The next big thing
Posted: July 1, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: coffee, push-ups, trail mix, watermelon 42 Comments »Whee!! Good morning! I started mine off with an incredibly sweaty spin class at 6 this morning. Now I’m feeling energized and ready to tackle the day. I ate a banana before spin, and then came home to shower and cool off/rehydrate with watermelon…
And trail mix and coffee. Neither of those helped with the re-hydration, but they tasted good.
Walnuts, almonds, PB Bumpers cereal, coconut, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds (on the bottom)
I love coffee.
***
Okay, so the last challenge I made for myself was running fast. Done. I can now run fast. However…
I have a confession: I cannot do one single push-up.
Sure, I can do them from my knees, and I can do a wimpy version from my toes where I only go about halfway to the floor, but I want to be able to do REAL push-ups. Like military style two-inches-from-the-ground push ups. So my next big thing is going to be a push-up challenge! I know Teri did one of these a while back, but I was to chicken to join in, so I’m doing it now.
I will be able to do at least 25 consecutive push-ups by the end of this month. (I’m scared just typing that.) When I accomplish that goal, I will up the number to 50. I’m really scared, but I’m going to do it anyway. Care to join?
Also, keep those questions coming!! What do you want to know about me??
Fruity Morning
Posted: June 28, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: apple, blackberries, coffee, flax, mango, milk, walnuts 14 Comments »Good Morning!
Let’s start it off with some fruit cereal and coffee.
Fruit cereal is one of my favorite things on Earth – there are endless combinations, and they are all delicious. Kind of like a Starbucks menu.
This morning’s mix: apple, blackberries, mango, walnuts, flax seed + vanilla soy milk
And I again wanted to say a humongous THANK YOU to you all for your sweet comments regarding my kitty Bellatrix. I still feel really sad about the whole ordeal, but I am grateful to have 2 other lovely pets to shower my love on right now. In fact, I need to hustle out the door and take Punky for a walk before it gets to be a scorcher out there…
Happy Monday!
Onward and Upward
Posted: June 27, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: blackberries, cereal, coffee 12 Comments »Good Morning! I can’t tell you all how much I appreciated your comments and emails about losing my kitty yesterday! I was overwhelmed by your kindness – thank you, thank you, thank you. I was pretty gloomy yesterday, but I awoke this morning feeling refreshed and ready to move onward and upward.
I started with this…
Peanut Butter Bumpers, blackberries, soy milk
Y el café…
Homemade, but in a leftover Starbucks cup.
Now I’m off to church, then possible the puppy park after that. I hope you all have relaxing and fun Sundays – thank you again for all of your wonderful words yesterday.
Breakfast Parfait
Posted: June 23, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: banana bliss, chia seed pudding, coffee 22 Comments »Good morning! I feel like I’ve been in a bit of breakfast rut, so I pulled out all the stops this morning.
Chia seed pudding + banana soft serve parfait and coffee
I was inspired by my last chia seed success to make this:
- ¼ cup walnuts, soaked in water and drained
- ¼ cup soy milk
- ¼ cup water
- ½ banana
- 1 tbs. dried coconut
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- Sprinkle of nutmeg
…all this went into the blender until smooth. Then I combined it with ¼ cup chia seeds, and stirred every 5 minutes (or so) until it had turned into pudding. I also added a splash more water towards the end because it was looking a little dry. Then just whipped some frozen bananas into banana bliss, and layered into the cup! Easy, peasy, lemon chia squeezy.
Breakfast beauties.
Also, today is my nephew Easton’s 2ndbirthday!
Happy birthday, little man! I hope you get to pet a kitty and eat some cake today!
A little flax in my coffee
Posted: June 18, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: almond milk, banana, coffee, oats, peanut butter 13 Comments »Good Morning! The happiest of Friday to you all! I’m currently soaking up the sun at my kitchen table. A cat by my side, a dog at my feet. Life is good.
What’s in the bowl?
More of this yummy mess with an apple to dunk. It’s a little runnier today because I had to change the recipe a bit. My food processor BROKE…sad day. Luckily, I had a little mini food processor in the pantry – but it didn’t work as well. I had to thin the mix out with a little almond milk. In the end, it was: ¼ cup raw oats, ¾ frozen banana, 1 tbs. peanut butter, ¼ cup almond milk. It was as tasty as ever, and the apple dunkers were kind of fun.
