My Thursday thoughts often drift to the fact that it is the day before Friday. Not that I’m wishing my life away, but the weekend is almost here. As usual, I’m so ready!! I feel like this week has been a bit of a treadmill of tedium, and I’m ready to jump off and do something fun. I did try to break up the boredom a little bit with a different kind of breakfast this morning:
I took a banana wheat bran scone out of the freezer, toasted it and then topped it with some PB2 and pomegranate honey jelly. I take back my negative opinion of these scones. Topped with some PB and jelly, this little scone was awesome! I had some blackberries on the side, and a bowl of my “ambrosia.” I had 1/2 a cup of Greek yogurt mixed with some canned mandarin oranges and topped with a little bit of sweetened coconut. I loved it just as much this week, as I did when I came up with it last week. Unlike last week, I didn’t eat the whole can of oranges today, so there’s more in my future! I also had a cup of coconut coffee mixed with skim milk and some sugar free hazelnut Torani. This breakfast was a fun and different start to the day.
Throughout the day, I snacked on this little baggie of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal. This is, of course, my favorite “snacking” cereal, and you could win a box in my 100th post giveaway. If you haven’t entered already, you have until midnight on Friday. Just go to this post to find out how to enter. I’m looking forward to announcing a winner on Saturday, and Sweetie Pie’s Prize Pack is all packed up and ready to go to its new home. It could be headed your way!
Around 11:00, I had what has become my traditional morning snack this week:
I had a little trouble removing the middle with my plastic child safe knife today, so there are some extra pieces. There was plenty of Bee’s Knees PB to go around!
When lunchtime rolled around, I had another of my turkey burgers from the other night on an Arnold’s thin with some dijon and brie. I scored this brie the other day at a party, Sarah style, and I decided it would taste good on today’s burger. Using a different cheese was an easy way to change up my leftovers! Plus, I’ve eaten all of my chipotle cheddar. 
I also had hummus and some baby carrots. Is it just me, or are these baby carrots huge? Several of them were bigger than my thumb. They really are as big as they look in the photo, and it took some serious chomping to eat them. I kind of liked the crunch!
Speaking of crunch, I had one of these after lunch:
I love taking a bite and letting the chocolate and the honeycomb sort of melt in my mouth. YUM! Still craving chocolate, I went and got a fudgy peanut butter vitatop out of the work freezer. I started eating it before I remembered to snap a picture. Oops!
Ok, now I need you to put your imagination cap on. You have one of those, right? It might be hanging next to your thinking cap? I had another work reception to attend this afternoon and it included a random afternoon glass of vino, a few nibbles of parmesan, an artichoke heart, and a few nibbles of marinated zucchini and peppers. I skipped the bruschetta, and other items, but had enough nibbles to satisfy my curiosity. That seemed reasonable, and balanced. Hooray!
After that, I went back to my office and had my afternoon bowl of oatmeal:
Today’s bowl is full of Kashi Heart to Heart Apple Cinnamon instant oatmeal. Unless I find some hiding in an unexpected place, I believe I’m out of pre-flavored oatmeal packages. CRISIS! Ok, not really. Maybe I’ll just have a different snack tomorrow, or maybe I’ll take some plain oatmeal and fix it up. Either way, I’m kind of happy that I’ve eaten all of my random little pouches of oatmeal. That means I can buy a new kind to try now! Since I have limited kitchen storage space in my apartment, I have to try to use things up before buying more as often as possible. That rule obviously does not apply to coffee from the ‘burg!
When I got home, I had something great planned for dinner. The weather was kind of dreary today, and I decided to abandon my plan completely and just have a bowl of Trader Joe’s turkey chili topped with a piece of cheese. It doesn’t get any easier than opening a can, and I really wanted the warmth and coziness of this bowl. I’m doing better at thinking about what I really want, and trying to have it. I can just make my new recipe another night. This bowl was completely satisfying, and I don’t think you can go wrong with melted cheese!
I followed that up with a small salad. I had the rest of my farmer’s market lettuce mix topped with a little goat cheese, a few dried cherries, and some balsamic vinegar. It was a bright little spot of green. I’m definitely going to visit the lettuce lady again on Saturday!
My veggies were followed up with the rest of my little container of Vanilla Snowflake LaLoo’s goat’s milk ice cream topped with vanilla almonds and a few blackberries. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how much I love this ice cream. My previous posts have probably made that point. Ok. I’m going to tell you again anyway. It’s SO GOOD!!!
