A Confession and A Dinner Guest

I had to get up a bit earlier than usual today because DD had track and field at 8am, but I needed to get DS dropped off at the sitter beforehand. Although her doing this is a pain logistically, I make sure to accommodate her because I don’t want to discourage her from doing anything physical that she likes. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know that she can certainly be a diva about getting sweaty! Breakfast was a serving of pumpkin pie crock pot oats from the freezer…
I re hydrated them with some water and plopped a scoop of cinnamon honey on top!
I think I have a little food blogger in the making! I found this on my camera when I went to load my picture’s….
I know this is DD’s bowl of Rice Krispies because DS had Dino egg porridge today!

Work was slow today. Meh….I shouldn’t complain seeing as people are losing/have lost their jobs. Knock on wood; I’m sitting pretty where I am. I broke out the last of the dates mid morning….
Honestly, these are the best kind of candy!!! Just before going to the gym I snacked on half of this piece of sweet potato bread….
I ate the other half later in the afternoon.

So now’s it’s confession time on my part. I ran at the gym today. There, I said it. I could not stand another minute of walking/bike riding, I just couldn’t. I was on the treadmill for 30 mins and ran, well, jogged really, at total of 20 mins. I kept the speed at 5.3mph and did not feel any pain afterwards or now, for that matter. My ankles, although still a little swollen, have been feeling pretty good the past 2 days so I thought I’d test the waters. And I’m glad I did because I really needed the release that running gives me. Thankfully I was the only one in the gym because I broke out into a real dorky smile after a few minutes. I’ll hop back on the bike tomorrow…..I don’t want to push it! I also got caught up on the BBBC by completing 3 set of 50 leg lifts and 3 sets of 30 squats with 5lb weights. Then I did 10 mins of ab work.

Time: 52 minutes
Avg Hr: 141
Max Hr: 168
Calories Burned: 378
Distance: 2.5 miles

I brought a Lean Cuisine Panini for lunch today….
I’ve never tried this flavour before but you can’t go wrong when there’s mango and chicken involved! It wasn’t my most favourite panini, but it was good! The only draw back I found was stinky breath for the remainder of the afternoon! I pretty much sucked on mints non stop so I didn’t kill anyone! :)
Later in the afternoon I also ate this little “fruit salad” that I made this morning. It’s basically 2 small cut up oranges and some grapes.
I learned today that I wrinkly grapes are much easier to eat when paired with oranges!

I nibbled on 3 of these nut clusters from True North that I got form Mara when I got home from work....
L-O-V-E-D them! So did my hubby. Oh, my! Definitely on my list of things to look for on my next trip to the USA!

My hubby brought a friend home for supper so it was a good thing that 1) I pulled salmon out of the freezer this morning and 2) he’s wasn’t allergic to fish! I baked it in the oven with some butter and salmon seasoning and served it with a side of roasted potatoes and steamed green beans. There were also buns. Here’s my plate;
You'll notice that I had a roasted sweet potato on my plate. In my humble opinion, MUCH tastier than roasted potatoes! For dessert I just picked up an apple cinnamon pudding coffee cake. Wouldn't you know that I totally forgot to take a picture? It was pretty good as far as store bought cakes go.

I'm going to go hang with the boys downstairs so I'll leave you with a photo of the newest addition to my in laws miniature horse farm....
This little horsey is about the size of a bigger dog. I can't wait to visit him this Sunday!!! I don't even know his name yet! Babies are just so cute, aren't they???

Bye for now!!

All For The Free Stuff!

Good news!!! I woke up to a nice bright sunny morning! Still on the cool side but with rain in the forecast for the next 5 days, I’ll take it!

I made myself another blended breakfast bowl this morning!
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup Quaker oats
-cinnamon
-a few mango pieces
-1/3 of a package silken tofu
-shredded coconut and walnut pieces
The only thing I wish I had was some coconut extract! I forgot I was out until I went looking for it!

Today’s the day we run all our payrolls so it was a busy one. I ate my dates at morning break to please my sweet tooth. Can you believe I forgot to take a picture! I bet you’re all relieved! :)

I went on the treadmill for a 45 minute walk at the gym today. As padded as my tush is, it was not about to tolerate a third day on that bike seat! Staring at a wall while walking for 45 minutes is not a real fun adventure. We’re supposed to be getting some flat screen wall mounted TV’s in there soon. That will be a treat!

Time: 45 minutes
Avg Hr: 135
Max Hr: 157
Calories Burned: 306
Distance: 3.3 miles

Not too shabby for a walk! When I see the therapist on Monday I hope he tells me that I can at least hop on the elliptical, though.

