Friday favorites – 5 things I’m loving lately

Hi there!

Happy, happy, happy Friday!!!

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And Friday means it’s time for me to share some of my favorite!

I’ve got 5 things I’ve been loving lately – some new, some not new.

One.

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Can we please talk about this yogurt?

Holy. Cow.

My Harris Teeter stopped carrying my Stonyfield Organic nonfat plain greek yogurt (I literally threw a tantrum in the store when I realized it wasn’t just out of stock) so I’d been eating Chobani nonfat plain.

And then, I tried this. I’ve tried the Fage 0% before but still preferred my Stonyfield Organic. This Total 2% though.

BY FAR the best tasting yogurt I’ve ever eaten.

Smooth, creamy, FULL of flavor. SOLD. It’s my new fave. 🙂

Two.

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You know how much I love sweet taters and I’m all about the sweet tater chips but a RUFFLED sweet tater chip?!

*SWOON*

They have the perfect crunch, will stand up to a dip if you so chose, and are just plain delicious.

Nothing fancy – just sweet taters, a little bit of oil, and sea salt. The only danger is I want to EAT ALL THE CHIPS.

Three.

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I’m like a kid at the fair with this stuff! Except, this stuff is so much better than what you get in those oversized, strangely shaped bags.

I can be guilty of mindless snacking so I’ve been measuring out a serving – 3 cups. It seems silly but it’s actually the perfect amount. At least that way, I won’t UN-consciously eat the entire bag in one sitting. 🙂

Four.

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These little cups of yumminess. I love them so.

They come in packs of 6 and I go through at least a pack a week.

I prefer the spicy but they do come in mild. Perfect for snacking with tortilla chips or veggies, perfect for topping leftover chili, perfect for putting on an omelet in the morning, perfect for EVERYTHING!

Five.

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First time I’ve tried these Applegate Naturals sausages and I must say, I’m impressed.

They have terrific flavor, don’t take any longer to cook than the Al Fresco sausages I was eating, and I can feel better about them because they are made from humanely raised chickens that aren’t fed any strange hormones or antibiotics.

I mean, I’m a red head – I don’t need any more strange hormones coursing through my body. 😉

Plus, I like that they’re frozen – the Al Fresco were refrigerated – so they last longer. I can feel better about buying more when they’re on sale. 🙂

Talk to me: What things have you been loving lately?

– jennifer

Weekly eats!

Hi there!

So, sometimes I get questions about what I eat or how I can even eat as much as I do!

Well, for starters, my muscles are HUNGRY! And, once I get back to running, I’m might even need to ADD a little. I’ll be RUNGRY. *tee hee*

It’s weird – some of the people I work with at my day job have these huge misconceptions about my diet. Some think I’m vegan (make vegan muffins ONCE for a colleague who actually IS vegan and suddenly, they’re glaring at me when I’m heating up chicken or meat sauce or whatever in the kitchen), others think I’m only organic (which is not too far off base but I’m not quite there yet), and some think I never eat sweets or junk food. Um, hello, have you even MET me?

Anyway, I decided it might be a good idea to do a weekly eats post for a couple of reasons: one – to give you an idea of what I really eat outside of all those healthy recipes I like to create and/or share; two – to show you that I actually do eat what I’ve prepped on Sundays; and three– to kinda keep track of what I’m doing so maybe I can figure out what’s been bugging my tummy lately.

It’s not an allergy, I’m fairly certain. There’s just something with my diet that, well, makes my tummy a little disagreeable at times. Or mostly every day. I will spare you the gory details. You’re welcome. J Back when I was running, I attributed it to the dreaded “runner’s tummy.” But, um, yeah, haven’t been doing that running thing for like 9 weeks now so you think that would have righted itself. It hasn’t. *sigh*

Additionally, I don’t have a gall bladder so I have to be really careful about the fat I consume – both good and bad. I could literally eat nut butters all day long but that’s not really a good thing for me to do. No matter how much I want to. Makes my tummy angry in a whole different way. Ugh. So, I have to be smart and not eat too much nut butter and avocado on the same day. Where’s the fun in that? Gah! Separately, in my own private journal, I’m keeping track of how my tummy reacts to the foods I’ve eaten. Again, you’re welcome.  🙂

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Breakfasts:

Monday – 2 egg white omelet with mozzarella cheese, 2 Al Fresco maple apple chicken sausages, 1 sliced tomato (from the Farmer’s Market!), 2 pieces bakery Brioche toast with grass-fed butter and low-sugar grape jam and orange juice

Tuesday – oatmeal with cinnamon, honey, chia seeds, almond butter, banana and blueberries & orange juice

Wednesday – 2 egg white omelet with mozzarella cheese, 2 maple apple chicken sausages, 1 sliced tomato, 2 pieces bakery Brioche toast with avocado mash (sorta) and orange juice

Thursday – same as Tuesday – oatmeal with cinnamon, honey, chia seeds, almond butter, banana and blueberries & orange juice

Friday – see Tuesday and Thursday. Nope, not boring at all.

