I’m SO late tonight! It’s been a rather loooong day.

Dork moment: As I laid in bed last night, I thought to myself: what was I thinking buying a tub of Greek yogurt and a tray of raspberries from Costco when I’m flying to San Francisco on Thursday? And opening a can of pumpkin?! Uh oh. The word “waste” flashed in neon yellow right before my eyes. Then I shook my head and reassured myself it was no big deal. I’m the dairy queen, I can surely finish 1 liter of yogurt in 3 days. Have some faith in yourself, Al!

Did I just call myself ‘Al’? Yep.

Breakfast involved ALL 3 of those foods. Pumpkin eggy oatmeal w/ chia seeds + cinnamon spiked Greek yogurt and raspberries.

Plus coffee

The leaf bowl was appropriate as it really felt like Fall (err WINTER) this morning. Check out that frost.

I got up on the early side this morning to attend one of my best friend’s father’s funeral followed by a reception. I left my camera at home out of respect for everyone there.

I had some pasta salad, a big pickle (not awkward at all) and a white chocolate macadamia cookie. I got to chat with several of my friends from elementary/middle/high school, many of whom I haven’t seen in a couple years.

***

Then I drove back to our old house to vote! I munched on a pack of Halloween pretzels on the way.

Since I was in the neighborhood, I headed to our old house to use the gym. We still own the house so I’m still allowed to use the gym . I did an easy 60 min. on the elliptical.

***

I ventured to the Whole Foods Hot Bar for dinner. ‘Twas glorious.

I got a medley of grains and veggies:

• Tofu
• Asian slaw
• Black quinoa salad
• Kale and wheatberry salad
• Israeli cous cous
• Peas, carrots, red peppers
• Spring mix + spinach

These photos were taken with my point + shoot camera….do you notice the difference?

I picked up a few items afterwards. The Whole Deal has some fabulous coupons. If you shop at Whole Foods, you definitely need to pick up a copy and flip through it.

The Shredded Oats and Siggi’s were actually on sale to begin with so I got the cereal for $1.50 and yogurt for 75 cents….a STEAL!!

I swear, sometimes I think I should write a food THRIFT blog.

The Shredded Oats Vanilla Almond tastes like a mix between Cinnamon Puffins and Quaker Oatmeal Squares. I think it goes without saying that I’m a HUGE fan!

I had several handfuls on the drive home. FYI opening a box of cereal on a 30 min. drive is uhh rather dangerous.

I also spotted this Pumpkin Spice Arctic Zero. I saw the phrase pumpkin spice and was immediately intrigued. There was no way I could put this back after I picked it up.

It’s not really ice cream nor is it frozen yogurt…I’m not sure what to call it!

I ate about 2/3 of the pint.

It tasted more like frozen yogurt than ice cream. I’m happy to report it was much easier on my stomach than regular ice cream. I also love that the whole pint has 16g of protein and 8g of fiber.

I ended the night with some Greek yogurt, raspberries and a several handfuls of cereal. Cereeaaaaaal!

***

Alright time to go figure out San Fran logistics! I haven’t started packing whatsoever. Oopsies.

Tell me: What are your strategies for saving money at the grocery store?

I just found out that I advanced to the 2nd round of the Project Food Blog Contest. Thank you so much for your votes. Get excited for my round 2 post coming up this weekend!

***

Last night, we went out to Todai Japanese Sushi & Seafood Buffet to celebrate my parents’ 30th anniversary. Romantic and classy, huh? We ate at this restaurant over a year ago for my pre-senior year hurrah dinner. <–click to see photos of the beautiful food display!

When my family eats at a buffet, there is no such thing as portion control. In our minds, eating more food means getting your money’s worth. If you think you’re full after 1 plate, you thought wrong. Keep on going! The more plates the better.

*I sincerely wish I didn’t think this way but it runs in my blood!

