BSI: Peppermint!

Ahhhh…I finally got to sleep in a little this morning! I went in for my 8:30 start time today…finally!! This gave me an extra half hour of sleep. Last night I had thought to get up early anyways and get some Wii yoga in, but my bed won and I’m glad it did! Both of my kids were coughing quite a bit through the night so I didn’t sleep well! *sigh* mommy woes!

Breakie was a good one today! I tried out my new Vitasoy chocolate peppermint…

-1/2 cup water
-1/2 cup Vitasoy peppermint chocolate beverage
-1/3 cup oat bran


This bowl may not be pretty to look at, but don’t be deceived….it was awesome! I also made a coffee last night a poured about ½ cup of the Vitasoy in and what a difference! YUM!

Speaking of last night, I snacked on a granny smith apple with a nice glob of almond butter for dipping. The tartness of the apple paired with the AB was out of this world! OH! I also sprinkled the apple with some cinnamon sugar….


I also made my BSI recipe last night. Thanks to Ashley @ Sweet & Natural for picking such a great, challenging ingredient. I must say that this version produced MUCH better results!!! Here ya go….

Peppermint Snack Cake

-1 box white cake mix
-1 can any diet soda
-1/2 tsp peppermint extract
-green food colouring
-1/2 cup powdered sugar
-approx 2 Tbsp milk (I used Almond Breeze)
-crushed candy canes

*combine cake mix and can of soda and stir until batter forms
*stir peppermint extract in
*add enough green food colouring to make the mix green
*pour into a bunt pan and bake at 350* for 40 minutes

At this point you want to allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes before inverting it onto a plate to cool completely.

*combine powdered sugar and milk until you get a smooth, silky consistency
*drizzle over cooled cake and sprinkle with crushed candy cane




I have to be quite honest and say that this cake looked a little funny being green and all, but it tasted really good! The peppermint wasn’t overwhelming at all, but if you’re hesitant, use only a ¼ tsp of the extract. I brought half the cake to work for the staff kitchen and it was gone within a few hours, but most importantly, I didn’t hear any complaints!

No run at lunch today. I had a few errands to run before the weekend. ‘Tis the season to be extra busy, I guess! I nibbled (OK, inhaled!) these 2 PB cups as I was walking out the door.


Lunch today was a toasted muesli bagel, cream cheese and apple slices. Mmmm! It would’ve been even better if I had a panini press handy!

I also had a ½ cup of yogurt with a scoop of pineapple coconut jam.


I placed a Christmas order with one of our local high schools for sugar cookies. I buy these every year for the kids to take to their class Christmas party.
Aren't they cute??

My hubby had a hair appointment at 5:15 and I still had a few things to do so I dropped him off and finished up my errands. Before we left I ate an English muffin with Sabra hummus as a snack to tide me over.


We had to go to Costco to pick up an order that came in so we grabbed some Subway to go. I had my usual 6" turkey on whole wheat with lettuce, tomato, green peppers,cucumbers, black olives Swiss and sweet onion dressing.


Thankfully Costco wasn't super busy so we made good time! DS is on the ice tomorrow at 6am so it'll be an early morning. We plan to leave around 8ish for Buffalo. Can't wait to stock up on Fage, Old Wessex 5-Grain cereal, Jenni-o and other goodies! Also, we will be having lunch at Panera! My favorite place! Hope everyone is enjoying their Friday night!

Bye for now!!

Work Overload!

I wanted to take a moment first thing to thank everyone for their heart felt comments on my post yesterday! Time heals, but the wound will always remain. So I really appreciate the well wishes! THANKS!!

I was a little disappointed with my oats today. I was trying to replicate Tim Horton’s Candy Cane hot chocolate, but it didn’t quite fit the bill. It was still really good, but you know how it is when you’re expecting a certain taste and it not there, right?!


-1 cup water
-1/2 cup flax seed porridge
-1 envelope diet Swiss Miss
-1 tsp peppermint extract


Like I said, good, but not great! I was searching for a stray candy cane on the tree, too, for a garnish but they seem to have all disappeared! Darn kids! :)

After posting last night, I did all the (unlocked) yoga moves on my Wii Fit. That’s 8 positions. I think I had about 15ish credits which I believe translates into minutes. Either way, I was nice and stretched out just in time to watch The Biggest Loser. Now would be a good time to do a….

*BAKING REVIEW!* As I mentioned last night, I baked up some gingerbread which was still too hot to taste when I posted. I broke out (well, cut) a piece to sample while watching the Biggest Loser. YUM-O!! Just as good as I remember. The molasses really shines through in this recipe. Here are some photos!

Fresh out of the oven:


Naked:


All dressed up with a dollop of strained yogurt and cinnamon sugar:


The morning whizzed by at lightening speed and before I knew it, it was noon! Yeah! Half way through the day at this point and Wednesday just so happens to be “Wii Wednesday”!!! I did all the strength moves available to me. These include the following;

-single leg extensions x 10 reps each side
-push ups & side planks x 10 reps
-torso twist x 6 reps each side
-jack knife x 20 reps
-lunges x 15 reps each side
-rowing squat x 30 (according to my Wii “trainer”, I’m not strong enough for this yet!)
-single leg twist x 20 reps each side
-sideways leg lifts x 10 reps each side
-plank 60 seconds
-tricep extension x 10 reps each side
-arm & leg lift x 10 reps each side

My legs were pretty shaky on the way back to work! PHEW! Lunch was leftover stir fry from Monday night. I rolled some of it into a kid size flatout wrap.


Even better the second time around! I also ate some grapes around 3:30pm.


Work was SO hectic today! I stayed an extra ½ hour AND some work came home with me! ARGH! Actually, I can’t complain because we can bank our OT at time and a half and use it as time off at a later date.

Because I have work to do tonight, we had breakfast for dinner! My hubby had a headache and wasn't too hungry and the kids LOVE eggs so this meal suited every one's appetite! I had a 1/3 cup of egg beaters with some jalapeno Havarti tucked inside, a small piece of turkey bacon and salad.



See the cheese poking out there on the left? Mmmm! I ended up eating another serving of salad about as big as what you see here. I used a Wishbone Bountiful salad dressing.



I really enjoy this line of dressing. They're almost thick enough to be a salsa!

Well, I must be off to get my work done. I want it to be complete before SYTYCD Canada starts at 8pm. Can't miss that show!! Enjoy your Wednesday evening!

Bye for now!!