I got back from the gym later than usual. It was 10:15 by the time I got back to my apartment and started writing this post. While I’ve been typing, I’ve been munching on one of my favorite little sweet snacks:
I have some Galaxy vanilla almond munch granola mixed with some Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. This bowl keeps me nibbling for a nice long while, and feeds my chocolate tooth. It really is one of my faves. I’ve been eating other granolas lately, and I was so excited when I made the return to the Galaxy. I love it, and I especially dig all of the whole almonds in the mix!
Now, I’m going to make some chamomile tea and read a bit before I head to bed. My workout was really good tonight. I burned 706 calories and felt totally energized throughout the workout!! In fact, it left me a bit too energized for bedtime. 
Sometimes that happens. I’ll count some sheep, sip some tea, and hopefully nod off pretty soon. What helps you to unwind at the end of the day?
Have a great Friday, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you haven’t already!! Ciao for now, bloggie friends!
25 grams of oat bran
Since I get them whole, rather than ground, the beans tend to stay fresh for awhile. That’s good. It will definitely take a while for me to make my way through five pounds. I do love the Coffeehouse! I had skim milk with my coconut coffee, and it was soooo yummy!
Speaking of lunch, I had a leftover turkey burger from the batch I made last night and some chipotle cheddar cheese on an Arnold’s thin. I think Arnold’s thins make awesome buns! I also had some Tribe chipotle hummus and a pile of orange pepper slices. Leftovers are your friend! This lunch was tasty, although my office smelled like a turkey burger for awhile. Who knew they were so fragrant?!
I also had a bowl of peach Chobani, some Fiber One for crunch, and another of my yummy little crunchie mini bars from the stash in my desk. I was full and happy!
When I got ready for a snack, I had another rerun from yesterday. I had the other half of my berry Fruit Newton Crisp pack with some more PB. I like this combo, and it is going to be a great way to use up the crisps. As I said, they are yummy, but they have no staying power.
I decided to pose my snack on top of the book I’m currently reading. Yes, that is a post-it note from the middle of the pad. I was out of napkins and didn’t have time to go in search of one so I improvised! I finished reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao on Monday evening. After reading that, I decided I needed something a bit… lighter. I loved the movie, Chocolat, which featured one of my favorite actresses, Juliette Binoche. It also featured Johnny Depp. Yummy. Anyway, I thought I might like the book when I found it for a dollar at a used book sale not long ago. I started it yesterday, and I’m really enjoying it so far. If you like mouthwatering descriptions of chocolates and other candies, this is the book for you. I might have been drooling a bit while reading it on the metro today. 
I told you yesterday that I thought the afternoon oatmeal might be turning into a habit. I had another bowl today, and it held me over nicely until dinner. It also satisfied my afternoon sweet tooth while providing a bit of positive nutrition. I think that’s always a good balance to strike! I’m almost out of the pre-flavored pouches so this habit may get broken, whether I like it or not, if I don’t make a trip to the store. We’ll see what happens.
I topped some of my lettuce from the farmer’s market with a chopped up turkey burger, the rest of my chipotle cheddar, some scraps of gouda that were sitting in the fridge, a bit of Greek yogurt and a little bit of salsa. I also wanted a bit of baked potato so I microbaked one, chopped it into chunks and added half of it to the salad. It was a big potato, so I’ll have the other half tomorrow. This salad was tasty, and had lots of nice protein in it. It really hit the spot. Who says that leftovers have to be boring? I’m all about reinventing them whenever possible!
After all of that, I had a little time for my food to digest before I went to kickboxing. My workout schedule has gotten a bit mixed up lately. For example, I won’t be working from home tomorrow, like I usually do, so tonight was my only opportunity for kickboxing this week. That’s ok. The Wednesday night class is a good one, and I definitely had a great workout! The only bad part is that my Thursday evening won’t be free since I can’t work out during lunch. 
