Niki's Neverending Adventure

Nom, nom, nom… I have had a day of SUPER eats today!! And because I love y’all, I will share them! Haha!!

I had my AWFUL test this morning and it was just as bad as we thought it would be! At least I think everyone felt the same way. It’s ok if we all FAIL together! Ha!!

I knew I needed a good brain powering breakfast this morning, so I went to my standby Banana Oatmeal!!

I stirred in some Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt at the end and topped it with Strawberries, 1 TBSP TJ’s Almond Butter, and 1/2 TBSP TJ’s Pumpkin Butter. I’m telling y’all, the yogurt makes the oats super creamy and delicious!! Try it!!

Yummy!!

And some new Hazelnut Crème coffee in my N mug!!

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The only good thing about today’s test was that we didn’t have class after, so I got home early, around 10:30am! I knew a HARDCORE workout was in order!! I decided to do the Arms, Legs, and Abs Circuit #2 . This is a 95 minute super hard workout totaling 5 miles of running and a ton of strength work! I was a hot, sweaty mess and my body felt like JELLO! I absolutely love that feeling!

After showering I was so ready for lunch!! On the menu: Pasta and Veggie Leftovers!!

Pasta and Creamy Tomato Sauce with some Feta on top!

Along with some leftover Roasted Zucchini and Acorn Squash topped with ketchup, natch!

This was an awesome lunch!! I have really developed a new love for veggies! I used to not like veggies at all and just recently have discovered a true liking for them!! Plus, I ALWAYS feel so good after eating them!!

Are you a VEGGIE LOVER or HATER??

Right after lunch I  had a big sweet tooth, so I had a small handful of Chocolate Chips!! I always need Chocolate in my life!

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I decided to take the day off from school work, sometimes I just need a BREAK! Especially after studying HARDCORE for the past 3 days!! I had a huge to do list and totally killed it!! Among one of the most exciting things I did was booked our Honeymoon Night Hotel! And guess what?!? I got it for free with some Hilton points I have been racking up for years!! I will take a $350 room for free ANYTIME!! HILTON ROCKS!!

My hunger reappeared this afternoon and I decided I was definitely feeling some yogurt for snack time!!

I had some Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt (maybe about 1/2 cup) with some Pumpkin Granola (~ 1 TBSP), and a scoop of NM PB (~1 TBSP). I mixed it all together and it was wonderful!! Definitely will be eating this snack more often! And of course, I had my afternoon tea! Orange Black Tea!!

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Another thing I really wanted to do today was BAKE!! Y’all know how much I LOVE to bake and I have had this particular recipe on hand for a long time just waiting to be made!! If you didn’t know, brownies are one of my absolute favorite treats!! I found this super yummy looking Brownie Recipe on IGE (I mean where else, right?!?) a while back and have been waiting to bake it!!

Brownie Enormous

In a glass mixing bowl, combine:
• 3/4 cups melted Butter
• 4 squares un-sweetened baking Chocolate*
Microwave Butter and Chocolate until melted (on high about 2 minutes)

 

Add:
• 2 cups Sugar, then mix
• 3 large Eggs, then mix
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1 cup Flour, then mix
• 1 cup large Walnut pieces and chunks of premium-grade Bar Chocolate (Gently fold in – don’t over-mix)**

 

Pour into a 9×13 buttered baking dish and bake 30-35 minutes and 350° (325° in glass pan), until toothpick in center comes out with fudgy crumbs (do not over-bake).

 

*I always used the cocoa powder + oil swap instead of the baking chocolate squares. (Directions for the conversion is on the side of the cocoa powder container.)
**I always omit these

I made a few substitutions TO these brownies. I only had 1/2 cup butter, so I used it plus 1/4 cup vegetable oil. I also used the cocoa + oil, omitted the extra chocolate chunks and nuts, and used Cake Flour instead of All Purpose Flour.

Don’t they look GREAT?!?

I had a small piece to try, natch!! LOVED THESE BROWNIES! They are AMAZING!! Go right now and make them! BEST. BROWNIES. EVER.!!!!

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Dinner was another VEGGIE creation!! So far it hasn’t been too hard to NOT eat meat at home!! At restaurants it’s tough, but I definitely don’t miss it at home!! (For those who don’t know, I gave up meat for LENT!)

Tonight I made VEGGIE NACHOS!!

First, I mixed up some Guac with a ripe Avocado, some minced garlic, a splash of lemon juice, and a ton of Texas Pete Hot Sauce!!

I also opened a new bottle of Sauv Blanc to try tonight!

Murphy-Goode Sauv Blanc! Yum, yum, yum! This is so good!! Will definitely be buying this wine again!!

To start your VEGGIE NACHOS, preheat your oven to 350*. Layer a small, oven safe plate with a few Tortilla Chips.

Chop up all your toppings.

I used:

• Cooked Spinach
• Red Onion
• Tomato
• Sweet Red Pepper
• Black Beans

Layer, layer, layer!!

Top with some shredded cheddar.

Place in oven for 10 minutes.

Look at the OOEY, GOOEY, CHEESY GOODNESS!!

Top with some Guac, Plain Greek Nonfat Yogurt, and some Taco Bell Hot Sauce!!

 

Ahhh, SO GOOD! Perfection!! I absolutely loved this! And think about all the yummy veggies on this!! Great meal for sure!

I also had an orange on the side :)

And of course y’all know what I had for dessert!! BROWNIES! Yes, that’s right, pleural!!

I had 2 brownies, because 1 just wasn’t enough! Now I am in a sugar coma! But that’s definitely a good thing!

These are so moist and chocolaty! These brownies are THE BOMB!

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Tonight I am flipping between American Idol and The Olympics! So far, I  really like Lee on American Idol!! Loved his voice! And for once, I totally agree with Simon!!

I also love The Olympics so much! I wish they would be on all year round!!

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This is super random, but I’ve been listening to the Glee station on Pandora all day and was thinking about how much I LOVE musicals!! I think my absolute favorite is RENT! Love the music, love the story!! I can sing that whole soundtrack by heart!! I want it to come back to Memphis again ASAP!!

Do you like plays/ musicals? What’s your favorite?

Posted in: on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at at 8:35 PM