Happy Monday!!! Thanks Katie for hosting  

I was NOT ready to go back to work today.. I should not be complaining but… i have an excuse… I was up late watching TRUE DETECTIVE.  This show. Is. So. Good.  Please tell me you are watching.  Anywho, I did not get any sleep since I got sucked into watching 3 episodes since I was behind.  I know you all must be sick of my warm weather photos but just a few more I promise.

 

Marvelous was… Surfing in Salulita, Mexico last week :) 

 

 

 

Yes I was able to stand !!!! It was SO MUCH FUN !

 

 

Marvelous was… my first workout after a week off..but the shake def helped.  3 mile run + Nike Training club app “wipeout” followed by a chocolate + cinnamon + almond milk + shakeology  

 

Marvelous was… this after dinner coffee that lit on fire !!!!!!!! This was so good, it had coffee, kalua, some other alcohol and ice cream.  

 

 

Marvelous was… this italian seafood pasta dish after a week of guacamole, chips, and enchiladas.  (Italian restaurant last week during vacation when we were sick of mexican food)

 

 

I hope everyone has a great Monday !!

Today I am officially back from my week long vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I am sad to be back, but also look forward to getting back into a normal routine, is that weird ?  This vacation was very relaxing including lots of beach, sun, and guacamole.  I ate guac every. single. day. I was there.  I took so many pictures I cannot fit them all here but of course I’ll share some highlights!

First, let me just quickly mention that last Saturday when we were leaving on the train to the airport.. I realized I forgot my bathing suits.  All of them… Really!?!? Who does that, I was pretty upset considering I have a million at home… Anyway

We stayed at a resort a few mins from town called Los Tules.  This resort was absolutely beautiful, located right on the beach, with a restaurant, and five swimming pools! This particular resort was very family friendly, not a spring break party place at all.  Our condo was located a few steps away from the beach, I never even had to wear sandals we were so close.  

Below are a few pics of the view from the condo we were staying at..

My most favorite part of the trip was learning how to surf in Salulita, Mexico.  We drove about 1 hour from Puerto Vallarta to this cute surfing town where we had a group lesson.. The instructors were amazing and I was able to stand on my fourth try !!! (More pics to come on this tomorrow)

(Note: Yes I am wearing a sports bra bc by this time I did not find a good bathing suit and was using a friends bottom lolol)

 

Some food highlights… 

I’ll say it again and again…The guacamole was AMAZING and I have never had guacamole this fresh and it tasted seriously great every time I had it.  We ordered it every night and I was still not sick of it by the end of the trip, it was just so fresh.  Oh, and not to mention that avocados at the supermarket there were SO CHEAP considering we pay what $5-7 dollars here??? They were one dollar there..

 

Just so I don’t overload you with one post and a million pics of different food below were some really great dishes.. Top left was lobster, shrimp and steak, top middle grilled shrimp, top right fried shrimp tacos, bottom left was an assortment of guac/other dips, bottom middle was the best queso ever, bottom right was a whole grilled red snapper.  

 

They always used oaxaca cheese whenever we ordered “queso” which was always served with flour and corn tortillas.  This stuff was like crack it was SO FREAKING GOOD !!!!  I would say the guac, fish, and oaxaca cheese were the best dishes of the trip.

 

One really good purchase I made were these pants, SO comfy and a great price!!!

Alright that was food and picture overload… Have a great Sunday !!!!

Happy Friday!!!!  Yesterday was a pretty hectic day so I didn’t get to post on Thursday’s thinking out loud so I decided to write about some Friday thoughts. Edited: Wrote this post before I saw Clare’s 5 things friday but hey I have four things !

1. I am currently training for the Brooklyn 1/2 marathon in May.  I only really run 3-4 miles whenever I do run.  I am more of a class and weights type of person.  I have only run a few times so far and the outer sides of my feet hurt SO BAD the next day, it literally felt like I broke my feet.  So, I went to the running store and apparently I have been wearing the wrong size sneaker AND wrong shoes.  Welp.. so I purchased these puppies.  I tried them out on Wednesday aaaaaand they felt AMAZING.  My feet were still a little sore the next day but not nearly as bad as when I was wearing my other shoes.  Any tips anyone has on training would be greatly appreciated, anyone out there brand new to running and complete a 1/2 marathon!??!!

