) This would not be an everyday thing for me mainly because of the artificial sweetener in it. I try to limit my intake of that, and stick to natural sources like fruits.

Whew! I am now going to go watch Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice with my sister! But here is a giveaway reminder before I go:

Daily Dulcie is having an awesome giveaway for Holey Donuts! Check it out. :)

Playing catch-up

Hey guys! Hope you all have had great Wednesdays!

This week has been going by pretty fast for me, which is great because I am SOOO ready for some sweet summertime! <3

Yesterday, I had school ‘til 3:30 and then I headed over to work at the hair salon. I had a GREAT work day because I got my hair colored while I was there! Not too shabby of a work day if you ask me. :D It is now a pretty auburn reddish brown.  By the time I got home, I was just ready to eat dinner with the family and chill out for awhile.

But I am back now with some delicious food pics! Here are some of the highlights of the last two days…

Tuesday:

eggbeaters and peanut butter banana toasted bread:

 

afternoon snack:

 

George Foreman grilled chicken, broiled zucchini sticks, overnight slaw, and seasoned chickpeas

a no sugar added fudgesicle!

 

Oikos with strawberries and granola…yes, I am totally obsessed with this yogurt :)

and today’s breakfast: oats!

this mixture contained:

• 1/2 cup oatbran
• 1/2 cup almond milk, chocolate flavored!
• tbsp flax
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
• cinnamon and a dash of salt
• frozen blueberries and cherries
• scoop of Kroger natural peanut butter
• scoop of Barney Butter, crunchy

DELICIOUS!

afternoon snack:

a La Tortilla whole wheat mini tortilla with natural peanut butter and barney butter (I’m so indecisive) and 1/2 sliced banana

After my snackie, I hopped on the treadmill to have a nice run. I ran 2 and power walked 1. It was fantastic!

Tonight’s dinner was thanks to my momma…she made baked pork chops with green beans. I also had some of my yummy overnight slaw:

a cute lil’ muffin with a smear of pb

I don’t think I could ever have too much nut butta in one day. hahaha

I had yet again, some more greek yogurt. I topped this serving with some chopped figgies:

And there ya have it!

So, today I am sad to say that my CHI flat iron hair straightener died today. :( I looked back on Amazon and I have had it for almost a year. So long, Chi, you had a good run. I am off to go look online for a new Chi right now!

For those who straighten their hair….

What flat iron do YOU have?

The new veggie girl

Tonight, my dinner was a complete and total Veggie Fest…hence the title of this post, haha. More on that in a sec!

First things first, I started this new week off fabulously with this little gem:

It was delish, obviously :D I then smeared some Mighty Maple on that sucker!

Lunch was the usual: PB and B on whole wheat bread.

After school, I came home and had a pre-workout snack of a babybel cheese and a granny smith apple:

Then I popped in the 30 Day Shred. I went all out and decided to for level 3! I really liked the first half of it…but I don’t know about the second half because I didn’t get to it! I had the DVD going on my laptop and my battery went dead! Oops! So I finished out my workout on my own and did some variations of walking lunges, jumping jacks and push-ups. Then I decided I didn’t want to stop, so I hopped on the treadmill and did some incline power walking while jammin’ to my Ipod. :) Don’t you just love it when your workout is going great and you want to keep going?! Exercise always makes me feel a million times better.

By then, it was around 5 o’clock and I decided what I really wanted for dinner was sweet potato fries! And I had also made a slaw recipe last night that I couldn’t wait to try. But there was also some zucchini in the fridge that needed to be used…which resulted in this:

Easy Broiled Cheesy Zucchini:

ingredients:

• zucchini (however many you want to make)
• shredded cheese (I used mozzarella, but sharp cheddar, swiss, etc would be good, too)
• seasonings (garlic salt, basil, black pepper, parsely)

Set the broiler on your stove. Wash zucchini and chop off ends. You can cut up the zucchini however you want. Next time, I am going to either make then into skinnier sticks (kind of like french fries) or cut them into little rounds. Place on a baking sheet. Top zucchini with cheese and then with seasonings. Put in oven and broil for 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

And here is veggie recipe number DOS that I made last night:

Description
If you’re looking for a delicious way to eat more fiber, it’s hard to beat an old-fashioned slaw.

Overnight Slaw:

Ingredients
1/4 cup sugar (or other sweetener, brown sugar, etc)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 small head cabbage, shredded
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Instructions
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar substitute, lemon juice, vinegar, celery salt, and garlic salt. Add the cabbage, celery, and chives, and toss lightly. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Add the radishes immediately before serving.

