This weekend, I attended my first ever poetry slam. It was one of the coolest things I’ve seen recently.

But since this blog has been a bit food sparse, let me show you some random eats photos before we get to the slam dets. Once again, a noodle bowl saves the day. This one served as lunch and was made completely with things I scavenged from around the kitchen – spelt soba noodles from my pantry and veggies from my freezer. Who needs time to go grocery shopping, right? jk

I also enjoyed my first pumpkin oats of the season.

I like candy corn around Halloween, peppermint around Christmas, but I like pumpkin around fall. And adding canned pumpkin to oats is one of the easiest ways I like to enjoy it.

This bowl was drizzled with maple syrup and topped with some sliced almonds. Yum!

Anywho, back to the slam. I was invited to the poetry slam with Slam Charlotte by my friend Talicha (click to check out her blog) who was competing in the event. Wondering what a “poetry slam” is? It’s basically a poetry competition where people perform their poems and are judged/scored. Higher scoring poets move on to next rounds of the competition till one winner is selected.

I actually used to write poetry when I was in school, just for fun (ok, as a creative outlet for deep feelings), so I was really looking forward to hearing from some new poets and seeing them perform live.

The event was kicked off by Jamaal St. John who was visiting from New York.

He shared a few poems, letters, and stories. The most memorable line from his performance was from his poem on loving thick girls where he said “a waist is a terrible thing to mind.”

Bluz is the current slam master, and he did a fabulous job keeping us entertained between the various performances and rounds. He’s also introduced me to my new favorite song, which I’d like to use for almost any occasion, but will most likely prove useful as an anthem to play during a particularly tough work day. I’ll have to share it with you guys some other time…or maybe just on my Facebook wall.

Of course, I was most excited to see my friend Talicha perform. She did a fantastic job, but did not end up winning this slam. Ahhh perhaps next time?

By the way, I got to be a judge along with my friend Sarah. Apparently, they like to offer the newbies judging roles. I felt really unqualified, but they told us to just vote for whichever poem made us feel good, which seemed simple enough. It was a little nerve-wracking, but we had a good time.

Overall, the slam was so impressive. I’d quote more of the poets, but I’m afraid of butchering their words. Instead, I’ll just tell you that they covered a wide range of topics – from sad, to mad, to happy and everything in between. There were poems about sex, Alzheimer’s, a cell phone, a kidnapped child, a hair stylist, and love.

I think I see more poetry slams in my future (from the audience…not the stage).

Reader question #1: Who is your favorite poet?

Reader question #2: What is your favorite poem?

With my Green Monster madness going on recently, I’ve been coming up with some pretty interesting concoctions. Seriously, I have about 3 recipes queued up over here. Anywho, none had more interesting, or shall I say a surprising, taste than my latest – Figgy Green Monster Smoothie.

It’s a fig smoothie that tastes like cake batter.

The smoothie had zero elements that I would normally use to make a cake batter flavor and yet it tasted like cake batter! Ok, maybe it’s just me. You guys know I like to make my cake batters on the healthier side. But I honestly took the first sip after blending this smoothie up and thought…hmm…cake batter?

I came up with the idea to make a fig smoothie because my friend who has a fig tree brought in a bunch to give me. Score! Unfortunately, even without teaching Zumba, my schedule has been hectic, so I haven’t exactly had a bunch of free time to experiment with a cool recipe.

So…What could I do quickly with figs? Why not put it in a smoothie, right? And as it turns out, figs in a smoothie are a good thing.

Figgy Green Monster Smoothie Recipe

Have figs and don’t know what to do with them? The easiest thing you can do (besides eating them plain) is blend them into a delicious and healthy smoothie. Since I’m on a Green Monster kick, I decided to add spinach to mine to make it green. This Green Monster smoothie had an unexpected cake-batter-like flavor.

*Vegan if you use vegan milk*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed spinach (or sub 1/4 cup frozen spinach)
• sweetener of choice, to taste, optional (you can add with the other ingredients or blend and taste first and add in at the end)
• 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
• 4 figs, stems removed, halved
• 1 cup milk of choice (dairy, non-dairy, vanilla non-dairy, etc.) – I used vanilla soy
• 2 cubes ice

Directions:

1. Place spinach, banana, figs, milk, and ice in the blender.
2. Cover and blend until banana/figs/ice is processed and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Enjoy!