I also had a new coffee this morning…
This has been sitting in our pantry for months…eeek. I was a little worried, but it turned out to be yummy!
If you’re wondering what all that grit in the coffee grinder is…it’s ground flax seed. I didn’t wash it out last time I used it for that purpose. A little flax in the coffee grounds never hurt anyone.
Now I’m full and ready to tackle the day! First up, take Punky for a walk. Then yoga at 10am, mow the lawn, lunch and it’s up in the air after that…
Happy, happy Fabulous Friday! (that is what the janitor at my school – Mr. Walt – says every Friday morning when I walk in the door.)
Sunny
Posted: June 16, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: banana, coffee, oats, peanut butter 24 Comments »
Sitting in the sun and eating out of an ice cream bowl for breakfast is fun.
I woke up craving this breakfast again. Just 3 healthy ingredients into the food processor for a minute or two: one frozen banana, ¼ cup raw oats, 1 tbs. peanut butter. Then I like to top mine with cinnamon. Perfect for a summer morning (whenyouareateacherandyoudon’thavetowork). Now I’m off to take The Punk for a walk, and then to a spin class at noon.
Have a sunny Wednesday!
Small and Mighty
Posted: June 14, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast | Tags: banana, cinnamon, coffee, oats, peanut butter 12 Comments »Good Morning! (I realize that it’s 10am, and many of you live in a time-zone where it’s already lunch). As for me, it’s still (sort of) morning, I’m still expeRAWmenting, and it just led me to an incredible breakfast.
It looks small, but that little bowl really packed a punch.
It was like a cross between ice cream and frosting – absolutely delicious. 10x better than cooked oats in my opinion. Into the food processor went: one frozen banana, 1/3 cup raw rolled oats, 1 tbs. peanut butter and then topped with cinnamon
Plus coffee.
Punky is starting to get restless, so I guess it is time for our walk! Hope you all have yummy Mondays!
Broccoli and Chocolate
Posted: June 1, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, cake, Delish Dinners, dessert, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: broccoli, coffee, green beans, hummus, jicama, POM, salad, smoothie, spinach, sweet potato, tofu, trail mix 37 Comments »Another lovely summer day. I don’t mean to shove it in your faces that I’m on vacation for two months, but really…life is good. I wish you all had summer vacations.
I started the good life this morning with a super smoothie.
1 cup frozen spinach, ½ cup frozen blackberries, ¼ cup POM juice, ½ banana, water
Bellatrix was curiously investigating the mix…
I was a good housewife after breakfast and I walked the dog, did the laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and then had a snack and some coffee before heading to the gym.
I did a sweaty spin class this morning, and left feeling fantastic. When I got home, it was time for lunch.
I can’t stop with the salads lately. Let’s see if I can remember everything in this baby…
- lettuce
- broccoli slaw
- jicama
- ½ sweet potato
- red pepper hummus
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
I was sad when this was over, so I had another smaller salad with the exact same ingredients. Spin classes make me hungry.
I also had some of my favorite summer fruit (by the way, a lot of you are with me on the wonderfulness of watermelon, but peaches ranked pretty high up there too…I say they’re tied)
Eaten with a single chopstick.
I went to Target after lunch (got a cute dress and some new workout clothes!) then came home to start on dinner.
Baked tofu (at 450* for 30 minutes, flip halfway between), grilled broccoli and green beans, all dipped in a mix of ketchup + spicy mustard + worcestershire sauce
Yummy, edible shrubbery.
For dessert?
Chocolate cake balls. Much like fudge babies, this was a food processor product of walnuts, Medjool dates, cocoa powder, vanilla and a pinch of salt.
If you had to eat just TWO things for the rest of your life, what would they be? After today, I say broccoli and chocolate. The answer will probably change tomorrow.
Google It Up
Posted: May 17, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Delish Dinners, dessert, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: almonds, banana, chicken, chocolate, coffee, egg, hummus, milk, salad, salsa, zucchini 25 Comments »I started this morning with a lot of moving. At 5:00am I walked the dog. At 6:00am I did some weight lifting, and at 7:00am I walked to school. The morning was so pleasant that I just didn’t want to stop enjoying it. However, lots of moving leads to lots of hunger.
One egg, salsa, two slices of ww bread
I love my milk frother. This was an old leftover starbucks cup with ¾ coffee and ¼ steamed milk. I packed the sandwich in foil, put a lid on the coffee and hoofed it to school. The breakfast sandwich was enjoyed while checking email at my desk. 6 days, 6 days, 6 days…
At lunchtime I was beyond hungry. My lunch did very little to stop the grumbling.
Leftover chicken and zucchini
Cheese and crackers
a mini packet of M&Ms given to by a student
The day was so nice and warm that I took both of my afternoon classes outside to write poetry in the sunshine. I just strolled around listening to 8 year-old wisdom and soaking up the rays. It was glorious. After school, I headed to my after-school job in the office and had some homemade cheerio trail mix.
Cheerios, chocolate chips, almonds, pepitas
I left just after 6:00pm and walked home in the warm sunshine. I can’t even express how much I love the longer daylight hours of summer. Upon entering the door, I quickly made a taco salad.
Lettuce, shredded carrot, ground turkey, salsa, hummus, crumbled chips
The salad was so voluminous that I had to transfer it to a mixing bowl in order to eat it. Don’t believe me?
Proof.
For dessert, I made an insanely simple, delicious and healthy ice cream.
Just like a frosty. Into my food processor I put: one frozen banana, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, splash of milk
In the 3rd grade world…
My students have taken to using the phrase “google it up” – and I fear that I’m to blame. I don’t remember ever saying this, but it sounds like something I would glibly say in response to a question. For example…
Mrs. Unger, do you know what the alternative name for Orion’s Nebula is?
No, I don’t Timmy…I’ll have to google that up later.
Like I said, I don’t recall ever using that phrase, but I sometimes feel so comfortable with my students that I slip into the habit of using tremendously casual speech. I wouldn’t put it past myself. Either way, some of my students now think that “google it up” is a perfectly legitimate term for “doing research”
I would correct them, but honestly, I think it’s hilarious.
Sweet Weekend
Posted: May 1, 2010 Filed under: Breakfast, Mid-Day Yummies | Tags: chipotle, coconut butter, coffee, fruit cereal, guacamole, protein pancakes, salad, scone, shopping 18 Comments »Good Morning and happy weekend! The sun is finally shining here, and I’m a happy camper. Yesterday’s Rachel’s Challenge presentation was incredible. Just incredible. I’m so glad I went.
Afterwards, we went to Chipotle for lunch.
Chicken salad with guacamole…deeeelish.
Then my mom, grandma, aunt and I went shopping for the afternoon. I’m not a big shopper (in fact, I really dislike it) but it was so fun being with the fam. Plus my mama bought me a purse that I’m so in love with.
I kind of have a thing for Audrey Hepburn, so when my mama saw this, she insisted that I own it. She’s pretty awesome. After shopping we went back to mis padres house and had a little snack before I drove back home.
Blueberry scone + some coffee – perfection.
For dinner, I was in the mood for more fruit cereal. This stuff is addicting.
Banana, apple, blueberries, coconut. The best part about adding blueberries is the purple milk.
Meeker and I stayed up late last night just catching up. We have both been so busy that it felt like we hadn’t even talked in weeks. Yay for weekends! This morning I slept until about 8:30, then woke up to make something yummy.
Chocolate Protein Pancakes!
Inspired by HEAB, I created this breakfast treat.
- ¾ cup egg whites (equal to about 7 large eggs)
- ¼ tsp. cream of tartar
Put that in an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Then add:
- 1 egg yolk
- 30 grams unsweetened protein powder
- ¼ cup oats
- 1 tbs. Nunaturals Baking Blend
- 1 tbs. cocoa powder
-
1 tsp. cinnamon
Blend until combined then cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes per side. Quick and easy. I topped mine with a tablespoon of coconut butter. Next time I might add a tad bit more liquid, as they were pretty dense. However, they were super tasty and I felt good about eating them.
Enjoy your Saturdays immensely.
