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!!