It’s the weekend!  This week has flown by, don’t ya think?!

I had an awesome night’s sleep and really didn’t want to get up for the gym this morning.  I was [this close]  to talking myself out of it, but bucked up and went!  So glad I did!  I enjoy doing the 30 minute strength training circuit;  it’s quick and energizing!

But, one can always use a little more energizing…

Breakfast was a delicious new mix…

• 3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 1 tbsp. sliced almonds
• 1 tsp. reduced fat unsweetened coconut <— awesome

A great bowl!

Despite the decent amount of protein, this didn’t hold me over very long   I’ve been noticing my hunger picking up again.  Every couple of hours my stomach is complaining at me!  Honestly, it makes me nervous.  I want to honor my hunger, yet I feel uncomfortable eating so often because I always have “loss” in the back of my mind, I guess.  I’m not sure how to handle this.  I’m thinking of adding an additional small snack mid-morning to see if that helps out.

So, lunch came early!  A taco turkey burger with cheese on Ezekiel sesame bun…

and the first cucumber from our garden…

made into a cucumber, tomato and carrot salad as a side…

Can’t wait for our tomatoes!

I picked around the pantry this afternoon.  A few Triscuits, a slice of turkey and a few grapes.  Nothing excessive…. or exciting

Dinner was exciting, though!  While the family was diving into pizza, I decided to try out this new find…

The nutritionals are great…

The ingredients are clean and recognizable!

Ready in 2 minutes!

I served it with sauteed spinach and treated myself to some naan for scooping…

This meal was terrific!  It tasted home-cooked and fresh.  I will absolutely be buying it again!

In honor of the weekend, I whipped up another treat – Banana “ice cream” with peanut butter drizzle (1 tsp. natural peanut butter melted in the micro) and chopped peanuts…

Love <3

Have a great day, everyone!

What vegetables are you growing in your garden this year?

My stomach woke me up this morning!  That almost never happens.  Even though I was hungry, there is just something about eating as soon as I get up that doesn’t appeal to me. 

I tried to quiet things down with some press…

It didn’t work.  The parasite was hangry. 

Since it was a gym day instead of a run day, I fed it something hearty- a Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffin…

all oats, no flour and no sugar!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

• 2 1/4 cups oats
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/3 cup date puree
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine dry ingredients (oats through cinnamon) in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, add banana, peanut butter, date puree and vanilla…

Mix banana mixture into oats.  Add milk and egg…

Spray muffin tin with cooking spray…

Fill 8 muffin cups evenly …

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 12-14 minutes.  Going in…

Coming out…

All the way…

I did the nutritional breakdown for these, too (using www.calorieking.com) …

Each muffin:  197 calories, 5 gr. fat, 29 gr. carbs, 3.8 gr. fiber, 10 gr. sugar, 7 gr. protein.

These will make a good grab- n- go dashboard breakfast!

After muffin time, I hit the gym.  I decided to try something different today.  I warmed up for 20 minutes on The Arc Trainer, then did the 30 minute circuit.  The circuit is a mix of weights and a cardio step.  A red light and green light sets the time for you so you know when to switch to the next machine.  It was a sweaty good time

The good times kept on rolling over to the supermarket for the weekly loot.  My stomach acted up again so on the way home, I dug into these new (to me) Mary’s Gone Crackers Sticks and Twigs…

These are good!  You are probably thinking how can something called “sticks and twigs” ever be put in the “good” category, but they are!  Too good.  In fact, so good that I kept munching all the way home and momentarily thought that I should throw the whole bag out the window because clearly, I cannot be trusted with these.

But, I am a law-abiding citizen and therefore, I do not litter.

Anywhooo, a yummy lunch awaited me at home.  I was looking forward to making Shrimp Tacos with the leftover grilled shrimp from last night’s salad…

Corn tortillas, broccoli slaw, grilled shrimp, diced avocado and fresh salsa with a side of organic grapes…

Dinner was another date with the grill.  Greek grilled chicken, homemade tzatziki sauce and a cucumber, tomato and feta salad served with grilled pitas…

One of my favorite summer salads!  Can’t wait to use the tomatoes from our garden…

Tzatziki is delicious on grilled chicken…

It’s so easy to make, too…

• 8 oz. greek yogurt (I use nonfat)
• 1/2 cup grated english cucumber
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. fresh dill
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let flavors develop.

Know what else is easy to make?  Fruit soft-serve!  Tonight’s flavor :  Pineapple Banana…

Half frozen pineapple and half frozen banana in the processor goes from this…

To this…

Good times

Have a great day, everyone!

Don’t forget to enter my NuNaturals giveaway!

Do you wake up hungry or does your hunger need a wake up call?

Hey everyone!  Thank you for comments on my No Sugar Experiment.  I’m so pleased with my results thus far and I am going to stay with it as best I can

Today was a run day, so I got my drinks in order.  Coffee first…

then a strawberry-banana smoothie an hour before the run…

I met up with my running buddy and we set out on the paved trail.  We both were complaining about some hip pain and weren’t sure how far we’d make it for this run.  The humidity was a killer, too!  I get drained so quickly in the heat and humidity!  I scaled back to a very slow jog to keep me going.  I decided all that matters is that I’m out there doing it and it doesn’t matter how fast I’m going!  There was an intermittent breeze that got us through to the end -  4.5 miles, 59 minutes, 10 intervals of 5:1 (run/walk)…

I had some errands to take care of right after my run.  Yes, I went in full-out stinkiness   While I was out, I noshed on a few dates to tide me over.

I finally got around to lunch – Trader Joe’s Black Bean Soup and a ginormous piece of cornbread that I made yesterday…

This cornbread was different than the sweeter-style cornbread that I usually like, but it was good for dipping…

For an afternoon snack, I made more CRACK!  This time with edamame…

Roasted edamamme is the new crackalaka

Dinner was something very new to me…

This pasta is flour-free.  It is made from brown rice and shaped into pasta.  I didn’t know much about it, so I Googled it!  There were some interesting reviews on brown rice pasta;  not all good.  I was scared.

But, I forged on.  The common negative review was with respect to texture.  It was imperative to NOT overcook this pasta!  I set the timer to make sure I didn’t screw it up.  I gave it a taste when the timer went off and it seemed right on the money.  Then, I did the BIG NO-NO.  I drained and RINSED the pasta.  <—–  Don’t look Mom.

With regular pasta, rinsing is the biggest sin in the Italian world.  It’s not allowed.  Off with your head.

Brown rice pasta is a different breed, so I am able to get away with it and not be disowned.  And I found it to be completely necessary since the success of this pasta depends on not overcooking it.  Rinsing it in cold water quickly stopped the cooking process and cleared away a lot of the starch that is produced with this pasta.

I reheated the pasta in the saucepan while tossing it with leftover grilled veggies and a bit of pesto…

It was filling and delicious!  I didn’t find the texture to be weird at all!

I ended the night with a bowl of watermelon water ice…

Happy

Have a great day, everyone!

What is your favorite pasta dish?