Hi bloggie friends! I hope everyone had a good day. Mine was pretty good, although I didn’t get as much accomplished as I had hoped. Some days are just like that, I guess. I did start off with a hearty bananabrannerriffic breakfast bowl. This bowl had:
When lunchtime rolled around, my co-worker and I decided, sort of on the spur of the moment, to take the lunch blanket that lives in my office and go out for a little picnic on the lawn at the National Building Museum. It was nice to sit in the sun. My office is usually FREEZING, and I love having the opportunity to thaw out during lunch. I had a Morningstar Farms Chik’n Patty on some Nature’s Own Light Honey Wheat bread, some steamed carrot, broccoli and cauliflower mix, a baggie of cucumbers and bell pepper slices, and a little bit of Tribe chipotle hummus. There was a lot of orange and green in today’s lunch. Orange and green are tasty! 
I split a little piece of chocolate with my friend, and then had this when I went back in to the office.
The chocolate brownie Zbars are my favorite, but the blueberry ones are a close second. It was a nice little dessert. After my big veggielicious lunch and the Zbar, I didn’t really need a snack until much later. I started digging through the desk drawer, and then I had an idea….
I think I mentioned the other day that I have some of these fruit crisps that I bought awhile ago. I don’t often choose them because, although they are tasty, they don’t really have much nutritional punch and they do zip for my hunger. I decided to eat one of the crisps (there are two per pack) with PB on top for a little protein. I think that the remaining crisps are going to meet a similar fate. The PB gave it a little bit more sticking power, and the combo of the fruit crisp and PB was yummy!
Another common theme over the past two days has been the afternoon bowl of oatmeal. I wanted a substantial snack today when dinner was still a couple of hours away, and a big bowl of blueberry oatmeal did the trick– again. I think I might be developing an afternoon oatmeal habit! Do you have any snack habits? Is there a snack you have every day like clockwork?
Every time I opened the door, there was an avalanche of frozen things falling out and landing on my feet. I would have failed a pop quiz about what was hiding in the back of the freezer, and I had all sorts of things crammed in the door. After focusing on trying to use things from the freezer this month, I’ve managed to turn the scary jungle into this:
I made five burgers out of the turkey, and here’s what was in them:
After my quick dessert, I went to work out with my trainer and then to do some cardio. I burned 625 calories this evening, and had a good workout even though I wasn’t really in the mood when I made myself go to the gym. This was one of those days when I had to make myself get moving, but found that I really enjoyed my workout once I got started. Since the weather is warm, we went out and lunge walked up the big hill behind my building. I hadn’t really missed the hill during the cold months, but it was satisfying to find that it was easier tonight than it had been when we moved our lunges indoors back at the beginning of the winter. 
Speaking of satisfying, my sweet tooth was in all out crazy mode this evening. I had a bowl of LaLoo’s Vanilla Snowflake goat’s milk ice cream topped with berries and a few chocolate chips after the gym. I followed that up with this:
Good evening everyone! I hope you had a great Monday. I was a bit sad to be back at my desk instead of out enjoying festive brunches, but I made due with some pretty tasty eats. Before heading off to work, I had one of my 
In the smoothie:
What do I mean by that? These things don’t really “go” together. I recall many trips to the buffet where I would return to my seat with some salad, mashed potatoes, lasagna, perhaps an egg roll, a tiny taco and, well, you get the point. I used to love buffets like that, by the way. Now– not so much. I had the last of my leftover 
I decided that I needed some Fiber One crunch in my little cup of pudding today. I’ve been cutting back on fiber a bit, but it really does keep me full. Facts is facts. After that, I had one of these:
I had my first Cadbury Crunchie bar a couple of years ago when some friends, who were living in London at the time, brought a bag of mini crunchies along on our vacation in Italy. I think I might have emptied out the bag. I found them to be completely addictive. Yikes! I’ve since found them in D.C., and I like to keep a few around. The bag stays securely in the drawer and I enjoy one from time to time like a reasonable and sane person rather than a Crunchie schnarfing lunatic!
Look at the crispy honeycomb goodness. It tastes kind of like the burnt sugar on the top of a creme brulee… wrapped in milk chocolate. If you’ve never tried one, don’t!! 
Vanilla wafers topped with PB and bite sized prunes is one of my new favorite little snacks. The sad little stick legs and contextual “art” are optional!
I was really hungry by five o’clock, but it wasn’t time to go home yet. “What to eat?” was the question. I had a calorie goal in mind for my snack, and I almost reached for one of the bars in my drawer. After thinking about it for a minute, I realized that I could have a bowl of blueberry almond oatmeal (the target brand… archer farms, maybe?) in about a minute, and it would certainly keep me full much longer. I added a little PB on top because I just really love PB with my oats. What’s not to love about that?!