Things NOT to do when going to a buffet:

1. Workout right beforehand for the sole purpose of getting hungry

I completely ruined my appetite yesterday afternoon by eating several servings of Kettle Chips. BUT I wanted to be hungry for dinner! Some people eat a snack before buffets/parties to avoid going crazy. Not me. I like to be hungry so I can chow down. Thus, I hit up the gym beforehand to work up an appetite. I’m know, I’m weird.

2. Wear a free-flowing/preggo dress

I thought about wearing khaki shorts to dinner but that would’ve just restricted the expansion of my tummy. Enter: a loose-fitting dress!

Healthy living blog, what?

3. Turn a blind eye to your glass of water and the 2 random lettuce leaves that somehow made it onto your plate.

I reluctantly put some veggies and fruit on my plates (yes, that’s plural) to balance things out but they just got in the way . I think I drank ~1 glass of water the entire time. No room for water when there is so much delicious food.

***

A Healthy Buffet

With that said, this buffet was actually quite healthy. There were delicious salads everywhere, soup, noodle soup, sushi, sashimi, and mini bite-size desserts. It is the healthiest buffet I have ever eaten at.

*Before we begin, I’m gonna say I was mindfully overeating last night. I knew I was eating more than I needed to. It wasn’t uncontrolled though. I mindfully ate everything.

Are you ready? Let’s do this…

Plate #1

Clockwise from the top: 1) salad with soba noodles, tuna and avocado 2) sushi and sashimi 3) tempura kabocha and tempura broccoli 3) calamari.

I had never tried tempura kabocha…it was good!

Plate #2

More of the same plus a crab leg.

This sushi had pineapple on top. I loved it. I wish I could remember all the varieties of sushi they offered–they were some really creative ones.

Soba noodle are so refreshing!! I need to make them myself sometime.

Plus, check out those veggies! I tried .

Plate #3

One last plate of nigiri sushi. Eel and some white fish <–my 2 favorites!

Dessert Plate

Chocolate walnut fudge, strawberry cheesecake and some fruit. See how small the desserts are in comparison to the fruit?

Green tea ice cream, red bean ice cream, and strawberry ice cream.

The following were not my plates. I’m just showing you some other desserts….

…but I did have another plain cheesecake sliver. Aren’t these desserts cute? I love that you can try out many different kinds without having to throw anything away.

Peter went to town. Peter has a lightning fast metabolism. We are all jealous of Peter.

Peter thoroughly enjoyed his night off .

Presents

2 freshly baked moon cakes my brother picked up from a bakery in DC. My parents didn’t get to eat any on the actual holiday a few days ago so they were excited.

Plus a bottle of wine.

Afterwards, we walked around the mall to help with digestion. I found an elliptical in a department store and joked that I could hop right back on it after my dinner.

I probably ate twice as much food as I would have at home. However, last night was a special occasion and the food, for the most part, was pretty darn healthy. Much to my surprise/delight, I was NOT overly stuffed. Usually when I walk out of Todai, I am uncomfortably stuffed. Last night, I was just full. Woohoo!

Perhaps wearing a dress helped .

***

Tell me: Do you eat at buffets? If so, do you go all out or try to eat normal portions?

I ran 6.2 miles today.

Running at home (vs. school) has always been harder for me. Home=running drought.

I always find excuses: It’s too hot. There isn’t a beautiful trail here like the WaDuke at school. I’m not stressed out of my mind. It’s just too hard. My legs hurt. Wah.

My endurance always decreases after I come home from school and I always go from running 5-6 miles to barely making it to 2. After one too many frustrating/difficult runs this summer, I finally accepted that I probably wouldn’t run 6 miles again.

Of course the first half of my run today was still challenging. I wanted to stop after 1…2…3 miles. No thanks to the hills. Oh the hills are alive!

However, today I had faith in myself. As I got closer to the 3 mile mark, I thought about completing 4. When I got to 4, I thought about 5. Then it dawned on me that I could actually run 6 miles. At HOME.

