What doesn't go with Chocolate Milk??

Today will be a good day because it is my LAST DAY OF WORK before the break!!!

It is also sad days because the BF leaves tomorrow to go visit his family in Florida... ::sigh::

Since he hates to see me sad he brought THIS to my desk this morning.

Low Fat Granola and Chocolate Milk.

My initial reaction was to be very very confused.  Then he told me just to try it and MY WORLD IS CHAGNED.  It was pretty delicious, I am not going to lie!!

**recap of the weekend -- backwards in time!!!!**

Other things that are delicious?  I will never get sick of egg white veggie omelettes with English Muffins... and if you are sick of seeing the pictures (eggs are not very photogenic) then you may want to click away...

Mmmm yum!  What a FANTASTIC way to start a Sunday!! :-D

You know... I never used to eat breakfast.. I would be too busy and in too much of a rush it would be a granola bar if anything, but now I *love* breakfast and it really helps to start of my day on the right path.

Sunday we celebrated my youngest sister's 16th birthday!! More on that later when I can upload the pictures...

Saturday after a looooooooooooong workout (which will be covered in my Workout Wednesdays recap) I mixed up Spinach Blueberry French salads (umm sadly it was the end of the peanut jar so the salad is covered in crumbs)

Served with Turkey Burger and Cheese.

BEST picture I've ever taken... right?!

Just kidding... it really doesn't look to appealing, but it was delicious with some Honey Dijon Mustard!

And Friday's highlight was Jason's Deli for lunch!

Mmmm 'Mater Soup & Salad Bar!!! <3 <3 <3

::insert dreamy face here::

Last week there were a few days that were actually not horribly cold either although it was a bit drizzly so I twisted my hair up and lumped it on top of my head in a 'bun' and rocked some boots with one of my favorite BCBG dresses.

Last week I participated in some Reliability Training for two days straight but wanted to share a few things with you guys that I learned!

Did you know...

Laughter = GENIUS.

I knew it!!!!!

Do you know what else is Genius?!

Fro Yo.

You're welcome for just about the most random post ever.

Let's finish with my new Sweater Dress I scored from Ideeli that I'm completely obsessed with....

The material of this one feels soooo soft like velvet!!!  I love to just cuddle up in it on a cold day :)

Questions for the Day:

Have you ever added chocolate milk to your granola?? Am I the only one who had never heard of this?

What's your favorite way to have eggs? 

What's the last thing that made you laugh?  It was probably pretty Genius :)



An Entire Post about FOOD.

I think Mike is starting to rub off on me. 

That man is busy planning his next meal while he's still enjoying the first!!!

Anyways, I've started to catch a little cooking bug recently and in my spare time I catch myself planning out what I'm going to be putting together next... 

Today Started with a toasted English Muffin (Thomas Light 100 cal with 1/3 Daily Fiber!), Provolone Cheese, Slice of Extra Thin Smoked Ham, and freshly prepared Egg White

Such a delicious breakfast sandwich!!! Take that McDonald's.. you ain't got nothin' on me!

I also attempted to whip up some Skinny Popcorn topped with melted Mint Chocolate inspired by PB Fingers White Chocolate PepperMint Popcorn.

1 Serving Skinny Popcorn (100 cal) plus Melted Mint Chocolate drizzled on top.

The hardest part was waiting for the chocolate to cool and harden so you could pick up the pieces without sticky chocolate fingers!  I loved it... Mike thought mint on popcorn was just strange lol.  Maybe next time I'll do a caramel nut twist for him :)

And for dinner I tried out these pre-made puppies:

220 cal each, 36g protein and only 7g fat... which, for being frozen and containing all that delicious gooey cheese inside I thought was pretty awesome!  They turned out perfect too - sometimes it's nice to have a meal you can just throw together in a hurry.

I served them with super hot soup since we went on a 2 hour bike ride in the freezing cold today!!!

We've been taking rides around different parks in different neighborhoods since we're thinking about looking for houses next year... you get a completely different view of a neighborhood when you explore it on bike!

The soup consisted of 1 can Amy's Low Fat Vegetable Barley Soup + Vegetarian Chicken Boullian (sp?) seasoning and hot water + left over pulled white chicken meat + bag mixed frozen veggies including squash and zucchini.  Let reach a boil and then simmer until your chicken is done baking in the oven!

Questions for the Day:

Do you ever add things to your soup cans to make them more 'hearty'?

What's your favorite thing to put on a breakfast sandwich?

Fitness Foodie Review - Best B'fast Shake ta' Make!

The secret ingredient to the perfect morning protein shake?  ICE CREAM!!!!!

Hold on, I did title this 'Fitness' Foodie Review, right?  So am I out of my mind saying that you should add ice cream to your morning shake?  nope.  I discovered the absolute BEST ice cream by Arctic Zero, the nutrition label reads just like a low carb protein powder and they use the natural sweetness found in monk fruit to give the ice cream such a delicious flavor. 

• 150 calories per pint & all natural
• Fat free & gluten free
• Lactose intolerant friendly
• Contains 8 grams of fiber
• 16 grams of whey protein concentrate

So, you can add a half pint of this baby to your morning shake (1 cup) for only 75 calories which is less than a cup of 2% milk.  I really love this option because it gives the shake a more consistant consistancy (LOL), unlike ice cubes which no matter how long you leave the blender on always seem to leave it a bit chunky. 

With that, the recipe for one DELICIOUS Chocolate Protein Smoothie!

If you want a healthier version trade out the chocolate syrup for frozen strawberries - also delicious!  OR I enjoy a Mocha Madness Protein Shake as well.. just add some iced coffee!  Really, the possibilities are endless. 

Fitness Foodie Review - Tone It Up Protein Pancakes!

Let me begin by saying that I'm *very* excited to post this review! 

When it comes to things we must 'swear off' when trying to tighten and tone our bodies, many favored and delicious breakfast pastries are at the top of the list.  Most breakfast pastries contain high amounts of sugar with very little fiber giving you a high carb count that's just going to cause your energy to crash a few hours later.  At the same time, breakfast food is simply delicious and every now and then you're going to have a serious hankering (sorry, that's the Texan in me!) for something sweet!  Stay away from the glazed donut and the nutella croissant and instead serve up your typical morning protein smoothie in the form of a delicious pancake! 

At this point you're probably thinking... a protein shake, in a pancake.. yeah right! BUT the Tone It Up girls Karena and Katrina have perfected the recipe for exactly that: their Tone It Up Protein Pancakes.  (Click on the link to find their recipe) Wanting a true breakdown of exactly what nutritional benefits I'd get from cooking up a batch of these (using what I had in my pantry/fridge) I went to CalorieCount.com and analyzed the following:

Well - you can't beat that!  So I whipped some protein pancake batter right up and came out with this...

3 Medium sized pancakes topped off with freshly sliced strawberries!  I was surprised at how many pancakes I got to eat for under 300 calories - and they were so filling!  My only complaint would be that I wished they were a bit lighter or fluffier so for my next batch I might add a bit of baking powder.  Also you should note that the blue berries are the BEST part - the more the better!  I also plan on whipping up a batch of these with dark chocolate chips (17 large chips for only 80cals) next time I have a serious chocolate craving.

If you've tried these Tone It Up Protein Pancakes - or a similar recipe - let me know what you thought!