Lunch today looked and tasted just kinda meh which is disappointing because I was really looking forward to eating it! I found some leftover veggies in the fridge and decided to mix them up with a can of turkey. That the turkey was canned should’ve been my first clue. Then I mixed it up with the last of my 3 berry salad dressing.
It wasn’t horrible by any means; I just wasn’t digging the turkey part. I was stringy and not what I had expected. Oh, well! Ya win some and lose some! The end part of lunch was awesome, though! I gobbled up a square of my Blueberry Almond Cornbread!
And later in the day I finished my fruit salad from yesterday….
You all may or may not have noticed that I haven’t been shredding the past few days. I decided to hold off until my ankles are strong again. I really feel like I’m not getting the maximum umpf from the workout that I wanted. I plan to start over again as soon as I ‘m able! Also, because the DVD could possibly have had a hand in my current situation, when I start up again I will be doing the beginner’s cardio where high impact is required on the feet. The plank jumping jacks would be a good example of what I mean.

On the bright side, look what came in the mail today!
FREE Kashi! I'm on a roll in regards to free food items this week!! :)

For dinner I made the fam a box of Hamburger Helper courtesy of Mr. C's pantry clean out. I haven't bought/ate that stuff in what seems like 100 years and I wasn't about to start again today! One look at the ingredients on a box of that stuff should send people running! But, it is swim night and it is quick to make and most importantly, the kids liked it. There is another box left and one of chicken helper (never even heard of that one) and then it'll probably be another 100 years before it graces my shelves again. I, on the other hand, cooked up a SOL burger that got topped with a LC wedge, lettuce, ketchup, whole grain mustard and hot peppers. All served up in a toasted English muffin. I pan fried some brussel sprouts on the side that I jazzed up with too many dried spices to remember! They were fantastico!
After eating this delicious spread and cleaning up the kitchen, I sat down to a Cravings macaroon;
Now, I must jet with the kids to the pool for their swimming lessons. This also means I have an hour to read and/or socialize! Enjoy your evening, all!!!

Bye for now!!

Cross Border Groceries

I spent a good hour out on my front porch leafing through a magazine last night. Oh, how long I have waited for that?! It was fabulous! Good thing I took advantage of the glorious weather because the rain is back again today. Here’s my eats!

-1 cup water
-1/3 cup oat bran
-banana
-raisins
-cinnamon
-cinnamon honey
This was simple yet really good! I love the way the honey gets all liquidy and coats the whole bowl with flavour! I filled my travel mug with a flavour of TAZO tea that I've never had before....Lotus! This was courtesy of Mara and I loved it.

I spent the morning elbow deep in keypunching so it went by pretty quick. I made myself a latte from the office machine to go along with my dates. I was feeling the need for something warm and cozy!
I got some more magazine time in on the bike again today. I also did 3 set of 10 (girly) push ups as per the BBBC. I still have to get at today’s leg lifts but I figure they’ll be perfect for commercial breaks during the Biggest Loser later on! Here’s my stats!

Time: 50 minutes
Avg Hr: 125
Max Hr: 137
Calories Burned: 286

For lunch I warmed up a serving of vegan chili which I then topped with plain NF yogurt.
Man, oh man I love this stuff! I followed this up with a 1/2 a piece of sweet potato bread....
Before I left I broke into my fruit salad. This had strawberries, grapes and an orange. This is a combination that I’m partial to!
I didn't end up eating all of it, though!! I've got the rest saved for tomorrow. I'm sure there will be something else added to it by then! :)

A lady I work with has a good friend that is in the process of moving from Michigan to Ontario. Over the weekend his pantry got cleaned out and was very thoughtfully given to me! Hell, yeah!!! There was SO much....

Assorted boxes of pasta, 3 boxes of popcorn, granola bars, spices galore and a special delivery of Panera's Asiago cheese bread.
Muffin mix, 4 boxes of couscous, 3 boxes of Shake and Bake, Hamburger Helper x 2, Chicken helper, taco filling, pilaf, beans x 2, refried beans....
Oats, A1 marinade, jams, extracts, seasoning mix packets, salad dressing, tuna, evaporated milk, TJ's Cuban simmer sauce, yeast, muffin liners...
How freakin lucky am I??? Thanks, Mr. C!!! This is especially great because some of the items are not available in Canada and others are such that I wouldn't normally buy. Any suggestions on how to use this wonderful sounding stuff? I've never heard of it before!
Of course I put some of the goods to use at dinner tonight! I had pulled out a pork tenderloin for dinner so I cut it into "chops"and used a packet of Shake and Bake on it.
I also heated up a can of Bush's beans....the bacon maple ones.
With that I made roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes and sauteed kale.
DD got it right when she looked at my plate and exclaimed how colourful it looked! This was one spectacular meal! I bet its been a good 10 years since I've had shake n bake and almost as long since I've had beans, too! For a sweet end I split this marvelous wonder with DD...
Another treat from Mara! It was quite like a Turtle only bigger! Oh, I've been spoiled this week!!
Before you shut down for the night, might I suggest that you cruise on over to visit Gina??? She's got a great vegan recipe book give away going on over there!!