I ran my 4 mile loop and then another 2 mile loop. The last stretch was UP hill (whew!). Loops really do make the difference for me. Had I gone out and back on the bike trail, I am almost certain I would have stopped after 1 mile.

No, it wasn’t a particularly speedy run. Minus a couple short walk breaks, it came out to be 6.2 miles in 63 minutes. Average of 10:09/mile. I’ll take it though considering the crazy hills I had to climb!

Today, I didn’t try to run a certain pace. I kept reminding myself slow and steady wins the race.

And today, I won the race against myself.

***

This was almost the run that wasn’t. I got sucked into a Twitter conversation this morning about weddings. Before I knew it, I was designing my own engagement ring. $1,550. Not too bad, right? Any takers?! Keep in mind, my parents will get us a Vita Mix too .

I had some Fiberful Ends & Pieces + coffee before leaving for my run.

Post run, I took an ICE BATH! (For the sake of my shins, hips and achilles) I had a cup o’ hot water and my phone with me to pass the time. Plus a sweatshirt to keep warm!

After using all the ice in the freezer (2 full buckets), the water still wasn’t cold enough so I added our ice packs. It wasn’t freezing, but it was pretty darn cold.

I sat for about 15 minutes. I sure hope this helps!

Post run, I ate a Cinnaraisin Ezekiel English Muffin with Greek yogurt and a drizzle of SSB

Plus a Green Smoothie

Spinach + berries + protein powder

Looks disgust-balls. Tastes amaze-balls.

Shortly after, Peter and I made a Black Eyed Pea Shrimp Salad–my favorite!

I wolfed this down! My appetite was catching up with me and I was ravenous.

Dessert: Grapes and Dark Chocolate

More Fiberful and SSB

…plus a bowl of Pecan Praline Ice Cream (2 servings ish). Mmm Mmm Mmm!

Off to go ice my shins!!

***

Tell Me: What’s something you’ve accomplished recently? Brag about yourself!

19 ripe bananas. 3 people. No prob, Bob.

We’ve been consuming bananas like monkeys this past weekend! So maybe monkeys don’t eat banana oatmeal and banana soft serve but you get the idea. With the help of our freezer, Magic Bullet and some graham crackers, these bananas have been disappearing before our eyes.

I’ve got 2 simple and quick healthy dessert recipes to share with you. Are you ready, Freddie?

***

Banana S’mores

I was a Girl Scout for 13 years (that’s more than half my life!). Needless to say, I’ve enjoyed s’mores many many times in my life.

This time, however, I replaced the marshmallows with banana slices and the campfire with a toaster oven.

Watch and learn…

300*F for ~7 min.

Melty banana pillows in pools of warm chocolate, sandwiched between two crunchy cinnamon graham crackers.

***

Ready for s’more?

Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

Banana soft serve in between two graham crackers. That’s it.

It doesn’t get any easier than that.

The creamy texture of the banana ‘ice cream’ paired with the sweet, crumbly graham crackers rivals any ice cream sandwich on the market.

Gimme s’more please!!!

The majority of my day was spent cleaning out the piles of sacred treasure (okay, trash) in my room. We’re getting close to moving day and I’ve still got a ways to go . I know I know, it seems like I’ve been cleaning/packing for ages. I really wasn’t kidding when I said it is my most despised task. I swear I need someone to just blindfold me and throw everything away!

I made quite a bit of progress today, that is, until I stumbled across the most sacred treasure of all: my diaries.

Fun Fact: I used to write in a diary every single night, without fail (unfortunateIy, I stopped near the end of high school and never picked it back up. I suppose blogging is sort of like writing in a diary….?)

Most of the entries were about what happened that day, who I talked to, or what I bought at the mall. However, some entries left me a bit heavyhearted. Don’t get me wrong, I was an incredibly happy gal growing up but it was quite evident that I had body image concerns starting at a young age.

It was fun to relive my high school years though. An abundance of silly drama and gossip that was at times unbearably embarrassing to read .