Here’s a GM smoothie recipe that was actually designed to taste like Cake Batter…Nom!: Cake Batter Green Monster – Peas and Thank You

You may enjoy some of these other Green Monster smoothies:

• Basic Green Monster Smoothie
• Cookies ‘N Cream Green Monster
• Matcha Green Tea Green Monster

*Click here to read my Green Monster 101 post* (it explains what a GM is plus some ingredient and blending tips)

Enjoy!

***

Click here to get *free* The Chic Life updates!

***

Reader question: Figs were an ingredient that I never really expected to put into a smoothie. What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve put into a smoothie? Did you like it?

It’s sweet, it’s refreshing, and it’s…GREEN? Yup, it’s a Green Monster Smoothie!

I know most of you reading right now are Green Monster experts and enthusiasts, so you’re probably wondering what on earth you could possibly learn from this post. And actually, I don’t think you’ll learn anything you don’t already know. But, I do think you could offer your Green Monster expertise for those less familiar with the wonderfulness that is the GM.

This post is actually written more for my other friends and readers. I have a lot of my Zumba participants, “real life” friends, and blog/twitter friends who either aren’t as familiar with Green Monster smoothies or have possibly never heard of them before.

So, if you’re wondering what the heck a “Green Monster” is, then read on. And if you’re a Green Monster guru, then leave some comment love to share some of your GM-know-how and favorite GM recipes.

So, what is a Green Monster smoothie?

What is it?

A Green Monster smoothie is a healthy smoothie that is bright green in color, thanks to the star ingredient: spinach! Yes…I said “spinach.” Don’t cringe. Honestly…once it’s all blended up with other ingredients, you cannot taste it! I mean, have you ever tried eating just a spinach leaf plain? I have. It didn’t taste like much of anything. So, especially when you blend the spinach up with fruit and milk, you won’t taste it. Mmmkay?

Now, some people will use kale in place of spinach, but personally, I prefer spinach.

Ingredients

There are endless combinations of ingredients to make a GM, but the most basic and common ingredients are:

• Spinach – This is the KEY ingredient – you can use fresh or frozen (I’ve tested it – check out this post), and as I mentioned above, you can substitute the spinach with kale
• Bananas – usually 1 to 2 are used per smoothie, I go with 1 per serving, and I prefer frozen bananas because it makes the texture thicker, not to mention this is a good way to save bananas before they spoil – freeze and save for a smoothie later!
• Milk of choice – dairy milk, soy milk, vanilla rice milk – whatever you fancy, but obviously a sweetened milk will yield a sweeter smoothie
• Ice – to help make the smoothie cold and frosty

Other common GM ingredients:

• Yogurt – makes the smoothie thicker and provides protein and probiotics
• Honey/Agave – liquid sweeteners if you need more sweetness in the smoothie – I think the bananas are sweet enough and if you use a sweetened non-dairy milk, you probably won’t need either of these
• Chia Seeds – a health-food ingredient – If you let it sit in liquid for several minutes, it will plump up and become gelatinous (like a tiny tapioca pearl, for bubble tea fans)
• Nut Butters – peanut butter, almond butter, etc. – for creaminess and healthy nut nutrition
• Other fruits – feel free to add your other favorite fruits – just see the next section on ingredients to avoid when selecting

Ingredients to use in small portions when making GMs:

*Edited: After reading some of the comments, I decided to edit this to warn against using too much of these ingredients instead of avoiding them all together. Thanks guys! *

• Berries – blueberries, raspberries, etc. -because if you use too much, the berries will change the color of the smoothie and it won’t be green or as green
• Other – Pretty much anything with a lot of color that will change the color of the smoothie away from green (trust me, a brown smoothie is not as appealing visually, even if it still tastes amazing…not to mention I wouldn’t call a brown smoothie a “Green” Monster. I’d call that just a smoothie with spinach in it. We should come up with a name for these, right?!)