After my bowl of oatmeal, I wasn’t hungry for a huge dinner when I got home. I heated up the rest of the 
Of course, I always have room for dessert, and I decided to crack open my new container of LaLoo’s Vanilla Snowflake goat’s milk ice cream. This is really my very favorite vanilla ice cream ever. I can’t explain what it is about this kind that makes it special, but it almost has a frozen custard flavor to it. The vanilla is also impossible to miss. It’s just so good! I had more berries on the side and a little bit of the Brunette praline spread that I bought at brunch yesterday. Berries and cream… YUM!
I was pretty stuffed after all of that, and I decided that, since I had a night off from the gym, I’d watch one of the Netflix selections that has been lingering on top of the television for awhile now. Vicky Christina Barcelona was this evening’s featured film. Have you seen it? I’m still processing my thoughts on that one, but they seem to be headed in a positive direction. After the movie, I decided I needed one last snack since I was feeling a little rumbly and I hate trying to fall asleep if I’m hungry. I just finished this little bowl of Quaker Corn Bran cereal topped with a splash of almond milk. Now, I’m nice and full again and ready to head to bed!
I sat down, opened up my menu and nearly fell out of my chair. The menu was full of amazing choices and… it included the calorie counts for most of the foods!! Holy moly!! This was a dream come true right on my doorstep. The kinds of food available at LPQ are right up my alley. The boulangerie and patisserie selections alone could keep me entertained for a long time. For my lunch, I decided on the tartine with ricotta, mission figs, diced tomatoes, black pepper and organic acacia honey:
It was so fresh and amazing! The ricotta was smooth and creamy and went so well with the figs and honey. In case you can’t tell, a tartine is kind of like an open faced sandwich, and mine was made on some amazing whole wheat bread. BLISS! I also got a massive bowl of fruit to go along with it:
This was the perfect amount of food for me, and it was all so very fresh and bright. Speaking of fresh and bright, check out my friend’s gazpacho!
What a lovely lunch!! On the way out, I couldn’t resist picking up a jar of their praline spread and getting one of my favorites for the road:
I had my first chocolate croissant while I was studying abroad, and I’ve been a sucker for them ever since. This one did not disappoint! Happy Birthday to my friend… and happy new eatery to me. 
Yes, it really was that color! I topped some of the pretty lettuce I got at the farmer’s market with some goat cheese and almonds. That’s always a good start! Then, I got out my new magic bullet. Oh yeah. Magic bullet action! I put in a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a Tablespoon of fig infused balsamic vinegar and three blackberries with the tiniest whisper of salt and gave it a whir. Three little blackberries made for all of that color and gave the dressing an awesome texture and flavor. If only I’d had some watermelon pickles! I think this might be a good alternative to my usual mustard and vinegar dressing mixes.
Banana Wheat Bran Scones
These were super quick and easy, and I think you could certainly add all sorts of things to this recipe to suit your taste. I’m thinking that some chocolate chips would be a good addition next time. 
I also bought some spring onions, a cucumber, another bag of the gorgeous lettuce mix I tried a few weeks ago, a bunch of pink lady apples, a thyme plant, a mint plant and a sugar snack tomato plant. It’s planting season out on the balcony, and I’ve had such good luck with the plants I’ve gotten at the market in the past. I had a sugar snack cherry tomato plant last year, and it did pretty well in my big balcony pot. I’m hoping for similar results this year!
I love wild mushrooms, and I was sure to love the taste of these! I thought about different sauces, but decided that, since the pasta was pretty high in calories, I needed to bulk up the meal with a ton of veggies instead. I decided that the beautiful spring green onions and the fresh asparagus from the market would be the perfect complement to the pasta. 
I thought the onions were so pretty! I sliced up all three of these rather large green onions and sauteed them, along with a clove of garlic, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper in a teaspoon of olive oil and a spray of cooking spray. I know that a mix of olive oil and butter is common in cooking, but you get a mix of oil and spray more often in my kitchen. I cooked them low and slow for about twenty minutes. Just look at how bright and green they are!
While the onions were in the skillet, the asparagus was roasting in the oven. I love roasting asparagus, and I think the caramelized flavor really adds another element to the vegetable and to this dish!