Bye for now!!

BSI: Almonds, a MEME and Treats!

It was another beautiful day in the neighborhood today!! Mr. Rogers, anybody? :)

First up we have “dinner” from last night. By 8pm I was starting to feel hungry so I nuked a 1/3 cup oats, 1 cup water, cinnamon and dried fruit. Once it thickened up I hit it with mocha hazelnut sprinkles. Tada!
My hubby is back on days this week (YAY!) so the kids and I had to readjust to our morning routine again. Breakfast was a little rushed, but good none the less.
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup Quaker oats
-PB2
-banana
-cinnamon
-peanuts
PB2 is definitely something that I will keep in the pantry. It adds such a great level of peanut flavour to dishes!

I’m on early lunch today (11:30) so I only ate a small snack before going to the gym.
DATES!! DD and I stopped at the grocery store yesterday to pick up almonds for my BSI entry (more on that in a bit) and while at the bulk section I noticed that they had the Parnoosh dates. I bought about 1 cup’s worth to get me through the week.

I hit up the stationary bike for a 45 minutes ride today while at the gym. My doctor’s appointment wasn’t until 2:30 and I didn’t want to run until I got the OK from her (or not)! One thing I’m liking about the bike is that I’m able to catch some magazine reading while pedaling away. Makes the time go by SO MUCH faster!

Time: 45 minutes
Avg Hr: 136
Max Hr: 149
Calories Burned: 324
Distance: 5.28 miles

Lunch today was a portion of the buttered “chickpeas” that I made for dinner Saturday night. Including that portion that I ate Saturday, about 1.5 cups worth, I got 6 servings from the batch which I froze for quick meals. Again, I served this over a bed of baby spinach.
Lunch dessert was orange and grapefruit segments that I brought home from the shower yesterday;
I left work at 2pm for my much anticipated ankle appointment. The news was not what I was hopping for AT ALL. I have Achilles tendinitis in both feet. Yes, both of them. Booya! I will be going for some x-rays first thing in the morning and have also scheduled some appointments with a physiotherapist. Doc says I'm to be "kind"to my feet for 6 weeks. Crap. In trying to stay positive, I'll be using this the next 6 weeks to work on my upper body strength and my core. And I have the OK to use the stationary bike. The therapist will advise me as to when I can slowly return to more activity. I just have to remember that things could be worse and some people certainly have it worse. So, moving on....

I was tagged by Manda to do a meme! Hope you enjoy!

8 THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO:

*Summer
*Trip to visit my best friend
*Shopping trip to the US
*DD’s dance recital in June
*Birth of my friends baby
*Pilates on Friday
*Healthy feet!
*Going to the farmers market this weekend

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:

*skate well
*sing
*drive a motorcycle
*travel more
*Speak different languages
* Type faster
*the splits
*pick and choose the hours that I work

8 SHOWS THAT I WATCH:

*Law & Order:SVU
*CSI: Vegas
*The Biggest Loser
*The Amazing Race
*The Mentalist
*48 Hour Mystery
*Mystery Diagnosis
*Dr. G: Medical Examiner

I’ve had a lot of inquiries into where I got this cute bowl…
I bought it at Pier 1 Imports. They had other colours as well as the yellow! It also came with a cute white spoon. I can’t remember exactly what it cost, but it couldn’t have been much or I wouldn’t have bought it!! :)

I was a little snacky when I got home so I ate a piece of Sweet potato bread that I made Sunday morning. I used the banana bread recipe from the Hungry Girl cookbook and traded the bananas off for the same amount of sweet potato!
It turned out tres tasty, but a little dense. I think I should've cut back a bit with the sweet potato puree. No matter, it still tastes awesome!! The only issue in eating this was that I totally ruined my dinner appetite!
Last night after the race I finally got to work on my BSI recipe for the week! I decided to turn my basic cornbread recipe into something more "mature"! I give you Blueberry Almond Cornbread...
-3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
-1/4 cup almond meal
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tap salt
-3/4 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze of "milk" of your choice
-1/4 cup egg beaters or 1 egg, beaten
-1 tsp olive oil
-1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
-2 tbsp agave
-1/3 cup blueberries
-1/3 cup slivered almonds

*mix first 9 items together until combined
*gently fold in blueberries
*pour batter into an 8x8 greased baking dish
*top with slivered almonds
*bake for 25 minutes at 425*
*cut into 9 squares and enjoy!

I was very happy with the way this recipe turned out! So happy in fact, that I ate 2 pieces last night!