I also added some chopped carrots to this. It turned out SO GOOD!!!

So here was what my dinner turned out looking like:

Very pretty, don’t you think? I added some cottage cheese for some protein.

Lately, more and more I have been liking not eating very much meat. I don’t really know if I would want to go completely meat-free any time real soon, but I definitely think it could be something I would want to try later down the road. It is just easier right now to have that option for variety, going out to eat, etc. But for now, I want to experiment with more meat-free meals and incorporate them into my weekly eats.

For my evening snack, I had this:

My new love, Oikos with Bear Naked vanilla almond granola and a scoop of Mighty Maple peanut butter. Perfection!

And with that, I’m off to go finish up some homework. 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks, 3 more weeks…come on SUMMER!!!

Give Aways this week:

Fitnessista: Vegan cookbook and macaroons!!

Heather: Vegan cookbook!

YAY for give aways!!

Question of the day: What is your favorite meat-free meal?

Its raining, its pouring…

Hey guys!

Today has been such a relaxing day. It has been raining all day..but sometimes I like rainy days. Today was one of those days. I just stayed inside and relaxed with the sound of the rain. It was bliss!

I started off with a leisurely breakfast and some blog reading. BEST way to start the day! Then I made a  new playlist on my ipod and got ready for a run. I think that music is so important for my workouts. A new playlist motivates me so much and makes the time fly by. I felt great the whole time I was running. For some reason, I was full of energy and just didn’t want to stop! I ran about 2 miles and then power walked another glorious 2 miles.

Here was breakfast:

I felt like changing it up today and using a packet of Quaker lower sugar cinnamon brown sugar oatmeal. I cooked that with 2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk and extra cinnamon. Then I topped it with my lovely Kroger natural peanut butter. After the picture was taken, I proceeded to top my oats with a bunch of homemade greek yogurt!

Yesterday, I strained my container of Stonyfield organic fat free plain yogurt.

I just placed a strainer on top of a measuring cup (you can use any bowl/cup). Then I put a paper towel in the strainer and plopped the yogurt into it. I did this in the evening and let it strain overnight. The next morning I just scooped it all out and threw away the liquid. Viola!

I had half a container left of this yogurt, so I didn’t end up with a whole lot after I strained it…but it was SO GOOD! It tasted exactly the same as Oikos. I will definitely be doing this more often!

For lunch today, I had leftover Chili’s from last night! My sister and I ate at Chili’s because she had a giftcard to use…fine by me! ;) I ordered the Spicy garlic and lime grilled shrimp salad.

This is how it looked last night:

I will definitely be ordering this again! It was delish!

And this is how it looked today for lunch:

I had eaten most of the shrimpies last night so for lunch, I decided to put in a hard boiled egg and garbanzo beans. (I did leave one shrimp though..do you see it?) I liked this even better!

For a snack, I had an awesome green monster. I was pretty hungry…I couldn’t even wait to take a pic! Sorry! This green monster was especially good and thicker than usual. I must used more frozen fruit than I usually do?

I added:

• 1 cup almond milk
• tbsp flax
• two big handfuls of spinach
• a handful of tropical frozen fruit (pineapple, mango, strawberries)

And now I’m going to have dinner with the family. I believe enchiladas are on the menu. Mmmmm

I hope you all have enjoyed your day and got in some relaxation before its back to the grind tomorrow! ;)

Oh, and here are two things to do:

1. Go to Megan’s blog and leave a comment telling what you think makes life worth living.  She will be compiling a list from them to post later this week. She also has a prize box that she will be giving one lucky commenter.

2. Pray for Jenna and her family. Jenna needs our support during this tragic time in her life, dealing with the loss of her younger brother. Lets all keep her in our thoughts.

Just going with the flow

I hope everyone’s Friday has been amazing!

Mine went well…but how could I ever not be in a good mood on a friday?!

This morning, I decided to celebrate another school week down with a big ol’ cookie!

A fitnessista  breakfast cookie, that is. :D

This cookie was made the night before using:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• a splash of unsweetened chocolate almond milk
• a scoop of plain protein powder
• cinnamon
• 1/2 mashed nanner

Then this morning, I smeared half of it with White Chocolate Wonderful and the other half with crunchy Barney Butter.  MMMM!

Lunch…cafeteria food. Meh. My school day actually went well and was a pretty easy day. It went by fast, too, which is always a plus!