I also found several letters and notes that I received from my friends (and even one from an ex-boyfriend).

Not So Fun Fact: I did more reading and reminiscing than cleaning!

***

A Breakfast Burger

I had a major hankering for pancakes this morning. I’m talkin’ MAY-jor. I think it’s safe to say my hankering came from reading a few blogs as I was getting out of bed! I knew pancakes would be perfect for using up our going-soft blueberries. One problem: we were out of eggs! I could have used a ‘flax’ egg, but I was in the mood for super fluffy, cakey pancakes.

So I made a breakfast ‘burger’ instead. It wasn’t actually a burger at all, it just sorta looked like one.

A brown rice English muffin with Greek yogurt, banana soft serve and blueberries. Even though they weren’t pancakes, they did a fine job at satisfying my craving.

As you can see, I got really into taking photos of my breakfast burger this morning. That and I just couldn’t choose which photos to use!

Afterwards, I finished off the gigantic tub of Greek yogurt (from Costco).

While cleaning, I snacked on an apricot, some dates w/ almond butter, and plenty of Quinoa Banana Bread Granola. A big shout out to reader Katie who made this last night…just hours after I posted the recipe!

Workout:

I played tennis with my dad for ~50 minutes. We were just lightly hitting around before he joined up with some other folks to continue playing. Thus, I drove back home and hopped on the elliptical for 50 minutes.

***

Beets. A Love Affair.

While I was at the gym, my precious little beets were roasting in the toaster oven. I am having a serious love affair with beets!

Fun Fact: Peel beets under cold running water. I read this tip in a magazine recently so I gave it try….

…it made it so much easier to peel! It also rinsed off some of the excessive beet juice so my fingers weren’t stained afterwards.

I decided to use the beets 2 ways tonight–in a Kale Salad and a Kale Smoothie.

Steamed kale, avocado, goat cheese, and roasted beets.

This might sound dorky, but I love when beets dye goat cheese crumbles pink!

…it’s the little things in life.

Beet Blueberry Kale Smoothie

People drink beet juice so why not blend it up in a smoothie? I added some protein powder, plain yogurt, and stevia to what you see here.

The result? FANTASTIC! Wow it added such a sweet, pleasant flavor. It tasted a lot like a strawberry smoothie (and it sure looked like one too).

Usually when you mix green and red you get brown. This just shows how strong the red color is of beets.

Dessert: A bowl of Breyer’s Cherry Vanilla ice cream with my QBB granola!

***

That was a long post! Believe it or not I actually cut out some material. Hmm perhaps I should start writing in a diary again…it might cut down on some rambling .

Tell me: Did/Do you write in a diary? With whom/what are you having your latest love affair?

This morning I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I had a crazy dream and felt very sleep deprived, despite getting a full 8 hours of sleep. Hmm.

Enter: 72% decaf.

(It’s like we’re talkin’ about chocolate here or something).

The Smooth and Really Mellow Blend did the trick and I felt much better afterwards. Thank Coffee!

Pre-Workout Breakfast:

Sunny-side up egg on a cinnamon raisin English muffin with expired laughing cow cheese.

A few of you have asked how I make my egg so perty-ful. Allow me to let you in on my trick….

In order to avoid having an overcooked bottom or undercooked top, I keep the pan covered and allow the steam to cook the top of the egg–that way I don’t have to flip the egg!

Ta da!

Runny yolk, just the way I like it.

On the side I had some strawbs.

My latest combo of choice–sunflower seeds and raisins.

While I might be in Sunflower Seed Butter rehab, no one said I couldn’t have some seeds, right?

It’s called bending da rules

***

Workout: Elliptical 60 min. while watching a E! Specials on J. Biebs and J. Aniston.

And then the Kale Smoothies continued!

In the MB:

• 4 strawberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup plain 1% yogurt
• 1 cup kale, steamed
• 1/2 scoop wheatgrass
• water, stevia ‘n’ ice

Topped with ze lovely combo, most of which sank to the bottom.