Once you’re ready to blend, there are a couple tips to keep in mind…

Blending Tips

I like to layer my ingredients in the blender in the following order (and all of these ingredients are not always used, but if I were using them, this is the order I’d go with):

• Spinach – putting this at the bottom helps ensure the leaves are blended instead of flying around the blender and sticking to the sides – if I use frozen, I don’t always add that first since it doesn’t have the same texture as fresh
• Dry ingredients – like flaxseed meal, matcha, etc – same reason as spinach – so it doesn’t get stuck to the sides/lid
• Nut Butters – so it’s less likely to fly up and stick to the sides
• Liquid Sweetener – same as nut butters
• Other small fruits – goji berries, etc.
• Bananas – to weigh spinach down
• Other large fruit – cantaloupe, etc.
• Ice
• Milk of choice

And every blender is different, so settings will vary. I usually just blend away until all the fruit/ice is smooth and all the spinach leaves are blended so small, I don’t see individual pieces, just smooth greenness. This usually only takes 1 or 2 minutes for me.

Why Drink Green Monsters?

First of all, they’re fun to look at and just plain delicious.

After spending a month with my Project Veg-Up challenge focusing on eating lots of fruits and veggies every day, I know that it can sometimes be a struggle, especially on your busiest days to get your full servings for the day. Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to consume fruit. And now thanks to the GM, they can be the easiest way to consume vegetables (at least spinach), too!

So GM smoothies feature spinach, and here’s why spinach is good for you – a quote I’ve shared before from whfoods.com:

Spinach is an excellent source of bone-healthy vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and calcium; heart-healthy folate, potassium, and vitamin B6; energy-producing iron and vitamin B2; and free radical-scavenging vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C.

Side note: This is just general info. I know some people are supposed to avoid spinach (doctor’s orders), so obviously, you may want to avoid the GM if this is true for you, too. And, you should always consult with your doctor before making dietary changes. But, I trust that you know what’s best for you.

Basic Green Monster Smoothie Recipe

Green Monster smoothies are beautiful to look at and delicious to drink. And if you’re not sold yet, they’re good for you, too! Drinking GM smoothies is the easiest way I know to get a vegetable serving in for the day. Also, I don’t typically add extra sweeteners to my smoothies, but I’ve included directions below in case you would like to add some to yours.

*Vegan if you use vegan milk*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed spinach (or sub 1/4 cup frozen spinach)
• 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
• 1 cup milk of choice (dairy, non-dairy, vanilla non-dairy, etc.)
• 2 cubes ice
• sweetener of choice, to taste, optional

Directions:

1. Place spinach, banana, milk, and ice in the blender.
2. Cover and blend until banana/ice is processed and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Taste test and if desired, blend in sweetener of choice to taste.
3. Enjoy!

Here are more fabulous GM smoothie recipes you may enjoy:

• Cookies ‘N Cream Green Monster – a TCL recipe
• Matcha Green Tea Green Monster – a TCL recipe
• Peppermint Patty Green Monster – Oh She Glows
• Cake Batter Green Monster – Peas and Thank You
• Green Hemp Smoothie – Choosing Raw
• Green Mocha Smoothie – Foodie Fresh
• And I have lots more queued up, so check back soon for more GM love!

*And be sure to check out this site for hundreds of other tasty Green Monster recipes: http://greenmonstermovement.com/ *

Green Monster Virgins: Are you scared of Green Monsters or do you think you’ll try one soon? Why or why not?

Green Monster Gurus: What are you favorite things to add to your GM smoothies? And if you have any GM smoothies (of your own or of others) that you love, please leave the link in a comment!

If you haven’t tried a Green Monster smoothie yet, then I really think you’re missing out. Honestly!

Especially after going through Project Veg-Up last month, I’ve found that it can often be difficult to get your recommended servings of fruits and veggies with the craziness of every day life. If you’re short on time, then the Green Monster smoothie may be your best solution. You get two fruits servings (if you count 1/2 a banana as one fruit serving) and one vegetable serving (thanks to the healthy addition of spinach – click here for spinach health benefit info).

Now, you may be wondering, “Can I use frozen spinach in a Green Monster smoothie?” I wondered the same thing, so I tried out the theory that you could with this recipe. As it turns out, it works just fine (you just need less spinach in frozen form since it’s more tightly packed). And do you know what this means, people?

It means you can have a complete breakfast using ingredients exclusively out of your (well-stocked) refrigerator and/or freezer! I love convenient things that rock!

