Some Yum Yums & A Date With The Girls

I am lovin me some food here lately. I have been trying to eat a variety of things and keep my life spicy!! Lots of different breakfast, lunches, snacks and din dins. I have also found that my tummy does OK with one serving of dairy a day in the form of either Greek yogurt or my beloved cottage cheese. Here is one of the breakfasts I have been enjoying as of late...

• 2 slices of Ezek bread (one with pb, cinnamon, and bananas, the other with TJ's low sugar jelly)
• Greek yogurt with strawberries, cinnamon and NuNaturals stevia

So I usually don't like to buy individually packaged products because its not good for the environment but I couldn't resist when I saw these 100 calorie packs of hummus..
Can you say portion control!! Which I totally need with hummus. This brings me to my snack..

• Original Marys Gone Crackers
• Tribe Roasted Garlic Hummus (I could only eat half the 100 cal pack)
• Few slices of Boars Head chicken lunch meat
  

For dinner I made pizza with my fav pizza dough, Trader Joe's whole wheat...
I learned from reading forums that you shouldn't roll this dough (which never worked for me) but instead use gravity to stretch it out by holding it up and rotating it with your hands. It worked perfect and I think this is my first ever round crust :).

• The big part with cheese was for the man
• The little part with cheese and veggies was for the little one (she loves mushrooms)
• The part with veggies, no cheese and hummus instead of tomato sauce was for me

Being the good girl that I am and practicing portion control I only had one slice atop a salad...
with turkey pepperoni.

So last night we had a little blogger/reader meet up at a local Nashville restaurant called Calypso Cafe. I ordered the tuna salad with two sides which included spiced sweet potatoes with coconut on top and the Martinique Callaloo greens...
To be honest it wasn't that great. I ate one scoop of tuna all the greens and about half the sweet potatoes. It didn't matter about the food though because I had a great time with the girls!! Here is the line up...
From left to right: My sweet friend Kim, adorable blogger Heather, some crazy awesome chick in the middle, another adorable blogger Amanda, and yet another adorable blogger with perfect hair, Mandy.

After dinner we all split. Kim and I headed off to Trader Joe's to fulfill my Puffins craving and the rest of the chicks hit up a frozen yogurt place. I got my Puffs and a Bag of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Slims....

(I had to steal this pic from some blog because I ate 3/4 the bag in the car and the man and the little one ate the rest when I got home)

Talk about evil!!! Don't buy these unless you plan on surrendering all self control and polishing off the bag!!!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: There is this really lean lady that takes all the same classes as I do at the Y. I found myself tempted to ask her what she eats to stay so lean. I had to stop myself and remember that the same thing doesn't work for everyone and that I am happy with the way I am eating now and I don't need to worry about other peoples eats in that way!! Do you ever find yourself envying someone else's bod and wondering what they eat??

Winner Of Kombucha Giveaway + Some Eats

The lucky winner of my Gt's Kombucha Giveaway *drum roll* is.......Maria from Hearts Whole Foods (love your blog by the way). Maria, email me your address and I will get that coupon out to you ASAP!! Thanks to everyone who entered and look froward to lots more giveaways in the future :)!!

Because Monday is the busiest day of the week for me I am going to try to make this quick and share a few more new things I have recently tried.

First up is more Zevia. I am seriously lovin this stuff!! This time I tried the Natural Twist....
YUM!! I never drank a whole can at a time. I had half mixed with some carbonated water. Tasted just like real lemon lime soda and then addition of the carbonated made it not to sweet. Shhh...don't tell but I drank the other half another day with some Bacardi :). These sodas work great as mixers!!

Next, is this really good Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cereal...
It contains: Whole grain brown rice, corn, sweet white sorghum, buckwheat. I like to sweeten it with this stevia (looks and tastes just like sugar) and bananas and then of course some nut butter was added after the pic :).

Another new find are these Hungry Girl approved noodles that I spotted at out newly stocked grocery store....
They are Tofu Shiritaki Noodles and the whole pack only contains 40 calories and like 6 carbs. I had a big ole chicken pasta plate with them along with 2 slices of Ezek. with hummus...
Close up..
Talk about a full belly!!! I must warn though that the texture is a bit weird. Kinda chewy and slimy. Not something I'd eat everyday but pretty good!!

And on to an oldie but a goodie...
Kabocha squash. My beautiful friend Heather brought be these beauts the other day when we had lunch and I have been enjoying them ever since. Thanks HEABS!! I am so glad kabocha is back in my life!!!

That brings me to a question. I have mostly enjoyed kabocha in fry form (my fav.) and haven't tried any other recipes really. I know you ladies have some great suggestions. Whats your favorite way yo eat or cook kabocha???

