Cheesecake, Lake and A Sunday Brunch

Friday night my man and I went to a late, sorta last minute dinner with another couple to the Cheesecake Factory (we both had gift cards). I ate a little something before leaving because like I said it was late and way past the time I normally eat. We sat outside and it was so nice! I ended up just ordering a small salad that I couldn't finish because my tummy was bothering me once again :(. Everyone ordered cheesecake for dessert but me. Here's the line up, this was the little ones piece it was Vanilla Bean....
This was the mans, Oreo...

The man friend had Plain Cheesecake with Raspberry sauce...
The lady friend had good ole Strawberry...
I wasn't sad :). I dipped into the peanut butter jar for dessert when I got home :).

The next day started early and ended late. We were on the lake all day and night for a Memorial Day party. Here's a shot of my friend and I...
I will say there was lots of snacking and Jello shots involved. hehe (apparently there's something on my chin in this pic).

Surprisingly, I felt good this morning (I know how to practice moderation) and was pumped for my planned girls brunch at Marche with the dear sweet Heather and one our readers, Mandy. I was so excited to meet a reader. She was super sweet and I cant wait to get together again. Kim, next time you have to join us!! Here's Mandy showin off our appetizer...
Dips for the bread...
That's butter, blackberry jam, a peanut/almond butter, Nuttela and honey. YUM!! (I ate most of it)

I order the scrambled baked eggs...
I wasn't a fan so I returned them and got the Organic Steel Cut Oats with strawberries...
Much better :). My belly was super carb loaded!!

All the girls...

I had such a fun time and was able to go back to Heathers house where she showered me with gifts. One of them being this a kabocha squash that I have been dying to try!!!
Heather, you gave me way to much, so next lunch I am buying!!! Do you hear me??? Gosh, shes such a generous sweet heart!!

Anyway, when I got home I totally passed out for like 3 hours. This was my dinner...
A fabulous ending to my great weekend with friends and family. That's what its all about :)!

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I used to be really shy and scared to tell the waiter or waitress at a restaurant my special requests (with are many). I do it so much now that I am much more confident making the requests. Since I am paying for it I should get what I want and what makes my tummy happy!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great Memorial Day tomorrow!!!

Frittatas And Fun...

Lunch yesterday was a stir fry made with leftover portobellos and sausage from the night before.
It was great. I also added in some onion, broccoli, grape tomatoes, garlic and ls soy sauce. For my snack I gave into my craving.
Acorn squash, naturally more peanut butter (my all time fav) and a few toasted cinnamon squares cereal from Cascadian Farms. I also add a little liquid stevia and cinnamon for extra sweetness. YUMMY!!

For dinner I decided on breakfast since a had a lot of eggs that I cant eat :(. So for the man and little one I made a Spinach Frittata and Cheddar Muffins.
They are both really simple and obviously healthy :).

Spinach Frittata

• 6 egg whites
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup low-fat milk
  
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
• 2 green onion finely sliced
• 1tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 large white onion chopped
• 1/2 10 ounce package of baby spinach
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Method:

1. Set oven to broil. Beat egg whites until very frothy. whip in yolk, milk, green onion, garlic. Set aside
2. Preheat oil in an ovenproof non stick skillet. Add onion and saute until soft and then add spinach. When wilted add egg mixture. Lower heat and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Cook slowly until it is firm at the edges and around the middle. Place under the broiler until lightly browned on top.

172 calories, 9 gram of fat, 8 carbs, 16 grams protein

Cheddar Muffins

• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp raw brown sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup Yves meatless ham
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 tbsp canola oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line muffin tin with cups (I got ten muffins). In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in cheese and ham. In a small bowl combine egg, milk and oil. Pour liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until flour is wet. Fill muffin tins to the top and bake for 20 to 25 min.
   

95 calories, 3 grams fat, 11 carbs, 5.5 grams protein

Here they are before going in the oven...
Everything turned out great (thanks Clean Eating Mag!!), But I couldn't eat any of it :(. I did however manage to eat this lovely late night snack...
Vitatop, peanut butter, and dark chocolate chips.

This morning I was excited to wake up and try my Oat Groats that had been soaking for a day and then simmered on the stove waiting for me to devour them. nom nom!! Here's what they looked like cooked...
You know I had to pulverize them :). With spinach...
Close up...
So good. Just like regular oats but a bit chewier texture. I also had sausage and cottage cheese on the side...
After breakfast it was off to get ready to meet my darling friend Heather for a fun filled day of eating and shopping!! Of course we ate at Whole Foods, once again. My view of my plate (I got the salad bar)...
Heathers view of my plate...What I can remember of the mix...