The MB was being testy today, hence the green bits. I think it was getting jealous with all my talk of getting a Vitamix. Don’t worry, MB, that’s a looooong time comin’!

+whole wheat toast w/ almond butter.

***

Beets. It’s what’s for dinner.

This was my first time making beets. You know, other than opening a package from TJ’s.

I wrapped them in foil and roasted them at 375* F for about an hour.

Peeled (for the most part).

Obligatory shot of the beet-stained hands.

Steamed kale topped with beets, goat cheese and toasted pecans. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Wow. I just have one question…where have beets been all my life?

The roasting felt like an eternity. I was hovering over the toaster oven like a 5 year old girl waiting for her birthday cake!

It was well worth the wait though.

And for dessert? Look what my dad brought home from the grocery store (after I finally finished off the last carton of ice cream and no longer had to have it staring at me all day).

He claimed he had to get 3 cartons to get the savings. Uh huh.

Can you guess which flavor I had a [giant] bowl of?

Yep. How’d ya know?

We’re Redbox-ing The Bounty Hunter tonight. Has anyone seen it?

So a double dose of kale and a double dose of pecans and a double dose of Ms. Aniston…all in one day.

***

Tell me:

1) What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? I love cookies and cream.

2) How do you like yours eggs cooked (if you eat ‘em)? Sunny-side UP.

3) Have you entered my giveaway? Do it!

A couple months ago, I purchased the Insanity workout program in an attempt to get me out of my workout rut. All of a sudden, running wasn’t happening for me and I wanted to find something else that was both physically challenging and relatively enjoyable. I found a good deal for the workout program online so I figured I would give it a try.

The week that I started the program, I did the fit test and the first two workouts. The rest of the week I jumped around the program and only completed bits and pieces of the workouts. For some reason my head wasn’t in the program so I decided to give it a break and go back to it later.

Yesterday, I pulled out the Pure Cardio workout on a whim and completed it (~30 min. minus the stretching). I followed it up with 40 min. on the elliptical and 20 min. full body strength training. After 2 days off from exercise, my muscles were fresh and I had plenty of energy.

I really got into the workout yesterday. By that I mean I didn’t press pause to take extra water breaks as much as I did before . I probably won’t do the Insanity workouts 6 days/week as suggested because a) it’s a little too much high impact exercise for my wimpy shins b) I actually find the workouts a bit repetitive c) I think I would burn out.

Instead, I’m going to do the workouts a few times per week to get my heart rate up and to take a break from the elliptical. I think my brother may join in on the fun too .

Oh yes, it really is.

***

Another Kale Green Smoothie, this time spiked with AllieBar crumbles.

I got a bit overzealous and piled on too much! I eventually ate the AllieBar in the background a little later.

While writing a cover letter for a job opportunity I found, I snacked on some toasted pecans and chocolate chips. I was writing at a rate of about 2 sentences every 30 minutes. In the end I think I cranked out a total of 10 sentences…? Yikes, I better get back to that today!

Post workout I made a veggie sausage, spinach and goat cheese patty using the same technique as I did with the meatballs over the weekend. I plunked my delicious patty on a toasted cinnamon raisin English muffin with a thick layer of smashed avocado.

On the side, I had some Greek yogurt with fresh figs.

I’m pretty sure this entire meal was created in about 5 min. flat.

Dessert: Cherry Vanilla ice cream with toasted pecans and 1 1/2 AllieBars. <—This is becoming a trend!

***

The rest of the night was spent making 6 batches of AllieBars–the most I’ve ever made in one night! Baking sure is exhausting. My entire back is in one giant knot today–I don’t know if it was from the Insanity workout or from stirring the AllieBar ‘dough’ .

Off to go roll out my back and work on my cover letter!

This weekend I had fruits from all over come to visit me. For some fruits it was their first time here while the others knew my belly like the back of their hand stems. Allow me to share with you my fruity escapades from the last couple of days.