Once my onions had cooked down nicely, and the aspara-guys had gotten a nice tan, I mixed the two together. The pasta was nearly done at this point. It only took four minutes for the pasta to boil, which was pretty awesome!
I loved the bright springiness of this dish, and I also knew that all of these veggies would help to fill me up since I was planning to eat 1/3 of the package of pasta instead of 1/2, which was the amount that the package determined to be a serving. I tossed the two together and ended up with this:
What did I think of the pasta? I loved the wild mushroom filling and the quick cooking time. It was definitely delicious. I do think that it is probably too high in calories (320 for six of the pasta pillow) for me to have on a regular basis. Even so, four pieces of the pasta with all of the veggies, preceded by an apple with cashew butter and followed by dessert kept me full for awhile. 
Speaking of dessert, I tried something I’ve been meaning to try for awhile now:
I took one of the remaining pieces of 
While I have certainly tried a number of places in DC since moving here in 2004, I have avoided going out as often as I would have liked because I find eating out to be such a challenge on a diet. Now that I’ve tried to take some of the pressure off, I find it easier to go out and to just try to make some smart choices. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to skip dessert, as you will see, but it does mean that I will likely opt for healthier choices in the other courses as a little bit of a compromise. It’s a treat, and one that I think should be enjoyed! I took photos of my dinner, but, since I was trying to be all stealthy and not use my flash, they look kind of weird. I thought I’d share them anyway.
This was a nice big pile of fresh and peppery arugula topped with some of my favorite things. The pickles were sweet and had a bit of spice, but they were different than the watermelon rind pickles we used to make when I was a kid. Ours were cut into cubes, and were bright red in a cinnamony sweet pickle syrup. These were a bit more subtle and were really delicious along with the other components of the salad. I got the dressing on the side, of course, and it was really good. I’m pretty sure it contained fresh pureed blackberries, which would explain the slightly chunky texture, and it was perfectly tangy and sweet. I ate as much of the dressing as I wanted, but that turned out to be only around half of the little dressing container.
It didn’t look nearly as neon in person. 
I almost always prefer little samples of different things over a big plate of one thing. The baby cakes were perfect for me! The little cake in the upper right hand corner involved bananas and a bit of fluffy whipped cream with a hint of mocha? I’m not sure, but it was good. The cake beneath it with the swizzle of glaze is a bit harder to describe. One of my friends had baby cakes as well, and she said it reminded her of coffee cake. I have to agree. I think there was some white chocolate involved and there was some raspberry on the bottom. It was good, and definitely breakfasty. On the bottom left hand corner was a delicate lemon cake with a lemon powdered sugar glaze. I love lemon cake with glaze, and this was one of my favorites on the plate! In the upper left hand corner… carrot cake. Oh my! Just look at the frosting. It was sooooo good! It probably gets my first place ribbon. Top and center was a very dark and rich chocolate cake that won my heart too. I had my baby cakes along with a nibble of another friend’s Pennsylvania Dutch style donuts, and I was a happy girl. 
I’ve included a box of Kashi Honey Sunshine (my favorite “snacking cereal”), Lesser Evil Black and White Kettle Corn (one of my favorite snacks), a jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams PB from PB& Co. (often part of my morning chocolate and strawberry fix), some chocolate Jay Robb’s whey protein (since I’m a fan of JR, and thought I’d share the love), a jar of the orange fig spread that I adore mixed into my Greek yogurt, one of my favorite little Z bars, and one of my favorite Theo chocolate bars too. These are all things that I love, and I can’t wait to share them all with one lucky winner!! Here’s how to enter:
When lunchtime rolled around, I set the cheese aside and heated up the beans. Then, I mixed the beans into the egg beaters and put it in the micro for 30 seconds.
Since I try to focus on getting plenty of protein in my diet, I often favor eggs over bread when it comes to choosing a food “holder.” I think it was just a matter of time before I figured out how to put this to play at work. The experiment was a success, and I have a whole new option for a quick and easy lunch made with leftover veggies and meats! Hooray for the “microwave scrambler!!”
