Hot coffee in the coffee pot and hot oatmeal in the slow cooker.

Hubby’s been doing a great job setting this up every night. Nothing like having coffee waiting for you!

Today we tried the new fall flavor I picked up recently – Pumpkin Spice from The Fresh Market!! Yuuuummmm!

Oatmeal waiting for me was killer!

I used Alton Brown’s recipe as a guideline, but got paranoid about burnt oatmeal after reading all the reviews, so I switched up the cooking method.

Here’s what I did for my Slow Cooker Oatmeal:

• Mixed up 1 cup steel cut oats with 4 cups water and 1/2 cup 1% organic milk in the slow cooker.
• Cooked the mixture over Warm for 8 hours.
• After waking up, I turned the slow cooker to hight for 30 minutes.
• I served myself a bowl and moved the rest to individual containers to cool and store in the fridge and freezer

Notes:

• I didn’t add any fruit or sweeteners because I knew I’d make several portions for later and I want to pick my mixins later.
• I’d like to try adding mixins like dried fruit, chia seeds, etc. to the original batch in the future to see how it turns out.
• Many reviews said the Low temp (which is what you’re supposed to use according to Alton’s recipe) resulted in burned oats. I think I’m going to experiment cooking mine on Low but during the day so I can stop them before they’re burning. The 8 hours on Warm with 30 minutes on High trick seemed to work well enough for today.
• Please don’t use rolled oats – they’re totally not going to work with this cooking method (at least that’s what all the reviews on Alton’s recipe said…but it seems to make logical sense).
• I think this dish would be fabulous for a brunch party.
• Random Thought – I’d really like to bring some of these to work some time…maybe some new people would find out they really like oatmeal?

I made another mini me bowl of oats for hubby today.

I mixed in a sliced banana, plus flaxseed meal, chia seed, sliced almonds, with a couple cranberries on top.

The mixins were strange today because I mixed them in post-cooking. When I re-heat the rest of the oats, I plan to do so stovetop, which will make it much easier to incorporate mixins. At least that’s what I’m expecting.

My kitchen felt like an oatmeal factory today! Look at all the servings I have for later! These are each about 2/3 – 3/4 cup servings.

***

If you guessed my errand today was going to the DMV, you were right!

I tried going to the DMV. I mean…I actually went, but when I got in line behind about 40 people, I knew it would be bad. When someone said it would be 3 hours from where we were in line, I decided to leave. Guess I’ll try again next week.

I had a second breakfast later – another delicious rye bagel. Hubby and I may or may not be slightly obsessed with these.

Bailey is so funny. Look at how he gets all comfy on our pillows!

Tulsi tea with honey.

Hubby picked up some dry cleaning for us today. They charged us $15-17 per dress!!!! I don’t do dry cleaning much, but that seems astronomical! Is this normal??

Lunch #1 was ED&BV lentil soup plus some fresh-baked Whole Grain Goodness with a dab of real butter.

Lunch #2 = steamed broccoli with butter and nutritional yeast.

I also had more of that healthy “Lucky Charms” cereal… eaten with a new spoon! Picked this up at a recent garage sale.

And about 2 hours before teaching zumba, I had a smoothie for a pre-workout snack. I normally aim for 1 hour before a workout for pre-workout snacks seem to take me longer to digest.

In the mix:

• frozen mixed organic berries
• banana
• Vanilla rice milk
• Vega Whole Health Optimizer

***

Post work, I taught Zumba tonight! We had a fabulous class with lots of hard songs. I’m trying to make my playlists pretty challenging so people get a really good workout.

Post-zumba I met up with some friends at Yoforia. I just went for the company, though…I didn’t actually eat any froyo! I really wanted dinner first. Can you believe I went to a froyo shop and didn’t get anything?! lol

I had no clue what to eat for dinner, though I did know we didn’t really have much at home. So, I hit up Jason’s. I kind of wanted a turkey wrap, but I ended up getting a turkey melt.

Mostly I picked the melt because I heard sauerkraut is good for you. It seemed like a logical decision…but it tasted…off tonight? Guess I should have listened to my gut. Oh well!

More cereal for me tonight! Nom nom nom!

Ready to try oats in your slow cooker? What’s your favorite thing to cook in a recipe? Please comment with recipes if you have them.

So glad to hear some of you may be trying veggies for breakfast (and that some of you already eat them)! Woohoo! Way to go TCL readers!

Also, I’ve been slacking off on replying to comments lately so if you’ve asked a question and I haven’t responded…I promise I’m getting there!

Know what’s in this slow cooker? Not your average overnight oats…that’s what!

Back to this morning…I must have overeaten last night because I still felt full-ish this morning. Ugh! I was thinking of steaming up more green beans, but I really wanted to eat the leftover pancake I had since I didn’t think it would last much longer. And while fiber from green beans would be filling, I thought protein in the form of a fried, local egg would be better.

So, sans veggies, I had a yummy breakfast of an oatmeal pancake with peach compote and a fried local egg.

I had my first pumpkin latte of the season! It was yummers but a little more sweet than I remember. May-haps I’ll ask for less syrup pumps next time?

Lunch was crowder peas from my parents garden with brown rice.

Plus a salad later with spinach, carrots, tomatoes (picked this morning from my garden), sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast and balsamic dressing.

I even got to try some of the healthy “Lucky Charms” I bought for hubby. They’re pretty tasty! I liked them way better than the “real” thing.

Lookie what hubby surprised me with when he came home with groceries. Awwwwwwwwwwww! <3

For dinner, we had rice pilaf and a crab cake made at a local grocery store plus steamed green beans. The crab cake was ok, but I really, really want to try making my own from scratch! Ellie Krieger has a faboo recipe I’ve been itching to try for the longest time.

Dessert tonight was a little unexpected…

…a rye bagel. It really wasn’t dessert, but since it was a post-dinner treat, it sure seemed that way. Hubby and I froze the 20+ bagels my mom got us, but they defrost so nicely. Just defrost in the microwave and bake for a few minutes at 300 degrees F – they taste like they’re fresh from the oven!

Have you noticed how much I like re-heating food in the oven yet?

I was inspired by those Trader Joe’s frozen steel cut oats I got awhile back and googled till I found this Alton Brown recipe for Overnight Oats. No, they’re not rolled oats mixed with yogurt or milk…these are steel cut oats mixed with water and milk and I’m hoping for creamy-luscious oats first thing tomorrow. I’m pretty miuch just cooking oats, water and milk (no fruit or sweeteners) because I want to choose my mixins later.

The reviews seemed really mixed on how the recipe turned out. Apparently, there’s a lot of variation for slow cooker heat-levels. I’m crossing my fingers things turn out ok tomorrow morning.

I have a tough errand to run tomorrow. Any guesses what I’m doing?

Signs of fall are everywhere – from the cooler air

to the leaves on the ground.

These trees are going to be pretty bare soon.

Are you seeing signs of fall around you?

***

Eat Your Greens…For Breakfast!

People put too many rules around the things they eat. I prefer rule-free eating. One of the “rules” that seems to be most commonly observed is what one can and cannot eat at certain times of the day. I mean…you wouldn’t typically eat chocolate cake at breakfast or a hamburger and fries for breakfast, right?

People just…know…what to eat and when.

One thing I’ve never really seen is servings of veggies at breakfast. I mean, sure…sometimes you see omelets or egg scrambles with a lil bit of veggies tossed in, but you don’t ever really see a whole SIDE of veggies! Well…I’d like to change this way of thinking…starting with moi. There’s no real reason to not eat veggies at breakfast! It’s an easy way to get another veggie serving in for the day and gets your day started off on the right foot with extra nutrients and goodness fueling your body.

My family sent me home with a giant bag of green beans after our weekend with them, so I decided to go ahead and dig into them first thing this morning.

A quick trip in the steamer basket and…

Behold! Breakfast green beans (topped with some nutritional yeast)!

And poor little green beans just don’t get the credit they deserve. I mean, I’ve always just thought of them as boring ole’ green beans because they’re so commonly eaten.

Did you know this about green beans:

• The Vitamin K in green beans helps keep your bones strong.
• They’re a great source of fiber, plus goodies like Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, Folate, Magnesium and Ribovlavin.
• Green beans have anti-inflammatory nutrients.
• And they’re a really good source of iron! (who knew?)

Read more at WHFoods.com (click).

Breakfast was rounded out with one of those fabulous rye bagels and a fried local egg.

For lunch, I found one last container of that yummy Lemony Lentil soup in the freezer…score!

Plus I had some Dakota toast with MaraNatha Organic Peanut Butter, which I picked up on sale at Whole Foods this past weekend.

Other stuff I picked up…

Tulsi Tea (needed to re-stock!)

Oatmeal to keep at my desk at work when I need a snack.

More chia seeds.

Steel cut oats (think I need to cook some of these in the slow cooker…stat!).

Healthy “Lucky Charms”. Bailey inspected and approved.

Plus I found these neat carob-spirulina-energy squares in the bulk bins! Nom!

Enjoyed 2 mugs of tulsi tea this afternoon. I missed this stuff!

Check out Bailey napping today.

What a weirdo!

I can’t believe he actually gets himself into these positions!

Adora!

I cooked up some crowder peas from my parents garden today. I figured if I just went ahead and cooked them I could eat them the rest of the week.

I had a mini bowl with some brown rice for a pre-workout snack.

Plus a couple of those energy squares.

Hubby played fetch with Bailey today.

He looks like an alligator jumping at that tennis ball, doesn’t he?!

GRRRROMMMPHHHFFFFF!!!!

***

Post work, I went to ZUMBA! I had too many pre-workout snacks so thank goodness I wasn’t teaching tonight and could lay a little low in the back. Still got a great workout and had a FUN time!

***

Post dinner, I went to The Flying Biscuit with some friends.

Sarah and Alex.

Me – happy for such yummy food!

I managed to eat about half of this plate.

And none of this pancake…guess I know what I’m eating tomorrow!

***

So whadya think…would you eat veggies at breakfast? C’mon…I dare you!

So we threw a batch together. Easy-peesy.

Mom went out for a bagel run and came home with 2 dozen of these delicious rye bagels that I adore. I thought she was just getting some for breakfast (though I was hopeful she’d get extra so I could bring some home), but I was really (happily) surprised to see TWO dozen! We obviously can’t eat all of these, but they freeze quite nicely and will be sure to serve as delicious breakfasts for many upcoming mornings.

My parents have had this mug since I can remember. All these years I thought the graphic on the mug was grapes.

Guess I never paid much attention where it clearly says “Coffea”. Doh!

There’s even a story about the origin of coffee on the back of the mug. heehee…guess I know better now! I read the story for the first time today.

Since we had fresh-baked bagels in the house, still warm from baking this morning, we made breakfast around them.

Eggs and cheese plus bacon.

All together now.

***

Before we knew it, it was time to eat again

We had another feast!

Breaded chicken tenders, leftover mac and cheese (Dad-style) and steamed green beans (from their garden).

Plus a nice, sizeable salad with romaine, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and carrot.

By the time lunch was over, the Chic Bars were cool and ready to be cut.

I of course had to sample to verify tastiness. Approved!

Check out what Dad dug out while we were home – Let’s Eat RIght to Keep Fit by Adelle Davis. This is one of the first books on nutrition…by Adelle, who was quite the pioneer in the nutrition industry. As I’ve mentioned before, Dad is quite the health nut and even carried this exact book with him in college!

I read through a few pages and turns out a lot of the info is still relevant today! The saddest thing was that she seemed to talk a lot about areas where we needed to improve the country’s nutrition (school lunches anyone?) that it seems haven’t moved much since she first made her suggestions. Oh well, maybe one day “healthy” will be the prevalent?

Soon enough it was time to get back on the road to head home. Luckily, Sis sent us home with 4 granola bars, which we munched on during our car ride.

Did you know yesterday was National Cheese Pizza day?! Too bad I was too busy stuffing my face with delicious Indian food with Sis to notice. So, today hubby and I celebrated a day late with hot pizza from our fave pizza joint.

We also had salads with baby spinach, baby carrots, sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast (which I got hubby to eat by saying it tasted like parmesan…hey, that’s what I heard for real!).

And post dinner, it was time to head to Caitlin and Kristien’s place for football, friends (Kelly, Brad, and Nicole)…

…more Darn-Good-Chocolate Cake…

…and VINO!

Thanks Caitlin and Kristien for having us over!

What a fabulous end to a fabulous weekend! I can’t believe tomorrow is Tuesday already!

What did you do this past weekend?

The weather here is amazing!

My parents put together a beautiful breakfast today.

Fluffy eggs and cheese, banana nut muffin, potatoes and fresh fruit.

Plus green tea sis made.

Immediately after breakfast, hubby, Sis and I took off to meet friends for disc golf.

To be completely honest, I really didn’t want to go. I’ve dodged the last few invites from Sis due to her inviting me when I couldn’t go (just as we were leaving town…shucks!), but today I had no excuse. I told Sis last week that I’d go so I was locked in this time. I was dreading disc golf all morning. 

See, I don’t like to do things I’m not good at, typically. Never having done disc golf, I just figured I’d be terrible at it. Not only that, I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of my sister’s friends (or sis or hubby) looking like a moron.

But, you know what…I reminded myself that the first time I went to zumba I had similar feelings. I was worried I wouldn’t be good at it, that I’d be too uncoordinated and that I’d embarrass myself in front of others. But I went anyways, fell in love and became an instructor. If I had let fear get the best of me, I wouldn’t be having the fun workouts that I enjoy like I do and I wouldn’t have met many of my amazing friends.

So, I sucked it up and headed out for disc golf today, determined to give it a fair shot. Hubby and I even brought Bailey along for the fun.

And guess what…I had a great time!

I wasn’t all that great at disc golf, but I did meet some cool people, got some QT with hubby, Sis and Bailey and enjoyed plenty of fresh air and sun.

The weather was so nice today, it was really great to be outside.

Group shot: Hubby, Cheri, Michael, Regina, her grand-daughter, Sis.

Action shot!

I had some really terrible throws, but most were average. I did however have 2 highlights:

• 1 fabulous long-distance put that surprised even me
• 1 par hole (got it in 3 shots!)

Sweet!

Cheri got her disc stuck in one of the baskets – totally 0n accident!

Bailey had a really great time – he’s all tuckered out now!

Post disc golf, we headed downtown in search of a treat.

Froyo! We hit up the local froyo place I’ve been wanting to try for the longest time – BlueberryFrog.

I got 1/2 plain, 1/2 peach with mochi cakes (colored ones this time!), raspberries and coconut. It was sooo good and hit the spot!

We came home to a feast: hamburger, hot dog, green beans, corn, macaroni and cheese and baked beans.

I definitely had more dessert – that cake!

After some chill time and watching a couple episodes of Snapped, sis and I went out to Whole Foods for Chic Bar ingredients.

We decided to get Indian for dinner while we were out and hit up Saffron Indian Cuisine, which had gotten a lot of recommendations per Sis.

We were greeted with a lentil cracker with mint/cilantro sauce. It was neat and very good!

Sis and I also each got Indian tea with milk and sugar. It was fabulous!

We decided to split with Saffron Special with soup, Tandoori Chicken, Boti Kebab, Chicken Curry, Vegetable Masala, Basmati Rice, Naan and even a dessert!

They first brought out this single sizzling platter. At first I thought this was the entire meal and silently thought “Ooops” at the thought that we had ordered one entree to share.

Luckily more plates came out next.

Yummy yummy eats!

Our combo dessert was Fruit Firni. It reminded me of tapioca pudding, but fruit flavored with a couple pieces of fresh fruit tossed in. It was really, really good!

Totally awesome birthday dinner – Thanks Sis!

Do you like to only do things you’re good at, too? Or is it just me who fears embarrassing themselves in front of others?

Lookie who I’m hanging out with!

Hubby and I headed out to visit my fam and made a quick pit stop at Henry’s for eats.

Sweet tea for this gal.

Hubby and I split the regular sandwich plate with baked beans, french fries, cole slaw on the side instead of on the sammie.

A mini banana pudding shared for dessert.

We headed out to do some yard work post lunch.

I was in charge of watering the plants.

While the boys used some big tools.

Fresh air!

Later, I decided it was time for birthday cookies (since it’s my birthday month and all), so we hit up one of my personal faves – The Chocolate Shoppe.

We were greeted with the standard cookie sample – snickerdoodle was the flavor today.

Picked out a batch of various flavors to take home.

Downed this dark chocolate chunk first.

Mom and I went thrifting and I found this pretty painting for $1.50. I think it’ll look pretty nice in my turquoise room. I was hoping to find stuff for my holiday party, but didn’t find much for it.

Had to try another cookie flavor – chewy oatmeal. Nom.

The fam got busy in the kitchen for dinner.

Terriyaki shrimp, steamed green beans (from my parent’s garden) and fried rice.

Plus sis made white miso soup with potatoes and onions (a meal she said she had a lot in Australia).

Dinner was wonderful, per the usual.

And I even talked mom and sis into making a chocolate cake for my bday.

Speaking of which, this Darn-Good-Chocolate-Cake (from the Cake Doctor) is calling my name. It’s cake time!

Cheers!

What are you up to this weekend?

Thank you so much for all the birthday tips and suggestions yesterday. If you have any to add, please feel free!

Lookie who I got to hang out with today – it’s Anne P of fANNEtastic food!

But first, we had breakfast:

Coffee, fried farmers market egg and coffee cake.

The morning was going well till I discovered something truly freaky!

(If you’re squeemish, you may want to skip over the next 3 photos quickly)

My twitter friends can probably easily guess what this 5 foot monstrosity is.

It’s a freakin SNAKE SKIN! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww!

This totally caught me off guard today when I saw it in my backyard. Sooo freaky! I just hope it’s a black snake since those are the good ones.

Enjoyed a nice, giant yerba mate for a little pick me up in one of my favorite mugs. I adore the flowers on this mug…

…and especially the ones on the inside, which you can see once you’re done with your tea.

Lunch was another pantry raid. I didn’t do so hot planning lunch meals this week, so I relied heavily upon my well-stocked pantry.

Add in some udon noodles, frozen broccoli, soy sauce and sesame seeds and call it a day. Not quite as good as my 3, 2, 1 Veggie Noodles (click for recipe) but it was great, especially considering the convenience factor.

I snacked on some Dakota toast with Justin’s chocolate PB later.

***

Then, I rushed out the door to zumba! And guess what I wore?

So, did you guess right about my zumba top yesterday?

If you guessed I cut it, you guessed right! I was pretty nervous about cutting so much of my shirt off, but it turned out ok.

I was in such a rush today, I didn’t get any photos, but I promise to share some later.

Anywho, enjoyed an hour of zumba tonight! So fun, so energizing and just the right thing to get my weekend started off on the right foot!

After zumba, I took a quick shower and met up with Anne, Caitlin, Brittney, Greg (not pictured), Sarah, TK, and Kristien at Big Daddy’s

I got a small spinach salad with bell pepper, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, blueberries, feta, walnuts and balsamic.

And Nick’s Patty Melt with sweet potato fries. I managed to eat about half of everything and saved the leftovers for hubby.

We even got a quick tour of Kristien’s new office! It looks fabulous!

Then it was time for froyo!

I got tart plain, taro, fresh fruit, coconut and of course…mochi cakes (which I convinced some of the others to try)!

Then it was time to go home and give Bailey and hubby a big hug and kiss.

***

If you need a good laugh, here are two hilarious web sites you must read…go now:

• The Four Levels of Social Entrapment – love the graphics on this thing
• Missing Missy – got this in an email awhile back. received it again this week and it’s still hilarious!

What are some funny web sites you’ve seen lately?

• Birthday celebrations
• A Halloween party

I’m pretty behind on the birthday stuff and pretty early for the Halloween stuff. Where are my priorities??? Doh!

See…September is my birthday month…and not just any birthday. I’m turning the big 3-0 this month! Eeks! When did I grow up?

I’ve said for years and years that while most women are sad about turning 30, that I want to celebrate it with a big party. I thought I’d be rich by now and would have a big bash like a fancy wedding reception, but…alas. I am not rich. So, instead of one giant bash, my new plans are to have several small parties and basically celebrate all month long!

What do you think peeps? How should I celebrate my 30th birthday party? I have some ideas in the works, but would love to hear suggestions! What’s the coolest birthday celebration you’ve been to? What was your favorite party of your own? Tips PLEASE!

And about that Halloween thing…well…Halloween is quite possibly my favorite holiday of the year. Don’t ask me why…I don’t know, but I love the costumes, the candy, the decorations and the overall theme. It’s just so fun.

For the last couple years (except last year since we had just moved into our house), I’ve had small Halloween dinner parties.

• Click here to view Halloween 2007
• Click here to view Halloween 2008 (oops, I forgot to post the party, but I did post my awesome cake!)

This year, I’m planning something a little bigger and will be sharing my projects and plans along the way.

***

Anywho, on to today’s eats!

Check out my oatmeal!

Just kidding, that’s hubby’s oatmeal and mine is on the right. He’s not big on breakfast so I just made him a mini bowl. Isn’t it cute?!

I made oats with 1/2 milk and 1/2 water, pecans, flaxseed meal and Justin’s chocolate PB.

Plus some “sausage”.

Today’s lunches was a success thanks to hard work from a couple weeks ago.

I looked into the fridge and didn’t really feel like eating anything in there.

Enter freezer stash of frozen homemade soups and constant stash of high-quality whole grain bread.

Soup and toast is one of my favorite meals because it’s so easy and tasty. Just pop the frozen soup out of a tupperware and into a pot on the stove (I don’t like to microwave it to heat it up since I try to avoid the micro as much as possible) and heat over medium low heat till it’s warmed through. Pop some toast down, add a dab of (real) butter and you’re done-zo!

A drizzle of EVOO and some fresh parsley from my garden make it extra special.

Nommm

Bailey was unamused by a little craft project I did today.

I cut a low-V into one of my zumba tops a la Tanya Beardsley (inspired by the latest ZIN DVD).

The only question I had was – to cut the top into a short top or not. Short tops are like the length of sports bras…they’re SHORT! But oh-so-cute!

I procrastinated deciding what to do with the top till late tonight, just before working on this blog post. So whatdya think? Did I cut the top or not??

***

ZUMBA!

I taught an amazing zumba class tonight! I think I was inspired by the latest ZIN DVD because I was really, really feeling the music tonight. I had a pretty tough playlist, too:

I actually did a last minute change because my class was looking really, really tired and I didn’t want to push them too far, so I removed the last high song (Say Na Say Na) and replaced it with Valio la Pena. I want to give my participants a hard class, not make them fall over!

I met fellow zumba instructors Megan and Erica (forgot to take their photo…doh!) for dinner post-class. We met at Panera and I got the You Pick 2 with a fuji apple salad and french onion soup, plus baguette and water to drink.

Megan and Erica scored free baked goods, which they snacked on before giving to me to take home. Score! Thanks guys!

After practicing on some zumba songs I want to bust out in class soon (Shake Your Pom Pom anyone?), I settled in and had some coffee cake. Yuuuum!

So…two things dear readers:

1. Do you think I cut my zumba top into a short top?
2. Send me your birthday celebration ideas!

I had an awesome morning today thanks to a little coffee meet up with a good friend.

You may remember my friend Kayte from my wedding photos.

We had a nice adult-y coffee break (I actually had a Thai tea latte) to catch up. It was wonderful!

Lunch was a delicious chicken burrito!

And post-work, I had fun plans to hang out with Emily + Casey and Michelle + Ben at Maria Bonita’s Cantina & Grill.

Michelle and I split some guacamole….

Plus this veggie quesadilla (with a nice mix of veggies may I add) with a salad and beans.

The bean presentation was pretty cool.

Then, we headed over to TCBY to meet up with more friends for Emily’s farewell froyo outing. She’s moving on Friday. *sad face*

I made a fun mix of froyo with a base of pistachio and vanilla on the bottom. On top: pound cake, cookie dough, brownies, nuts, coconut, and chocolate syrup.

Outside, I dog sat Clyde for a bit…

Before Bailey showed up with hubby!

And look…I take pictures of things that aren’t food…people photos!

Love the colors in this photo (I didn’t even photoshop it!)

I had SUCH a fun time chatting with bloggie friends and making new ones! We have some pretty awesome bloggers and readers here in town!

Back row: Brittney, Ann, Jen, Kelly, Jen, Lori, Emily

Front row: Brittany, Michelle, me, Caitlin

And I’m going to miss this girl so much! Emily, please visit soon and I’ll promise to do the same!

What do you usually take pictures of (people, food, landscapes…something else)? Do tell!

I have another fun recipe to share with you guys!

Here’s a preview…details soon.

I <3 COFFEE!

I had a granola bar for a quick breakfast this morning.

Funny how my eats revolve around homemade granola bars when I have them. They’re so irresistible!

***

Now…on to the kitchen experiment!

Take some Italian spices…

add balsamic vinegar

EVOO

salt + (cayenne) pepper

and VOILA!

Balsamic Roasted Chick Peas!

These are great to snack on in general…

…to replace popcorn…

…to replace croutons on salads (or just to add to salads in general)….

…to bring to potlucks…

or any other yummy way!

Balsamic Roast Chick Peas

Ingredients:

• 1 18-ounce chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 1/2 tbsp EVOO
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• dash garlic powder
• dash cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Combine all ingredients except chick peas and whisk till emulsified.
3. Add chick peas and stir to chick peas are well coated.
4. Spread chick peas evenly in the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway
6. Enjoy!

Lunch = a GIANT salad with baby spinach, baby lettuce, farmers market bell pepper, organic celery, hemp seeds and Italian dresing.

Plus leftover black beans and rice from dinner last night.

I couldn’t resist some doughnut holes hubby picked up for me today. I knew I shouldn’t eat it before my workout (even though it was a few hours away), but I couldn’t resist.

I know some people I work out with even eat fast food for lunch before an evening workout, but I get pretty particular about what I eat any time during the day when I have a big workout ahead. I try to avoid fast food and sodas (neither of which I eat much anyways) and sweets (sad face) before a workout. Especially 2-3 hours before, I try to eat light food that is easy to digest. Well, actually, it used to be I tried to avoid bad foods, but thanks to Thrive and Brendan Brazier, I’m starting to focus on easy-to-digest eats before workouts.

THanks to my twitter friends, I decided to wear pink pants tonight.

Bailey had other plans for my pants as he stretched…

…and then got comfy on them.

Too bad I had to kick him off so I could teach class tonight!

Don’t worry, he found another comfy spot on the couch.

Half a homemade granola bar made a great pre-workout snack – esp with all those dates!

I packed up 3 to freeze for later.

Hubby and I have been enjoying the bars so much, though, they’re not going to last long.

Anywho, got my pink zumba pants on and it was time for class.

I think I’m slowly starting to get the hang of putting together a good playlist. What I need to work on next is upping my stamina so I can make the playlist hard without passing out on my class!

Fave songs from tonight’s playlist:

• I’m in Miami Trick (I did this one at HLS!)
• Church
• What Is It

Guess I was in a hi hop mood tonight!

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The Return of Project Hydrate

If you missed the last Project Hydrate, I’ve teamed up with No Fizz Clt to have another Project Hydrate Challenge – 60 at 60!

If you want to get better about your hydration, then join the challenge. It’s fun and free and will go on for 60 days – from September 1st (tomorrow!) to October 31st!

Click here for details

The challenge starts tomorrow!

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Are you strict on what you eat before a workout? What “rules” or guidelines do you typically follow the day, afternoon or even hour before a workout?