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I am obsessed with all things doctor shows on TV. I love watching The Doctors and Dr. Oz! Have any of you seen these shows?

The Most Random Poem Ever

Thanks so much for the entries thus far in my Kombucha giveaway :). I will leave all entries open until Sunday night. *Remember its for bloggers only and don't forget to comment with your link back*

Once upon a time there was a girl who loved all things friends, family and food
Homemade fajita salad always puts her in a good mood...
One day she took her mother in law to Whole Foods for a Birthday treat
She loved the store and couldn't believe all they had to eat!
But when the girl looked around she couldn't believe her eyes
Half the salad bar was gone and there, trying to fix it was a bunch of guys
So she had to settle for something that wasn't so bad
Sushi for her...
Ribs and lots of macaroni for dad...
Granny's belly was full because three pounds her salad did weight
she could have done without it though, all she needed was the little one to make her day..

Family is great and friends are fun
Here she is before the ass whooping that Tennessee got had begun..
Before the slaughter she played some corn hole...
Just so you know she kicked her mans ass and was on a roll

Finally lunch with a long lost friend..
at a new pizza joint in town just around the bend
She scanned the menu and what did she see
if she didn't order the hummus what kind of blogger would she be??
After that she should have went for a salad
But her cravings were strong so I will go on with the ballad
The pear and Gorgonzola were on the top of her list
She shouldn't eat dairy but she couldn't resist...
Eating the whole pizza was a big mistake
and what did she do? went home and made cupcakes...
Lemon was the flavor and they were gluten free
Her belly hurt even worse after she ate three!!!

Although she was aching and wanted to hurl
it was softball time for her little girl
So to the park to watch 4 year olds play
Just look at these faces they made her day...

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I sometimes struggle with the intensity of my workouts. If I am having an off day I struggle in my mind trying to justify it saying "it was better than doing nothing at all" but then sometimes I think "If I am not giving 100% then I am wasting my time".

What are your thoughts on a workout you are just not feeling? Do you think something is better than nothing? Or that if your are not giving it 100% why bother?

Things I am Lovin!!

Guys thanks so so much for the warm welcome back!! You guys sure know how to make a gal feel great! ;)

On with some products and such that I have really been enjoying lately. First off is this yummy snack that I discovered at my local Publix...

Those are Mr. Krispers Salt and Pepper Baked Rice Krisps

These little suckers only have 120 calories for 37 crackers. They are great with hummus or salsa and are also gluten free, wheat free, cholesterol free, saturated and trans fat free. Need I say more??

For breakfast I had to think outside of the box (since I am still not eating oats) with the help of my new favorite cook book Go Dairy Free and I found a keeper. I give you Brown Basmati Rice Pudding...
This is actually 3 servings that I cooked ahead of time. When I am ready for it I just cut me out a slice...
heat up, blend, add topping and serve...
For the actual beginning cooking method just..

• take your favorite rice (I highly recommended brown basmati), measure out your serving or servings which should be about 1/4 cup each
  
• blend dry until it is broken down into a powder like texture
• place on stove with package recommended amount of water
• bring to a boil
• then simmer for about 30 min. stirring and adding water as needed

Adding in raisins is really yummy. I like to add bananas, stevia and peanut butter just like I did my long lost oats :(

Another thing that I have been loving is this great product I won from the contest on the lovely Averie's blog....

Thats right, Zevia baby!!

I have actually only had the Orange though. What can I say, I am a sucker for all things orange and lemon flavored. My first thoughts, Does it really have no calories? No chemically processed artificial sugar substitutes? No artificial flavors or artificial colors? No, none!! And it was just as good as the real thing!!

I had a half a can mixed with some soda water...

...and half of an Apple Pie Larabar for dessert.

I am also digging the T-shirt they sent...

Thanks ZEVIA!!! You have a great product on your hands!!!

Wait, that's not it lovelies. I am holding a contest for all you lovely ladies with a blog!!! Sorry, girls, you do have to have a blog to enter this contest. Maybe Synergy Drinks will help me out later with another contest for readers as well.

• This contest is for 1 of the coupons that GT's Kombucha kindly sent me for a free Kombucha
• All you have to do is have a blog and link back to this post for your one chance to win!!!
• Also make sure you let me know that I was linked in a comment below
  

Good luck!!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I have an obsessive habit (that my husband cant stand) of picking the dry skin off my lips.

Go Dairy Free: Book Review

OMG!! Hello lovelies!!! I am back. Do not know if you missed me but I sure did miss you all. Thought about my blog and all the great readers everyday. OK enough sappy stuff.