I attended a retirement ceremony this afternoon at work, and I decided that I really wanted a piece of the celebratory cake. I actually decided to have cake before I even went to the party so this wasn’t a case of seeing it and wanting it. I just wanted it. Period. I used to avoid the cake completely and munch on whatever fruits and veggies were available. That’s definitely a healthy strategy and one that I rely on often. Today, however, when I had my heart set on cake, it wouldn’t have been the best tactic for purposes of avoiding feelings of deprivation. I had my cake, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Yum! Cake with frosting is a major treat in my book! Striving for some balanced choices, I decided to finish off my LaLoo’s this evening without the usual side of chocolate cake from the freezer since I’d already had my cake today. I had a couple of reduced fat nilla wafers instead. I feel good knowing that I didn’t deprive myself of something I really wanted, and that I found a way to balance that out without guilt or deprivation. I’m figuring this thing out, one bowl at a time. 
In addition to eating some different things today, I also had a new and different gadget on my counter.
After reading about all of the green monster smoothies on various blogs, and after hearing people talk about their 
My first green smoothie!! I mixed up 1/2 cup of skim milk, 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze, 50 grams of spinach, an ice cube and a packet of weight watchers chocolate smoothie mix. I bought a ton of ww smoothie mixes on-line, and I need to use them up and make more room in the pantry for Jay Robb! 
The cheese was good (duh!), but the sandwich thin got soggy. 
I generally think it’s hard to go wrong with Theo’s chocolate products, and I rarely meet a coconut product that I don’t like. I LOVE coconut, and I love curry, but how would I like them together… and in chocolate…? I liked them. I liked them a lot. In fact, I’d say this was a pretty amazing bar! The bar has nice coconut bits throughout, and you can definitely taste the curry. Add chocolate to that combo, and wow. Thanks Easter bunny!! There are also some bits and pieces of vanilla wafer on the plate along with a little dark chocolate dreams PB. This was a tasty little plate for sure!
This jar used to live in the kitchen at my grandparents’ house, and it has held many tasty things during its life. Sometimes it had homemade cookies in it, but often it was full of humble vanilla wafers. My papaw loved them, and he’d nibble on them when he just needed a bite of something sweet. I just think the jar looks “right” with vanilla wafers in it, and I’m happy to have it sitting on my cabinet at the ready if my sweet tooth starts to holler!
My plan was to mix up a big bowl, but not to eat it all at once. In fact, I planned to just have some on a Weetabix, which I did.
While I was eating the Weetabix, I realized that this combination really reminded me of tasty ambrosia. Ambrosiabix? The only thing missing was coconut. So…
I had a little bowl about an hour later with some coconut on top. I was loving this combo!! When I got hungry again, the thought process went something like this:
Yes, I do sometimes have conversations like that with myself. That’s normal, right? So, I ate the rest and ended with this:
I would really recommend this combination if you are looking for something light, bright and lovely. It was also a great way to make use of a pantry item. I love doing that! I have one more can of oranges that has been in my desk drawer at work for awhile now, and it will be on its way back home with me tomorrow so that I can make some more of my little ambrosia concoction! Maybe I won’t kid myself next time, and I’ll just sit down with the big bowl and a spoon. 
If you happen to be on Weight Watchers and you’ve never tried Pepito’s corn tortillas, you might want to check them out. Two of them are only one point, and they are really good. My store keeps them in the refrigerator case. You can do so many things with them, and I almost always have some in the fridge.
After dessert, I went to the gym to work out with my trainer and then to do some cardio. Tonight’s workout burned around 620 calories according to the heart rate monitor. We did some core exercises that we haven’t done in awhile, and I could really tell that my body had gotten out of the habit of doing them. I know that’s good, but it wasn’t the most pleasant thing. Ouch! I’ll be feeling it tomorrow for sure! After my workout, I tried my last new thing for the day. I had a cinnamon roll Larabar. This was one of those things that I always left on the shelf when I was counting points. I still think 200 calories is a little bit hefty for a bar, but I enjoyed it so I think it was well worth the “expense.”
One more day of work to go and only a couple of more posts until I give you the scoop on my 100th post giveaway. Tomorrow, I’m planning to tell you how the scale has treated me with my switch from counting points to counting calories. I’m looking forward to all of it!
No worries! The Easter bunny gave me a tasty bar (involving coconut, no less), and it is next on the list of chocolatey treats. I can’t wait to try it tomorrow! 