I'm just now eating my dinner while I type this out. I made a super quick tilapia sandwich on an English muffin with some cheese leftover from the party, lettuce and fig preserves. YUM! I just pan cooked the fish with a little EVOO and salt & pepper. I had some more party leftovers....fruit...as my side.
Monday's I'm free to eat what I want without cooking for the fam because the kids eat dinner at my parents house so my hubby and I just grab whatever we feel like!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least....I had a GREAT package waiting for me when I returned home today. Mara and I did a little blogger exchange and I was dancing around my living room excited when I saw all the goodies she sent me!
My hubby and I broke into the dark chocolate covered almonds right away. I can't wait to try and review every awesome goodie in the box! Thanks, Mara! This package made my day!

I hope everyone enjoys their evening!

Bye for now!!

A Baby Shower

Hello, friends!!!! I’m going to start today’s post off with a bit of a review from yesterday, K? So, I mentioned that DD and I went to the market. The one we went to is practically in my backyard it’s so close. I really have no excuse for not going there year round except that I really don’t like to go out in the cold!! It was such a beautifully warm day that there were some vendors set up outside. I’m so excited to resume our weekly market trips!!!

At noon DS had a ball hockey game. It was at the rink that is a stone’s throw away so we walked down. Gotta take advantage of the sunshine! Too bad this is the only game that they play there. The rest are across town. Anywho, DS decided to take his turn at playing goalie. Let’s just say he’s glad that’s over with! Net doesn’t have near the excitement that he craves in a sport! I took a few pictures of him seeing as I figure it’ll be awhile before I see him suited up again. Here he is with my hubby and the other coach tag teaming to get the leg pads on…
All ready to go!
Getting some tips from one of the coaches (there are 3 including my hubby). This particular coach played OHL hockey for 5 years and has always been a goalie.
Then there was lunch and errands which I already discussed. One thing I didn’t share was the storm the whipped up just as we were leaving the last store. I have honest to God never been caught in such a fierce wind. Just as I was driving out of the lot in this viciousness, we saw a poor young Mom and her baby who was in a stroller. She was in a panic because the wind was literally picking the buggy right up off the ground. I stopped and my Hubby got out, scooped her and the babe in the van and threw the stroller in back. We drove her home which ended up being just across the street, but I would’ve gone where ever we needed to. She was so grateful, but in complete shock from the scare. Poor thing!!

I got hungry for a snack by 9pm last night so I made myself a yummy treat with yogurt!
This was 1/2 a cup of plain 1% yogurt, a little dried fruit, some fresh strawberries and a scoopful of that homemade granola. As tasty as this was, I think it was the cute bowl that brought it all together!! :) Here’s the dry fruit that I used.
It’s a mix of apples, dates, raisins and cranberries.

Let's move on to today, shall we? After waking from a wonderful nights sleep, I made my way down to the kitchen for some breakfast that I had been thinking about since before going to bed!
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup Quaker oats
-cinnamon
-1/3 of a package of silken tofu
-mango
-pecan pieces
I attacked the ingredients with my immersion blender then topped it off with some pecan pieces. This was as good as I had been imagining it would be!

A good friend of mine is expecting in June and today was her baby shower! The festivities started at 2pm and I knew it would take a good hour to get there so I spent some QT with my computer before hitting the shower at 11:30. Once out, I sat down to a toasted WW homemade PB and cinnamon honey sandwich.
This was a small fry which I did purposely because I wasn't really hungry but didn't want to head out hungry. I have big food control issues when it comes to platters of goodies staring at me! Once DD and I were ready to hit the road I had my hubby snap a picture of us!
I also made a green monster for the ride down. This one contained strawberries, mango, flax seed, soy milk and tons of spinach!
The shower was a success and my friend looks so happy and healthy! I can't wait until her baby is born in June. As predicted, there was a lot of food! Here's plate #1....it's pretty self explanatory;
Plate #2 was some more crackers & cheese, focaccia bread and one lonely meatball.
They served an ice cream cake for dessert. Sorry for the crappy picture...I was trying to be quick!!!
This was good, but I scraped all the icing off. Just not a fan of the stuff! There was quite a bit of leftover food and we were all urged to take some home with us. Just look at what grandma-to-be packed up for us!!!

Jeezum crow!!! The boys were sure happy to see all this come through the front door! I've already laid claim to the fruits and veggies. They can fight over the rest!

Well, it's pushing 7pm here and I still have scads of stuff to do tonight before the Amazing race comes on. For now I am not hungry in the least but I have a feeling that may change later on. If it does, I've already planned to have either a bowl of cereal or another of oats. Nothing too heavy before bed!

I hope everybody enjoyed their day....and weekend!!

Bye for now!!