2. Since it was warm out today I decided to wear some very springy colors and took an awkward selfie in the bathroom Yea the light is reeeeeallly bad here….

3. Ummm I found.. THE BEST.. SAUCE at whole foods.  I don’t know about you but at least one night per week I need a QUICK and super easy dinner.  Either I am at the gym late or working late but come home and just want something done in 10 mins.  Normally I brown some ground turkey and throw some sort of jar sauce on top of it and service with pasta/veggies/spaghetti squash if I have it.  So the other day I picked out this jar of pemberton’s because it was on sale and OMG I am rating this as the BEST Jar sauce I have ever eaten.  I am not even joking.  I made ground turkey with the puttanesca sauce and it was AMAAZEEEEing.  Confession: I went back the next day and bought all of the other flavors.  No joke – I tried the artichoke scarpetta with chicken.  OMG so good if you are in whole foods I’d def pick this up.

4. Today I tried a new smoothie recipe.  Almond milk + Chocolate protein powder + a few drops of peppermint extract.  This literally tasted like I was drinking mint chocolate chip ice cream.   IT IS SO GOOD.

That’s all I have for today.  Hopefully hitting the gym after work and then headed to Mexico on vacation !!!!!!!

Maybe I will be able to post from there we shall see !

Happy Wednesday !  This is my first WIAW Wednesday post that I am very excited to share with you !  Thanks Jenn for hosting and I def have some veggies in here !!

Breakfast started with a delicious chocolate smoothie bowl : Almond Milk, Protein Powder, PB, and some cinnamon 

Lunch was just some leftovers thrown together: Lentils + Chicken Sausage + Veggies !!!!

 

I decided to go to the gym after work and was already getting hungry so had this cookie dough Luna bar + and apple.  Does anyone else eat these Luna bars?? They are my favorite SO FREAKING GOOD !!!!! 

For dinner I made a new recipe and guys this was SO GOOD.  The Bf RAVED about it.  Andddd may or may not have eaten the entire pan.  I found the recipe on the back of this french onion mix packet.  It was quick and easy and perfect for a delicious after long day at work restaurant quality meal.  

Throw together some olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, can of artichokes (not drained), hand full of sun dried tomatoes (drained), the french onion mix and stir up and pour over some chicken breast in a pan.  Please try this recipe it was WONDERFUL.  I baked at 350 for 30 mins and it was done!

Served with some frozen veggies + rice.  Which I forgot to take a picture of arghhhh!!!!! I will get better I promise

 

Last but certainly not least my new obsession: Greek Yogurt + PB + Honey + Coconut Flakes + Chocolate Chip.  I know this is a terrible terrible picture but the texture was amazing and tasted SO GOOD!!! I think you should try it… Or maybe I just love coconut Idk..

Happy Wednesday

Having Monday off felt so good, really needed a break from all the craziness lately.  I wanted to share a few highlights from this weekend and other random thoughts/food/stuff. 

 

Friday night the bf cooked dinner! (This does not happen often, i.e. if I don’t cook the man will eat an ENTIRE box of pasta. Literally not joking.).  Look at him making friends with the stove! ha

Anyway, he knows I love fish so decided to cook seared tuna with a sesame soy ginger sauce.  It was very good especially since I didn’t have to make it ! Lol He also decided to make lentils and put a jar of this curry sauce (from whole foods) in there.  I must say the lentils were the highlight of the night SO GOOD!!!!!

How big do those steaks look !!!!  

 

Don’t think I just sat there and twiddled my thumb.  I get antsy when I’m not doing anything so I was in charge of the veggies.  Chopped sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and broccoli mixed with olive oil, salt and pepper ! Simple yet so tasty.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of my plate until I was halfway done eating… excuse my terrible patience.  

Saturday was pretty much a lazy day, and Sunday I went skiing upstate NY because of the recent snow the conditions were great !!! Unfortunately I did not take any picture, but just imagine some snowy mountains

Have a good night ! 

So for Valentine’s day I decided to make something for the bf inspired by his favorite candy bar.  Anyone a fan of Almond Joys or Mounds bars?? I am more of a Reeses or Twix girl myself (absolutely LOVE chocolate + PB) but decided to make a dessert inspired by the coconut fans out there.  I mean I love chocolate and coconut… so chocolate + coconut bars = ok in my book. 