I should have snapped a photo before I shook it all up because all of the good stuff is in the bottom of the bowl. It was yummy, and pretty filling too! After that, I tried a strawberry Chobani along with my usual side of Zoe’s granola:
Just to recap my Chobani experiences, I tried the peach and thought the goo was too sweet and goopy. I tried the honey, and I thought it was really good. I appreciated the fact that the honey was already mixed in, and there was no gloppy goo to stir in. The strawberry… well… I’m not a fan of the strawberry goo either. It wasn’t bad, but I think I’d prefer my strawberry Greek yogurt to be sweetened with some strawberry jam and fresh berries. There would be less goo and more flavor. Still, this will do in a pinch.
I had a bowl of Quaker weight control banana bread oatmeal with Bee’s Knees peanut butter. I sometimes find that a bowl of oats like this will take care of a craving for baked goods, while providing a bit of extra positive nutrition. It definitely filled me up, but I figured out that chocolate was the thing I really wanted around the time I reached the bottom of the bowl. Luckily, I had a Hershey’s miniature Krackel in the desk drawer.
Done. Whew! I was finally satisfied. Needless to say, I didn’t get hungry for quite some time. I also had a pretty busy afternoon, which kept me too occupied to snack. When I did decide to have a bite of something, I decided to go a little crazy with my usual peanut butter and vanilla wafer snacks.
Meet Mr. Pruneston Napkinton. I’ve been in a goofy mood all day. What can I say?! 
These were pleasantly spicy, and the creamy texture of the beans with the melty smoothness of the cheese made for a cozy and filling dish. All I can say is yum. I’m also happy because I have leftovers. 
I just got back from the gym (617 calories burned this evening), and I had a camera shy Chex Turtle bar. I think I’m out of those now. They were really good. I might need more!! I may have another little nibble of something, but I’m basically done for the day. It’s time for me to make my evening tea and get myself to bed so that I’ll be nicely rested for Thursday. 
I made this one with 1/3 cup oats, 15 grams of Jay Robb’s Vanilla Whey Protein Powder, 16 grams of nut butter, and a bunch of cinnamon. I topped it with 1 Tbsp. of chocolate PB2 mixed with 1 Tbsp. of sugar free maple syrup and 1/2 Tbsp. of cocoa powder. That made for a pretty tasty frosting! Of course, you can barely see it since I covered it in a ton of strawberries. I bought a big container of berries at the Fresh Market on Sunday, and some of them are already getting mushy. I’m trying to use them up, but some of them may end up in the freezer. 
So, I mentioned that the lack of a big batch wasn’t a problem yet. Why? I’m still eating 
I also had a container of honey flavored Chobani with Zoe’s cinnamon raisin granola mixed in.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of the peach Chobani because of the overly sweet peachy goo, but the honey is already mixed in to this one, so there’s no goo in the bottom. It was just sweet enough, and it tasted more like my Greek yogurt typically does when I sweeten it myself. It’s a winner! I’ll definitely buy it again.
Later in the day, I had an apple. I kind of forgot to take a picture, so you are just going to see the evidence.
I hate red delicious apples, but I like Macintosh apples pretty well if they are still quite fresh and crisp. This one was pretty good. It was followed by three little candies that a friend shared with me, but I was too busy eating them to take a picture. 
I was excited to try these fruit crisps, and I bought them in both the berry and apple cinnamon flavors months ago. I’m still eating them, and I don’t think I will be buying more when I run out. They are perfectly tasty, but they don’t have any substance. They really don’t have much nutritional punch at all, and that makes them a bad choice, in my opinion, as far as bars go. They were fine for a little something sweet, but I knew it wasn’t really going to help with any hunger issues. I also ate the last two little wafers in the bag, sans PB this time.
He just wouldn’t be still to have his picture taken. I blame the blur on his fidgeting. Meanwhile, I believe this is peanut butter installment number three of the day. 
It was a quick, saucy and satisfying dinner, but it wasn’t nearly as exciting to me as dessert (shocker!). Since I finished off my big container of Edy’s slow churned, I was able to open a fresh container of ice cream. This happens to be one of my all time ice cream favorites!! 
The first time I bought 
I included a link to LaLoo’s website, because I thought it might be a fun link to share. It sounds like they have a lot of happy goats and good practices, which I appreciate. 
It’s not pretty, but, if you are a fan of oat bran you know that it was tasty. I added a bit of sugar free English Toffee Torani to sweeten it up, along with some cinnamon for spice. Now, I’m nice and full again, and I’m ready to head to bed with my tea. Before I go:
