Organization!!

I had a yummy bowl of steel cut oatmeal this morning.  I've been trying to change it up a bit and added walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds to my normal banana/pecan/maple syrup combo.  I'm not sure why, but both pictures I took turned out blurry...sorry!

This has really been a blah week, I haven't had very many interesting things to blog about.  Today was so busy at work but I love those days.  Usually my motivation is directly proportional to how busy I am - very busy = high motivation.  I went from one meeting to the next and tried to answer emails in between and that went on non stop all day!

I did manage to break away at lunch to grab a ham, prosciutto and mozzarella panini.  I took it back to work and ate at my desk.  The sandwich had kind of a funny flavor to it and was dry.  It would have been better with some kind of flavored mayonnaise.

I also got a chai tea latte with my sandwich.  This is the second one I've had in a week that I just wanted to throw in the trash after a few sips. This one was too sweet and tasted like the seasonal lattes that Starbucks has during the holidays (Egg Nog or Gingerbread).  I much prefer the chai lattes I make at home.  Maybe I'm not doing it "right", but it's better for me so I guess I don't care.  Someday I'll post about that and show you how I make them.

I didn't get home until almost 7pm and this is what I came home to:

I wish I had "before" pictures, it was totally full and unorganized.  I wish I could take credit, but I'm really not capable of such organization.  I wish I were...but it was all Matt.  Thanks honey!  :)  I love opening the pantry now and I just stand there and admire it!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I can't believe how much rain we have gotten lately.  We needed it badly, but I'm ready for it to end...NOW!  I think my motivation matches the weather...dreary.  It seems like most Mondays are like that for me so I'll just roll with it and look forward.  Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, sunny, and warm!

This morning started with coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with bananas, pecans, and maple syrup.  It was gone before I remembered to take the photo! :)

It appears I will be making a lot of Green Monsters for the foreseeable future.  My son decided he loves them and wants one every day for breakfast.  I made him one before school this morning and then I made one for myself to take to work.  I had it as a snack later in the afternoon.  We liked this new flavor.

Mango Zico, splash of coconut milk, chia seeds, 1/2 banana, Bartlett pear, spinach, and kale.

This made a really good snack, it wasn't too filling but I felt totally satisfied after drinking it.  I must have been really hungry today because I can't manage to get any pictures before I dig in!  Sorry! 

Dinner was ho-hum tonight, and then we spent the evening helping our neighbors drink the leftover beer from the party on Saturday. 

Almost...But Not Quite

I'm sooooo close to being done with the painting.  I just need to do the trimming, but I already have everything taped off, so hopefully it will go quick!  Stay tuned for pictures later this week.

I would consider today to be productive since I did get a lot of painting done, although I didn't even get dressed or get out of the house.  I was hoping to run, but the weather was rainy off and on and I was really focused on my painting project so I'll try to make some time for that tomorrow. 

I took a break from painting to have lunch with the kids.  We had sandwiches with sprouts again (well, mine had sprouts) and some grape tomatoes.

 

 Mesquite smoked turkey, white cheddar, sprouts, mayo, and cilantro pesto on whole grain pita.

Later I made a Green Monster as a snack and my son split it with me.  He LOVED it and begged me to make more!

Vita Coco with pineapple, chia seeds, banana, frozen cherries, spinach, and kale.

We have really been on a hummus kick lately.  Tonight we had my Chicken Shawarma with hummus, a cucumber, tomato, red pepper, and red onion relish, and whole grain pita bread. 

 

**For those of you who use chia seeds, or are interested in trying them, I found a great deal!  This seems to work most of the time...go to Google and type in "chia oil" (without the quotes).  The first sponsored link is usually for Puritan's Pride and it offers 40% off Chia Seed Oils plus free shipping.  If you click on that link, it's not just the oil that's on sale, but the seeds too.  I got FIVE 16oz. jars for $25 with free shipping!  That's a great price - I paid $16.99 for the same amount at a local store.

I've Created a Monster!

This morning I just wasn't in the mood for my oatmeal (I know, shocking!), but I had some Strawberry Papaya left over from the Exotic Fruit Plate the other day and I got an idea...