When I got home from school, I decided to have a bar as my snackeroo:

This was the first time I tried this bar and I thought it was just okay. To me, if has a protein-y taste. The nutritional stats made me think of Think Thin bars, with the high protein and the low/no sugar. Would I eat this bar again? Probably. But I think I prefer the Think Thin bars better.

So I was planning on doing some 30 day Shred after school, but honestly I wasn’t feeling it. After a full school week, sometimes I just need to relax. So I just went with flow and did what I WANTED to do. I went out to the kitchen and starting preparing dinner. :)

I grilled some chicken and got to try out one of my new products that I got last weekend. 3 cheese tortellini! This was so delicious!! Next time I am going to cover the tortellini with a pasta sauce…but tonight, I just seasoned them and they were delish! I also had the last bit of brussel sprouts. Good thing we will be going to the store this weekend!

Then for dessert, since it’s Friday of course, I had this bowl of yummy-ness:

Vanilla ice cream with defrosted frozen sweet cherries!

I am supposed to be babysitting right now, but the mother of the kids I babysit called me an hour before I was supposed to come and cancelled on me. I’m not complaining though…I’m just going with the flow. :) This is something I have been trying to work on. I am a “planner". If things don’t go as planned, I get all worked up over it. Well I don’t want to waste another minute of my life being mad/anxious over something that I can not control. I am going to embrace spontaneity. I want to live my life being positive, happy, and healthy.

I hope you all enjoy your night and weekends..Love!

Product Review!

Hey guys! This is going to be a quickie…I’m watching Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice with my sister. Grey’s has been a  tear-jerker tonight for me!

I wanted to show you guys my delicious, fast, and easy dinner tonight…thanks to Kashi!

 

I picked this up at the grocery store last weekend and tonight was the perfect night to try it out since I had work right after school and definitely didn’t feel like cooking!

It was AWESOME! I was chock full of baby spinach and also had some mushrooms and red bell peppers in it, too. It smelled like a home cooked meal when I took it out of the oven. I paired it with my new veggie lover, brussels!!

And here was my evening snackie: Oikos with Bear Naked vanilla almond granola and sliced grapes

I am also in LOVE with Oikos! This stuff is so so SO amazing!

Sorry this was so short! We’re at the end of the week and I’m worn out. I don’t know about you guys but I am in need of some weekend fun and relaxation!

Tomorrow, The plan is:

1. school
2. shreddin’ it with Jillian
3. early dinner
4. babysitting for the night

Hope you all have a FANTASTIC FRIDAY!! Lots of love :)

Veggie Power

Hey guys!

My day yesterday was so jam-packed that I didn’t have time to blog. I did of course still read all of your lovely blogs! :D I went from school to work to home finally around 8-ish and all I wanted to do was collapse on the couch…and I did! haha.

So today I started off with my homemade baked oatmeal!

It turned out really good…I think that next time, I am going to add some vanilla protein powder to make it even more filling and yummy. I made some hard boiled eggs a few nights ago, so I had one for protein.

For lunch I got to come home and eat because I had a doctor’s appointment. I love eating my own food for lunch instead of cafeteria food. Just 3 more weeks…

So I had a pasta repeat of last week…

with black beans, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. It was delish!

afternoon snack: I had another egg with an lovely orange

 

And then it was time to run! It was a glorious run. I just focused on my music and completely zoned out. For some reason, I was feeling kind of gloomy but once I did my run, I felt like a million bucks…and THAT is why I love running so much! It takes the blues right away :D

For dinner, I tried something I’ve never tried before…roasted brussel sprouts! After reading through Jenna’s post comments on everybody’s favorite green veggies and favorite ways to eat them, I got SO many good ideas! I bought some brussel sprouts last weekend for the first time and decided to roast them.

I coated them in EVOO and garlic salt and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, turning halfway through.

They were awesome!!! I can’t believe I have been tried this vegetable before! 

My mom was grilling lean hamburgers, so I paired the brussel sprouts with that.

Then came a little dessert:

Oikos plain greek yogurt with half a Kashi chocolate caramel bar and a little spoonful of peanut butter.

I think Oikos is my favorite greek yogurt. I haven’t had it in a while so when I tried it tonight, I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome it tasted! There was 0 tangyness, which is perfect for me. YUM!

Ok, now its time to get ready to hit the sack soon…tomorrow will be another school and work day but I will hopefully still get in a post!

Good night! <3