• Curried wheat berries
• roasted red pepper hummus
• chickpea salad
• tomato and cucumber salad
• cherry tomatoes
• asparagus
• cubed turkey
• spinach
• mushrooms
• tempeh (first time trying it, I must say it had a strong dog food taste, not that I have tasted dog food, ok you got me, I have)
• trio of peppers
• broccoli

I think that's all. Its 8:35 pm and I am still some what full from that salad!! We also managed to hit up Whole Body, Urban Outfitters and Trader Joes. Pics of some of the goodies in my next post.LOVE YOU HEATHER!!!!!!! Don't forget the angle. It does wonders!! Hahaha :)

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: Being a stay at home mom is fun and all but sometimes you just need a BREAK!! Today was one of those times. The little one was starting to drive me up the wall and I know the feeling was mutual!! We are only human and even though she is only 3 she needs a break from me just as much as I need one from her. In fact, I insisted she stay the night tonight at my parents and she didn't argue!! LOL. I know she will have fun and will be elated to see me in the morning. I love that feeling when she runs to me after we have been apart!!

Who Needs A Head? Not Me!

With 2 wild children here over the weekend the last thing I was thinking of was taking pictures of my food. I did however manage to get in a pic of my morning snack yesterday. The smoothie was a Peanut Butter Banana Kale Shake partly inspired by Angela's blog Oh She Glows and it was really yummo! I think I thew in frozen banana, peanut butter, unsweetened almond milk, cottage cheese, liquid egg whites, and of course a great big leaf of kale. I also had some cantaloupe with fresh squeezed lemon juice over it. Try it, the lemon juice gives it a great kick!
My honey also put some finishing touches on our raised bed garden.
We had to take my mans little bro back home yesterday and its about a 30 min. drive out to country so we were invited to stay for dinner. My lovely mother in law is very respectful of my eating habits so besides the brown sugar soaked bbq sauce ribs, she grilled me up some plain chicken and lots of veggies and big ole salad. It was all really good and I was super stuffed when we left! We had a good time there and did a little playing around on the 4 wheelers. I haven't driven one in so long and was such a chicken when I got on. I swear having kids really makes you more cautious!
This morning I hit up the gym and had a great workout. There were tons of people in the weight room so I did a little extra running while waiting for them to clear out. I came home and had my usual 6 egg whites and oats at about 7:45. I was starving at about 9:45 and with no plans I went down to see what was here to eat. I snacked on these (peanut butter puffins)while making up my mind...
I would be lying if I said my hand didn't venture its way back into the box. I pulled out a few more to top my snack with but someones eye caught them and gobbled them up.
I decided on this no fail snack.

All mixed up...I am still a little hungry but I am going to drink some water and take a shower and see if it wears off. Hope to get my veggies planted sometime today. The man still has some more soil to buy and add in.

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: Growing up I had some people in my life that were not very good influences, as a result I strive to be the best influence I can to my 3 nieces (all in high school) and my 3 young nephews. I love them so much and do not want to see them go down some of the paths that I chose.

P.S. I was thrilled this weekend when my 14 year old niece informed that you can subtract 8lbs when you weight yourself. I asked her why and she said "because that's how much your head weights". LOL!

Whats with this weather?

Hit the gym this morning with a full body workout. I always start first with a 10 min. run on the tread. which usually equates to a little over a mile. Then moved on to the weights. Not to crowded this morning which was great! Before the gym I grabbed half a banana for some fuel and when I got home I immediately made a protein shake. My shake consisted of half a scoop Jay Robb pp, the rest of the nana, tsp. of honey, cocoa powder, small chunk of a cc Cliff bar, ice and water. It was very tasty and came in at about 250 cals. An hour later I had a solid meal that consisted of pumpkin oats and egg whites with cc.

Eggs look kinda nasty huh?

This is what I sweeten pretty much everything with.

For lunch I was so excited to try something new. I bought this beautiful spaghetti squash the other day and I have been dying to use it. While it was baking I mixed 3 ounces of extra lean ground beef together with 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce and a couple of spoonfuls of diced tomatoes. When it was finished I scooped the insides of one half of the squash (which I am guessing was about 2 cups) and topped with my meat mixture. I also had a side of brussels sprouts. This meal was incredibly filling and without the veggies came in at about 250 cals. I cannot believe 2 WHOLE CUPS of this stuff is only 84cals and 20 carbs. Spaghetti squash you are my new best friend! I really need to search for some recipes with this stuff.

The weather around here has been crazy latley! One day its 10 the next is 65. I really miss the Az. weather! At least there you always know its gonna be HOT! So due to this great weather me and the little one headed out for a walk. She road her tric. and I tagged along. I actually worked up a sweat.