 

I don’t know about you, but I dislike baking, having to wait for something to cool and keep going.  Aka very impatient over here, but in the end it is worth the wait for the crispy oat crust.  These def taste the best once fully cooled, although of course I snuck a few bites while warm and gooey

 

I really need to get a better camera, does anyone have any suggestions on good cameras?  Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated !!!

I had most of these ingredients in my cabinet except for the sweetned coconut flakes and instant coffee.. Can you tell my fav grocery store is shoprite?

 

Add the dry ingredients (1/2 C coconuts flakes, 1/2 C flour, 1/4 C packed brown sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt)  

 

Mix in 3/4 stick of butter and mix with the dry ingredients.  Next, pack into a square baking pan.  I lined mine with foil and sprayed with some cooking spray to avoid sticking.  Bake at 325 for 10 mins.  

When this came out of the oven it smelled SO FREAKING GOOD.  Like a big cinnamon cookie.. I just wanted to eat it.  I might just make this and eat it next time…Oatmeal cinnamon coconut cookie hmmm sounds good..

Next, melt 1 1/2C chocolate and the remaining 2 Tbsp butter… you should do this in the microwave.  Unfortunately for me, mine is broken so I had to do this the old fashioned way.. not fun.  You never realize how much you like and use a microwave until it’s broken.  I still almost use it everyday and then realize I can’t.  Not cool.

Add 1 egg to the chocolate mixture, mix, and spread over the oat crust.  Bake for 15 mins, top with 1/2 C coconut and bake for additional 15 mins. 

Allow at least 1-2 hours to cool.

 

Enjoy

So my Saturday morning started with a wonderful T25 workout – Lower Focus.  This one kills me EVERY time.  Legs. Burning.  This made me laugh though…. If anyone knows Shaun T or has done insanity/T25 im sure you will love it too..

 

Then I decided to make myself a smoothie.  My blender does not work all that well, aka ice pieces getting stuck in my straw ahhh!!  Maybe for the bday I will upgrade, the Ninja and Vitamix are a little pricy though.. Is it worth it? Any thoughts to blender users out there?

 

Almond Milk + 1/2 banana + Tbsp PB + Chocolate Protein Powder + Ice = delicious

I know I know.. need to work on my photo skills.  May require a camera upgrade as well lol 

Then I started browsing some blogs and want to comment on some things that look absolutely amazing…

Chocolate + Peanut Butter + Cheesecake… one of the best combinations in my opinion 

Healthier Brownies!? Is this even real life?? … def going to make these some day 

How cute and cool is this?? Never knew you could freeze whipped cream..

Have I ever mentioned I love goat cheese…

 

Happy Saturday !!!

Hey everyone and Happy Friday! It snowed A LOT here yesterday so lets talk about snow days and a new recipe I have for you…

 

I like snow days because I can work from home, eat whatever I feel like eating, don’t have to get dressed and drive to work :), do a workout during lunch and its always nice to have a slower/relaxing day.

Now…I don’t know about you but I am NOT a fan of snow days because I end up eating EVERYTHING in my pantry (I can do a whole post about this topic in itself), get stir crazy by the time 10:30AM rolls around, don’t know what to do with myself for the entire day and also feel like I am more stressed because everyone else is at home and thinking of lovely tasks for me to do :).  Also, I really dislike cleaning off and shoveling out my car. 

Some other pros… started my day with a warm cup of joe and the MOST AMAZING CREAMER EVER.  If you have never tried this you need to immediately.

 

My day started with a bowl of oats (made with almond butter, honey and greek yogurt) but apparently I am still getting used to taking pictures and totally forgot so lets skip straight to dinner.  Originally I wanted to make this recipe with ground beef or turkey but only had chicken on hand, and I was not about to venture out into the snow.  So “Spicy Taco Chicken Skillet” was born…

The verdict?  It was pretty darn good, the bf said it would have been OUT OF THIS WORLD with ground beef.  So now we know what to  use next time.  This recipe is really easy and can be made in no time.  Also not pictured was a side of veggies to add some color.  I really need to get a good camera.. this one was taken from my phone =/  

 

 

 

Talk to you all soon and try this recipe !!