First, take a look at my exotic fruit loot!

Before this summer I had never tried Fresh Apricots. I suppose I avoided them in the past because I thought I was allergic (since ya know I’m allergic to fresh plums and peaches). And before this weekend, I had never tried Fresh Figs!

I’ve been eating dried apricots and dried figs for years and years but never thought to seek out their fresh counterparts.

Seriously, what better way to enjoy fresh figs than with goat cheese?

While you’re at it, add some avocado, apricots, and drizzle some balsamic vinaigrette.

These fresh figs were everything I had hoped for and more. My favorite thing about dried (and fresh) figs is the millions of seeds inside.

After playing tennis with the ‘rents on Friday night, my mom wanted to make some Homemade Tart Frozen Yogurt. I swear she asks to make this every. single. day. I don’t mind though because it means we get to go to Trader Joe’s to buy yogurt, among other necessities .

Side note: Our TJ’s has been sold out of European Style yogurt for over a week now (!!). Using half Euro Style yogurt is the key to making the frozen yogurt tart. We had to use 1/2 regular plain and 1/2 Greek. It just ain’t the same!

We wanted to try making a flavored froyo this time so we blended our last mango to make a mango puree….

…and added it to the yogurt….

to make Mango Tart Froyo.

Topped with toasted pecans and frozen pomegranate seeds.

The mango flavor was pretty subtle. I think it could have used another mango’s worth of puree.

***

The fruity escapades continue…

Oatmeal Squares–perhaps the best cereal to grace this wonderful Earth of ours.

+ a chocolate chip Chewy granola bar.

After a full day of running errands and buying shower curtains (at Homegoods, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Costco) we came home for dinner.

I made Goat Cheese and Spinach Meatballs with steamed kale, avocado and hearts of palm.

To make the sausage, I mixed 1/3 cup Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage with 1/2 TBSP goat cheese and 2 TBSP thawed frozen spinach.

(I didn’t want to make too much because I didn’t know how they would turn out. This was a totally improvised creation)

Rolled into balls and pan fried for about 5 minutes.

The end result? Amazing! I wish I had made 50 more. The warm goat cheese made the veggie meatballs incredibly creamy and flavorful.

The more I eat Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage, the more I love it.

For dessert I enjoyed some Cherry Vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips. This bowl x3!

Stay tuned for even more fruity escapades. Next up? Dragonfruit!

Tell me: What’s your favorite fruit? Exotic or not.

Last night. Oh what a night it was for the tum tum. Where shall I start? Let’s begin with dinner.

I cooked dinner for my family last night. My dad usually prefers to do the cooking but because he was working at the new house ’til late, I decided as Sous Chef of Peter’s Kitchen to take over. There were a few bumps in the road (i.e. defrosting frozen tuna steaks) but all in all everything turned out okay…for the most part.

Seared tuna with homemade sesame ginger sauce, served with seaweed salad and edamame

For the Sesame Ginger Sauce I combined

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• cilantro
• ginger
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• rice wine vinegar
• black pepper
• green onions
• agave nectar

…all ingredients we had stocked in the kitchen.

I seasoned the tuna with salt and pepper before searing. I added about 1/3 of the sauce to the pan near the end and then left the rest for garnishing and dipping.

I usually prefer my seared tuna to be rare but I knew my family wanted it more on the cooked side. Also, I didn’t get the tuna 100% defrosted before cooking so I left it on the pan just a tad longer.

For some extra veggies, I stir-fried a head of broccoli, mushrooms and a Roma tomato. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

As per usual, I ate everything on a bed of lettuce while my family had rice.

Seaweed salad is simply superb.

For dessert, I had some Butter Almond Ice Cream, courtesy of my dad. The first thing I asked him was ‘not butter PECAN?!’ To which he replied, ‘butter almond is better.’

I beg to differ.

Don’t get me wrong, ’twas still buttery, creamy, and delicious but you know pecans are my favorite nut!