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Morning snacks:

Monday – Banana oatmeal bread, pecan butter, strawberries

Tuesday – Chobani nonfat plain Greek yogurt with ¾ cup Kashi Toasted Berry Crumble and strawberries

Wednesday – Banana oatmeal bread, almond butter, banana

Thursday – Chobani nonfat plain Greek yogurt with ¼ cup Love Crunch granola. Totally BUMMED that I forgot my strawberries!!

Friday – Chobani peach Greek yogurt with 1/4 cup Love Crunch granola, and blueberries. I don’t normally do flavored yogurt because of the extra added sugar but something made me want to try it. It wasn’t bad. I still prefer the plain.

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Lunches:

Monday – roast chicken, roasted sweet potato, ½ avocado, 2 mini cucumbers

Tuesday – Ginormous salad with roast chicken, ½ cup black beans, mini bell peppers, sliced cucumber, and feta cheese.

Wednesday – roasted sweet potato topped with roast chicken and ½ cup black beans, red bell pepper, and sliced cucumbers and a Clementine for dessert

Thursday – sandwich – roast chicken on Bakery Brioche bread slathered with hummus and topped with mozzarella cheese, field greens, farmer’s market tomato and cucumber, some baby bell peppers, Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil kettle cooked chips, and a clementine for dessert. 🙂

Friday – sandwich – pretty much the same as yesterday except the bread is homemade whole wheat (thank you bread machine!), red bell pepper strips, blue corn tortilla chips and Wholly Guacamole.

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PM snacks:

Monday – Laughing Cow cheese, pretzel chips, seedless red grapes

Tuesday – Bacon jerky and 2 Clementines

Wednesday – Bacon jerky and red seedless grapes

Thursday – Carob Chip Perfect Bar – HOLY. YUM!

Friday – my office closed early so I went to the 4pm CrossFit class. Snack is in the next category.

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Pre-CrossFit eats

Monday – Think Thin Brownie Crunch High Protein Bar

Tuesday – GoMacro Protein Paradise cashew caramel bar

Wednesday – GoMacro Protein Purity sunflower butter + chocolate bar

Thursday – no CrossFit today so no pre-CrossFit eats

Friday – Think Thin Brownie Crunch High Protein Bar

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Dinners:

Monday – Gilbert’s Beef & Blue Sausage, leftover roasted acorn squash & Asian pear

Tuesday – a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal with some blueberries. #dontjudgeme

Wednesday – 2 slices Pizza Hut ham and pineapple pizza (hey, it was waiting for me when I got home!), a piece of pumpkin pie, and a bourbon. Yes, a bourbon.

Thursday – 2 taco boats: Ortega Fiesta Flats taco shells, black beans, farmer’s market ground beef with taco seasoning, cheddar cheese, field greens, fresh farmer’s market tomato, and sliced avocado. Green beans on the side. Om nom nom!

Friday – Gilbert’s “The Froman” beef frank with spicy mustard and sweet relish and Maple Bacon kettle chips

The weekend kinda got away from me what with our social life and food prep and all so I didn’t document anything. Next week, I promise!!

Although, I’m definitely not as strict and focused on the weekends.

Talk to me: Do you tend to eat the same things every day? What do you like to eat after a workout?

– jennifer

Tasty Tuesday – Banana Oatmeal Bread

Hi there!

It’s Tasty Tuesday!!

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Make sure you head over to Lena’s page to check out all the yumminess! She’s featuring a recipe today – Quinoa Stuffed Squash from Welcome to Mommyhood.  Holy decadent deliciousness!! You’re definitely going to want to be putting THAT on your table! Don’t forget to invite me over for dinner. *wink wink nudge nudge*

So, the other day, my sailor mentioned that he had a hankering for some banana bread.

Well, you know what? Me too! Apparently, I just needed the thought to bring out the craving. mmmm…..banana bread……

So I made some!

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But, I didn’t want it to be super heavy and laden with butter and oils.

Because, no one likes to feel guilty eating banana bread. It’s supposed to be healthy, right? I mean, it’s made from BANANAS!

I didn’t want it be be boring either.

Nobody likes boring banana bread. It just gets moldy instead of getting eaten.

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So, I fiddled around a little with some ingredients and I came up with a winner!

It’s dense without being heavy, pretty much guilt free, and delicious – everything banana bread should be and more.

I made it on Sunday and we’re already down to less than half a loaf.

That may or may not have something to do with the fact that my sailor and I both have jobs outside of the home… not anywhere near the bread box….

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Eat it as is, slather it with peanut butter, eat it straight out the pan with a fork, or whatever floats your boat….

Just don’t burn your fingers.

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Banana Oatmeal Bread
makes 12 decent slices

3 bananas, mashed
1/2 avocado, mashed
1/2 cup raw honey
1/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray.

2. In small bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In large mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, combine mashed bananas, avocado, honey, greek yogurt, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into wet until combined. Do not overbeat.

4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.

Nutritional information (per the Spark People site) per slice:
Calories 172; Fat 2.5g; Carbohydrates 35.4g (fiber 4.1g, sugar 14.8g), Protein 4.5g

– jennifer