This smoothie has a health boost with the addition of matcha green tea. Click here for some info on matcha green tea health benefits. And check out this quote by Dr. Weil:

In addition to providing trace minerals and vitamins (A, B-complex, C, E, and K), matcha is rich in catechin polyphenols – compounds with high antioxidant activity. These compounds offer protection against many kinds of cancer, help prevent cardiovascular disease and slow the aging process. They also reduce harmful cholesterol in the blood, stabilize blood sugar levels, help reduce high blood pressure and enhance the resistance of the body to many toxins. The most important polyphenol in matcha is EGCG (epigallo-catechin gallate), which is the subject of many medical studies. Matcha has a significant amount of dietary fiber and practically no calories. ~Andrew Weil, M.D. (source )

Matcha Green Tea Green Monster Smoothie

Matcha green tea powder adds a subtle, yet intoxicating flavor punch to the regular green monster smoothie. And for those who don’t know, a green monster smoothie is one made with spinach! Trust me, you can’t taste it. This recipe is a great way to start your day right – with a serving of fruit and veggies, plus matcha green tea goodness.

I added yogurt to this smoothie for the protein (to help me stay full) and probiotics (because they’re good for you), but you could substitute additional milk.

*Vegan if you use vegan milk*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder, to taste (I really like matcha, so I went with 1 teaspoon)
• 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
• 1/4 cup frozen spinach (or 1 1/2 -2 cups loosely packed, fresh baby spinach)
• 1 individual vanilla yogurt, preferably organic (or sub milk if you don’t want to use yogurt)
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (use vanilla/sweetened milk for extra sweetness or use plain/dairy milk and add sweetener of choice, if desired) – add additional milk if you want a more liquidy texture.
• 2 cubes ice
• additional sweetener of choice, optional/if needed (I didn’t need it, but flavor your smoothie to your taste)

Directions:

1. Place matcha powder, banana, spinach, yogurt, milk (plus sweetener if using), and ice in a blender. Note: place matcha powder in the blender first so it gets covered with other ingredients. This helps keep the powder from blowing around the blender when you turn it on.
2. Cover and blend until banana/spinach/ice is processed and smooth, and the matcha is well-incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Serve and enjoy!

You may also like these fabulous smoothie recipes:

• Cookies ‘N Cream Green Monster
• Healthy Cookies ‘N Cream Smoothie
• Healthy Blueberry Pie Smoothie

Or these matcha recipes:

• Mini Matcha Green Tea Banana Nut Muffins
• Matcha Green Tea Oatmeal

Do you prefer smoothies with or without yogurt? Why?

Sometimes you want to eat pie for breakfast. And while I’m a big fan of dessert for breakfast, realistically, you don’t want all that heaviness and sugary-sweetness tumbling around in your stomach all morning. Seriously, it will weigh you down and make you feel tired, and really, who wants that to start the day with that feeling?

But, I have a solution!

My ideal breakfast is tasty, but also contains good-for-you, energy-boosting ingredients that will power you through whatever obstacles you have ahead of you with the agility of a ninja.

So, with all this in mind, I worked a little magic for you and came up with this…

I give you – Blueberry Pie Smoothie!

I took out the butter, oil, and much of the sugar, and replaced it with whole grains and milk.

Start with whole grain rolled oats and milk.

Pour oats into your milk…

…place in the fridge and let rest 5 minutes. This will help the oats get a little tender so the texture is better in your smoothie. This is the hardest step. Seriously…now all you have to do is combine your ingredients and blend away.

Blueberry Pie Smoothie

A real blueberry pie would take you at least an hour to make. This one takes 10 minutes from start to finish (and yes, that even includes clean-up time!). I took the best flavors of blueberry pie and healthified it for an antioxidant-packed smoothie that is sure to get your day started on the right foot.

A twitter friend suggested using almond milk to help keep the smoothie from congealing (blueberries tend to make smoothies congeal), though dairy and other non-dairy milks will work (I made mine with soy).

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy or dairy milk), sweetened (or use unsweetened milk, dairy or non-dairy – just also add a drop of vanilla and your sweetener of choice, to taste) – see notes above
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (you can use fresh, but the frozen will give you a thicker texture)
• 2 ice cubes
• dash of cinnamon, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine milk and oats in a medium bowl/pyrex and let rest in refrigerator for 5 minutes.
2. Combine milk/oat mixture, blueberries, ice cubes, and cinnamon in a blender. Blend till ingredients are combined and smooth, about 1-2 minutes, or until smoothie reaches your desired consistency.
3. Enjoy!

Have you ever eaten dessert for breakfast? What did you eat?

If you’ve never stuffed a handful of baby spinach into a smoothie, then you’re missing out. Adding spinach to a smoothie is hands down one of the easiest (and sneakiest…hehe…shhh) ways to get your spinach serving in for the day.

Any why eat spinach? Check out this quote from whfoods.com:

Spinach is an excellent source of bone-healthy vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and calcium; heart-healthy folate, potassium, and vitamin B6; energy-producing iron and vitamin B2; and free radical-scavenging vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C.

So basically…you should eat spinach because it’s good for you. Yep…just like mom said. Parents…they’re always right!

Anywho, if you’re on the fence on trying spinach, then try this recipe on for size. I promise, you won’t taste the spinach at all. Just chocolate-y-creamy goodness.

This smoothie has a pretty short and healthful ingredient list: banana, milk of some sort (I used vanilla soy), cookies, ice…

…and the star ingredient – spinach!

I know, I know Green-Monster-first-timers. It looks scary, but it’s good. Trust me!

Cookies ‘N Cream Green Monster Smoothie (Energy Boosting)

The Green Monster signature ingredient is spinach. The vegetable is almost tasteless and imparts that gorgeous green color on the smoothie. Fun, right? Add more spinach for a deeper green color.

It’s a healthy smoothie (with both a fruit and vegetable serving) hiding behind a handful of cookies. Sneaky, sneaky!

*Vegan if you use vegan cookies*

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1 banana (a frozen banana will give you a thicker consistency, but non-frozen works, too)
• 1 cup vanilla non-dairy milk, sweetened (or use unsweetened milk, dairy or non-dairy – just also add a drop of vanilla and your sweetener of choice, to taste)
• 2 cubes ice
• 1/4 cup chocolate cookies (or sub chocolate/vanilla sandwich cookies and use non-sweetened milk and vanilla extract – see notes)

Directions:

1. Place spinach, banana, milk, and ice in the blender.
2. Cover and blend until banana/ice is processed and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add cookies to the blender, re-cover, and blend until cookies are chopped finely, about 30-60 seconds. Optional – sprinkle an extra cookie, crushed into crumbs/small pieces, on top before serving.
   Enjoy!

If you like this recipe, then you may also enjoy:

• Healthy Cookies ‘N Cream Smoothie (sans spinach)
• Green Monster Muffins (one of my most popular recipes – sweet spinach muffins – they’re shockingly delish)
• Vegan Green Monster Muffins (the vegan version of my popular recipe)

Click here to get free updates from The Chic Life. You can also find exclusive content on the official TCL Facebook page and on twitter (@thechiclife).

Have you ever added spinach to your smoothie? What did you think about it?

I was so excited to wake up today and be on vacation!

I happily checked the raw coconut macaroons I’d been dehydrating since before (a late) dinner last night.

After enjoying the delicious smells that had been filling my house overnight, I had just a short wait before I actually got to enjoy the flavor.

I also woke up early this morning to make a special request from Megan…

My famous Green Monster muffins!

I made the regular version, but the vegan version is available here in case you’d like to check these out. They seriously super yummy!

They made for great road trip eats!

And you’ll never guess what we did as soon as we got to the beeeeeach! Any guesses?

Which beach treat would you rather have? Green Monster muffins or coconut macaroons?!

Monday was a good day for eats. I love that. Good food usually means happy me!

I tried out a new recipe – individual egg bake – and it was a success! I’ll be sharing the recipe soon.

And for another recipe success – a Meatless Monday lunch entree – whole wheat spaghetti with chick peas and tomatoes. Nom!

I whipped up some steel cut oats for an afternoon snack.

The cinnamon whipped honey made it a real treat and since I added a little…lightly sweet.

Plus, I now have a few servings for later!

Post-work, I went to Zumba and enjoyed a fun-filled workout.

And then I came home to a taco bar a la hubby – spelt tortillas (props to him for picking that out on his own!), tomatoes, lettuce, and grated cheddar.

Have I mentioned I love spelt? Oh yes, numerous times, right? Well, spelt just seems more tender than whole wheat while still enjoying all the whole grain wonderfulness. I find most WW tortillas to be dry and brittle but these were smooth and didn’t crack a bit when I rolled them into soft tacos. Whole grain tortilla WIN!

Oh and Bailey says HIIIIIII!!!!!!!!

And check out the new nail polish I painted my nails. It’s The Chic Life blue! Ok, it’s actually called “Royal Mint”, and it’s by Aldo, but TCL blue sounds more fun.

What nail polish color are you currently rocking?

And which of the meals posted in this post would you most like to eat? Nommmmm!

I loved your fill-in-the-blank responses on my Facebook wall earlier today. Fill-in-the-blanks remind me of Mad Libs! Did you guys ever play those? I think I had at least a dozen all filled out at one point in time. My sister and I used to do them on road trips all the time…until we got road sickness of writing/reading in the car. lol Whatever happened to those Mad Libs books? I really miss them.

Yay carbs!

I had one of my favorite pre-workout snacks today in one of my new bowls

Simple banana oatmeal! I made mine with rice milk, chia seeds, coconut flakes, and sliced almonds.

I tried something new with my makeup to teach Zumba tonight – two toned eye colors!

I haven’t done anything this crazy since probably college…or since the last time I went to class and wore glitter eye liner, if you want to get technical.

I did a pretty, kelly green on the inside of my lid and then a pinky-purple on the outside. I wore black eye liner and then put some glitter eye liner over that for some sparkle. I wish I had better photos but I just snapped these quickly before class.

As for class, it was wonderful! I’m really loving my new location. The venue is beautiful and the participants are so fun!

My favorite songs tonight were:

• Que Te Pica
• Maria
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love

In the spirit of my Facebook post earlier, let’s do a little game!

Fill in the blank: I love my _____________ because it makes me feel ____________!

I loved reading everyone’s guesses on yesterday’s tease-post! You guys are so creative. If you’re my Facebook friend, then you already knew what flavor of nut butter I made. But if you aren’t yet (though I think you should be), then read on for more dets…

After my morning coffee, I still wanted a pick-me-up, so I whipped up a quick matcha green tea latte using rice milk for my “creamer.”

I did another TCL noodle stir fry for lunch.

Though noodles are typically my staple, I was almost out of udon. So, I did a mix of udon and green tea noodles. Nom! Also in the mix – edamame and broccoli. I just used soy sauce, pasta water, and drop of sesame oil for my sauce.

You can check out this recipe for basic cooking directions for a noodle stir fry.

Now…on to more yummy goodness. Did you guess my new nut butter creation correctly?

I was inspired by the whipped cinnamon honey that I’ve been enjoying so much lately that I decided to make cinnamon-honey nut butter. But not just any cinnamon-honey nut butter. I made…

Honey Roasted Cinnamon Wink Almond Butter!

I’ll be posting a recipe tomorrow in case any one wants to try it.

Ooh and one cool thing about it – it’s a Not So Sweet recipe! Yeaaaaaa!

After making my new almond butter, I did what any “normal” girl would do.

I whipped up a batch of simple rolled oats cooked in rice milk to be my canvas for my nut butter “paint.”

This new nut butter was a definite winner.

Hubby was going crazy for it! He wanted to eat ALL of it! I ended up only eating about 3/4 of my oats because I was having it for a pre-work-out snack, and didn’t want to eat too much before Zumba. I offered him the rest of my oats (which he almost always turns down), but he excitedly accepted them and quickly found the almond butter jar to add more on top. He happily slurped up my leftovers and in a jiffy!

Perhaps this is how I can hook hubby on oatmeal? Hmm…

***

I taught a small but mighty Zumba class on Thursday.

My favorite songs were:

• Chillin
• Rompe
• Battlefield

And two of my participants showed me a dance they choreographed all on their own. It was pretty awesome. I only wish I had taped it to share with you all! Those girls have skillz!

***

I took Friday off from work to take care of stuff at home. The day FLEW right by, but I got a lot done. I guess I not only took the day off from work, but I sort of took it off from blogging, too. Whoops, ya’ll. Good thing I took so many photos on Thursday!

***

I’m off to pack. I’m visiting my fam first thing tomorrow morning. And rumor has it I will be picking up more of those amazing rye bagels while I’m in town!

***

Have you gotten your SO to enjoy something they previously didn’t? What was it and how did you do it?