 

I made a Green Monster!  I believe I first read about Green Monsters on Healthy Tipping Point (she writes a great blog - check it out!).  Since then though, they seem to be popping up in lots of things I'm reading.  Everyone raves about them, so I decided to give it a whirl.

I used a Zico passion fruit flavored coconut water, 1 scoop of chia seeds, 1 banana, 1/2 strawberry papaya, and a bowl full of spinach.  Here's how it came out:

It was REALLY green and REALLY yummy!  Totally sweet with no spinach-y taste whatsoever!  It kept me satisfied most of the morning and it felt good to have such a healthy breakfast.

I had some errands to run at lunch, so just grabbed a half sandwich with a side of mac 'n' cheese at Panera.

 

Thier mac 'n' cheese is really good, but it just tasted so rich to me today that I couldn't finish it.  I didn't eat any more of it after I took this picture.  

Later, I wanted a snack and I had these to choose from:

The choice seemed obvious until I looked at the nutritional info.

 

Wow...not at all what I expected.  I have never been one to count calories, but I was shocked that this yogurt has so many calories and so much fat!  I'm typically a "full fat" type of person but I think I will have to check out the lower fat version of this yogurt if I'm going to keep eating it. 

I still chose the yogurt because, even though it was chock full of calories and fat, it still seemed like it would be more healthy and it just sounded better to me.  

I didn't make it home in time to run, so I have been bummed all evening!  I'm going to begin my countdown to the beginning of Daylight Saving Time!!  After March 15, it will be so much easier to get home in time to run before the sun goes down and I'll just be a happier person in general! :)

Dinner tonight was pretty simple, but still yummy.  We grilled chicken, roasted veggies, and served it with couscous.  The couscous was for my son who decided he really likes that stuff!

I covered my chicken with Texafrance Cilantro Pesto.  I don't know if anyplace other than Texas carries this brand of pesto, but it is fabulous!  They have several different variations such as Cilantro, Poblano, Chipotle, regular, etc.  I've tried the Poblano and now the Cilantro and seriously I could have eaten them with a spoon!

 

I have a big day tomorrow since I'm facilitating an all day meeting.  Off to bed I go!

CH-CH-CH-CHIA!

We now have a new staple in our house and it's the Chia seed.  This little thing is a power house even though it's about the size of the seeds in a kiwi fruit.  I found a new blog a few weeks ago that I really love to read - it's called "Eat, Live, Run" - you really should check it out.  Anyway, I kept noticing that chia seeds were mentioned in a few of her posts (I think she normally puts them in her oatmeal) and wondered what in the heck they were.  See them below next to the penny as a size reference.

I did some research and learned that there's pretty much nothing bad about these tiny seeds that are considered a "Super Food".  I brought some home last night and we all tried them and decided we will incorporate chia seeds in our food.  Every so often throughout the evening my son would break into the chia song, "Ch-ch-ch-chia!" and Matt and I would just crack up!   

We woke up this morning and Matt and I were both craving eggs.  When I found out there were only two left, I let him have them and started digging in the fridge for my oatmeal.  Oh how disappointed I was when I realized I had eaten the last of it yesterday and didn't prepare a new batch last night.  I could have eaten rolled oats, but I'm telling you - they're like night and day, they don't even taste the same to me so I just didn't bother.  Instead, I fixed one of my multi grain bagels with almond butter and honey.

 

I took the kids with me to run some errands.  We had several places to go including buying a birthday present for Matt/Daddy.  Our first stop was the grocery store where we had fun picking out several exotic fruits to try. 

 

Here's our loot.  Watch tomorrow for our fruit tasting!

 

Our next stop was to get some supplies for a new project which will remain secret for a few days, but I'll give this picture below as a hint.

After our errands, we picked Matt up and went to our favorite local burger place.  

 

Everything there is fresh and made on site, they even form the patties and cut the fries behind a window for everyone to see.  It's so worth the thousand calories!!

 

This was a very late lunch, so it served as dinner too.  

I felt like I accomplished a lot today, but I didn't do everything I intended to do.  It was a jam packed day and a couple of the things that have been on my To Do list for a while now keep getting carried forward as time runs out.  I MUST get them done tomorrow!  I am making that commitment now "publicly" so it's harder to back out (forcing my motivation)...tomorrow I WILL run at least 4 miles and I WILL paint the game room!