It just so happened that the lovely Alisa Fleming over at One Frugal Foodie sent me her book, Go Dairy Free and I hate it that I was going through a rough patch at the time and it has taken me so long to do a review but I am here to tell you all that THIS BOOK IS GREAT!! Really, this book is not just for someone who wants to go dairy free, I feel like this book can be used by anyone. The over 225 recipes are great for all people even those with food allergies (egg, soy, wheat, gluten, nut, etc), vegans, vegetarians, people cutting back on dairy or just your average everyday cook or foodie.

The book takes such a great approach and isn't trying to convince or persuade you to be dairy free its just stating the facts. If you don't believe me just check out the ratings here. 33 reviews all 5 star except for two which were 4 star.

All the chapters are laid out neatly addressing any concerns you may have about going dairy free such as calcium intake, infant and childhood allergies, health concerns related to dairy (acne, IBS, headaches), eating away from home and a million other things.

I could go on and on about how great this book is but I think you all should definitely pick up a copy for yourselves!!! The recipes are seriously amazing and of course I made one to share with you all.

I present you with Alisa's very own BANANA CRUMB COFFEE CAKE

I quote Alisa when she says, "According to my husband this cake should be sold at Starbucks. The first time I made it, the two of us polished off the entire pan within 24 hours".

It is that good!!
My only criticism is the crumble is so good I think it needs to be doubled :). Cant wait to make more recipes outta this book and thank you again Alisa for allowing me to review it.

In other news the great and wonderful GT's has graced me with all of these lovely coupons to sample all the flavors of my favorite drink....
Talk about a freakin score!!!

On a quick stop by Whole Food's I managed to use two coupons on these babies...
So Divine Grape is my absolute favorite, so far. It has some added grape juice to make a magnificent flavor along with amazing health benefits. The Raspberry Rush was a new flavor for me. I am not a picky person at all so I loved this flavor as well but it did not beat my love for the Divine Grape.

Anyway, I thought that you all would also want to try out this awesome drink so in my next post look for details of a giveaway!!!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I feel 100% better after stopping my journey with raw foods. It may work for some people but not for me. I still love raw desserts so expect more to come and of course I still eat raw food, can you say S-A-L-A-D!!

I also wanted to share that I feel like I fell into a bad place with food. Looking at blogs all day began to influence me. I didn't want to believe that it happened but it did. *Has this happened to any of you? I am just glad to say that I shook it and I am back to my old self again :) :).

HAVE AN AMAZING WEEKEND!!!!

BYE BYE....FOR NOW

Hey guys!! I just wanted to pop in and tell you all that I am taking a little bloggie break from writing and most likely reading. Don't know how long yet. Maybe a week, maybe less, maybe more.

Doing the whole raw thing really threw me off with my food and I am just trying to step back and press the reset button if you know what I mean. Also, its approaching the 1 year anniversary of my sisters death and I just plan on spending as much time with my parents as possible the next few days :). Thanks for understanding because I know you all will.

Miss you all lots but I will be back sooner than later.

LOVE YOU!!!!!

HAVE AN AWESOME LABOR DAY!!

~JUSTINE

Not So Much About Food..

Thanks for all your support and positive comments on my last post about my decision to not stay raw and instead eat what keeps me sane :). I am really enjoying not being so restricted and I am also trying things I never would have before. In the midst of eating what I want and not doing so much thinking about my next meal I realized I have a slight lack of food pictures but I do have some others that you might find entertaining.

Quickly back to things I don't normally eat. I recently decided to branch out and pick up some of these babies that everyone seems to love...
I am so not a bar person and I have always been afraid of so many calories in such a small package but I am loving these babies and instead of trying to replace a meal or snack with them I have using them as a dessert. I love the Apple Pie. Cherry Pie was great also, Chocolate Mole just so-so. Cant wait to try the Lemon Bar. I love lemon dessert stuff :).

Since I don't have anymore food pics I thought Id entertain you with some pics of a weekend surprise birthday party I attended. The birthday girl and her hubby walking up to the party...
The birthday girl and her hubs...
The beautiful family built party area we hung out in...
What is it with boys, alcohol, and wrestling??...
Don't worry he prefers the opposite sex....Me and the birthday girl...

(Wow my tan looks dirty!! haha)

Well, I have a busy week and weekend ahead of me so I don't know how much I will be posting but I know you wont miss me too terribly :). Hopefully I can get in a recipe this week.

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I like using men's deodorant and anti-perspiring and plus I am that stinky!! :)

Check out these great Zevia giveaways!!!
http://loveveggiesandyoga.blogspot.com/2009/08/zevia-giveaway-for-6-lucky-winners.html
http://eatingmachine.wordpress.com/