Regular ice cream may be higher in fat than the fat-free/low-fat/no sugar added varieties but the fact that I can actually recognize and pronounce it’s short ingredients label makes it healthier, in my opinion. Not to mention it tastes so much better.

I also split a mango with my Momma. Turtle shell-style.

After dinner, my stomach hurt a little. Just a little. Thankfully the pain subsided on our walk to Harris Teeter. When I got back, I ate some yogurt and strawberries….and then…it really really started to hurt.

A couple agonizing hours later, the dinner I worked so hard to make came right back up. I have no idea why! Perhaps it was all the tuna handling? My family had no problems whatsoever though (thank goodness).

This seems to happen to me from time to time. Last time it was a nut allergy though. I know it wasn’t the butter almonds’ fault since I ate some of the ice cream the  night before and had no problems. Oh well. I’m still alive.

***

Moving on to this morning. I knew I needed something to get me going!

No no sillies, that’s guar gum .

My body needed vitamins ASAP in the form of a smoothie. I added some guar gum (that my brother gave me) along with xanthan gum because I’ve heard that the combination of the two is magic.

In the mix:

• 1/3 frozen banana
• 4 strawberries
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup 1% plain yogurt
• 1/4 tsp guar gum; 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 scoop wheatgrass
• crushed ice

Wheatgrass does the body good.

I could feel the nutrients running through my bloodstream . All is well with the tum tum now.

Have a great weekend!!

When you have something delicious in your possession that you love and adore, do you savor it and eat it slowly? Or do you eat it up lightning fast because it is constantly calling out to you from the kitchen?

For me, it is the latter. I tend to eat up my favorite foods until they are finished for no other reason than that I want it and there ain’t no sense in saving it for later.

I mean, what if the world comes to an end or a burglar breaks into our house and steals my muffin off the kitchen counter? The horror.

***

It probably comes at no surprise that the Carrot Ginger Muffins went lightning fast. Next victim? Berry Mango Bran Muffin (also from Trader Joe’s).

I’ve gotten these once in the past. I love these muffins because they have a bran-y, flax-y texture. They are soft yet hearty, super moist, and their ingredient list is unbeatable.

(Oh and what’s with people hating the word ‘moist?’ Am I missing something?)

I’ve been eating these straight outta the box…

…in parfait form….

(layered with 2% Greek yogurt and blueberries)

….and warmed up in the microwave with a drizzle of Sunflower Seed Butter.

Speaking of which…

It’s been several weeks since I’ve had this jar of salty goodness in my possession–probably because I can polish it off lightning fast.

I say this as I am spooning it into my mouth, literally, right now.

I think this might be my favorite nut/seed butter of all time. I can eat this by the spoonful….like it’s ice cream or sumthin.’

***

I’ve been dipping all sorts of goodies into the jar:

Frozen bananas…

Dates….

(A date with almond butter sunflower seed butter)

My favorite IKEA spoon…

Oh and drizzled over homemade tart froyo.

Reunited and it feels oh so so good.

***

Yesterday, at the new house I snacked on some raw okra and broccoli with Tomato & Basil Hummus.

My Momma is head over heels about this homemade tart froyo. She can polish off her bowl lightning fast, that’s for sure! Guess which one is her’s?

Workout: 60 min. elliptical and arm weights

I made Protein Ice Cream/Faux Frosty for the first time last night after seeing it on a few blogs. I used Janetha’s recipe for my inspiration.

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 scoop Alive! Shake (protein powder/greens/fruit)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (too much!! It was a lil’ on the goopy side!)
• 1 T cocoa powder
• cinnamon
• stevia
• 1/2 cup decaf coffee, chilled
• ice

Because I was using my Magic Bullet, I blended everything together first, then added crushed ice, then blended again.

It was a tad goopy because I used a pinch too much xanthan gum. It sure was refreshing though and it made for a perfect protein-packed post-workout treat.

This went lightning fast.

What gets devoured lightning fast in your kitchen?