Niki's Neverending Adventure

Happy Saturday to ya!! I have been enjoying a relaxing morning and watching Father of the Bride! Love that movie! I need to get some studying done though, better get on that!

Let’s play some catch up from yesterday!! The test was tough, as I expected it would be, but I took the rest of the day off from school work! And it was awesome!! I caught up on a bunch of things and just plain enjoyed the day!! Let’s start with breakfast…

Breakfast:

This wonderful little gem was waiting for me!

OIAJ is was!! With coffee and some H20!!

Banana Oatmeal topped with the last of my strawberries :( and coconut. Delish! Note to self: restock the strawberries!!

Best part about OIAJ is when you get down to the very bottom to all the melty PB! TDF! This is my favorite breakfast EVER!

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I got home from class around 11am and decided to run. I was going to run outside but it was still a bit chilly and windy, so I opted to do another treadmill run. This one went MUCH better than Thursdays! I did 5 miles, alternating my speeds every couple minutes. I was super hot, sweaty, and tired when I finished! Successful run in my book! I also did about 10 minutes of arm work after my run. Later, when it warmed up a bit, I took Sadie for a 1 mile walk around the neighborhood. It turned out to be such a pretty day! In the mid 50”s without a cloud in the sky! Can’t wait for it to get a wee bit warmer!! Yay for Spring!!

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Lunch:

I had the rest of my guac with some tortilla chips, an orange, and 1/2 a Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with cottage cheese on top. Yum!

The cottage cheese on top of the English Muffin was such a great combo! Glad I tried it!

My guac had turned a bit brown overnight but still tasted wonderful! I think guac and salsa are two of my favorite things to eat!! Can’t wait for tomato season so I can make my own salsa!

Snack:

I wanted some veggies for snack so I made a hummus plate:

• Saltine crackers
• Cucs
• Snap Peas
• Pickles
• Spicy Pepper Hummus

And a Black Tea Latte with a squirt of Agave in it! Yum! First time trying Agave and I really liked it! Tasted just like sugar to me!

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Since I had some free time, I decided to do some baking!! I got this recipe from my friend Laura last week and have been dying to try it!! It is actually a recipe for Zucchini Bread but I changed it around a bit and made Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins!!

Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

Beat together with a mixer:

• 3 flax eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 4 oz no sugar added applesauce
• 1 1/2 cup Agave (or 2 cups or sugar or 1 cup Splenda for baking)
• 2 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, stir together:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups oat-flour (ground old fashioned oats)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg

Add flour mixture to wet mixture and beat with mixer until combined.

Stir in by hand:

• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (or purple!)
• 1 cup nuts, broken (walnuts or pecans are best, but I omitted these)

 

Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes. Makes 24 muffins. I halved the recipe so I wasn’t on muffin overload!

These made my house smell wonderful while baking!!

 

These are very yummy! Love how moist they are! And the addition of crushed pineapple is genius! Thanks for the recipe Laura!!

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Dinner:

I had some leftover pasta to use up so I broke out the other pasta sauce I received from the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program! Bertolli Arrabbiata sauce!! I ended up mixing it with the leftover Bertolli Four Rosa Sauce and made a spicy, creamy pasta sauce! Worked out great!!

I also roasted up a bunch of veggies! Parsnips, Butternut Squash, and Carrots!!

 

I topped some WW Penne with the Spicy, Creamy sauce with a little feta on top! Yum!

And the roasted veggies with some ketchup! I’ve never had Parsnips before and I loved them!! Very similar to a potato but with a little different taste! I will be eating these a lot from now on! It’s so fun trying new veggies!!

What new veggies have you tried recently?

I also sipped on a little Sauv Blanc with dinner.

And for dessert I had a Healthy Carrot Cake Muffin with a little smear of AB and some pineapples. I may or may not have had another muffin without AB :)

I rented The Proposal last night to watch and it was so cute! Loved that movie!! I haven’t seen any good chick flicks in awhile and that one was great!

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Now we are caught up!! This morning, I got up around 7:30am and just relaxed for a bit waiting for my hunger to show up. Normally I am starving right when I wake up but my tummy is feeling off this morning. I caught up on my Bible study and then started watching Father of the Bride. Finally around 8:30 I decided to eat some breakfast!!

Breakfast:

I was really feeling some cold cereal this morning!! I mixed 1 cup Multigrain Cheerios and 1/2 cup Kashi H2H, and a banana with 3/4 cup Soymilk. Yum!! Coffee on the side :)

 

I love cold cereal, especially with Soymilk!! My tummy is still hurting a bit. Not sure what’s up with that!

It’s another beautiful day here and I am hoping to get an outside run in, as long as the tummy starts feeling better!! Do y’all have any fun plans for the weekend? Mine is just going to be filled with studying and relaxing! At least the weather is beautiful here! Have a great day friends!!

Posted in: on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at at 9:32 AM 2 comments    

Hello! Hope everyone had a good Thursday! My day was pretty boring, seeing as I was studying ALL DAY!! Let’s start with my eats!

Lunch:

A Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin, one side with TJ’s Almond Butter, the other with some buttah! I also had a mix of Kefir, PB granola, flax, and an orange.

 

This was a GREAT combo! Who knew AB and Oranges were so good together?!

All mixed up!

And some chocolate chips and raisins for dessert.

 

Snack:

Snack was a totally weird combo!

Black Tea Latte with a side of Kashi H2H cereal and Buffalo Cheddar Popcorn

Totally random but a great mix of salty and sweet!

 

Dinner:

And for dinner, I made some wonderful Nachos again! I had another Avocado that was just waiting to be made into some guac!

With some applesauce and cinnamon on the side :)

These nachos always turn out so good!! All you do is layer a few chips on the bottom of a salad plate. Top with whatever veggies, cheese and beans (or meat) you want, then bake at 350* for 10 minutes! Top with guac, sour cream, Greek yogurt, taco sauce, whatever! And enjoy! Super simple!

And I already have a plan to eat some more Chocolate Cherry Cordial Ice Cream in a bit!! YUMMERS!!

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Lets talk about my run today. I had planned on doing an outside run but that didn’t happen. My school schedule got all switched around last minute leaving me pretty much all day tomorrow after my test free! Since it’s supposed to be a nice day tomorrow, I figured I should do a longer run tomorrow instead of trying to squeeze it in between my studying today. So,  I decided to do a quick 4 miles on the treadmill today and then get back to the books. Well, my stomach had other plans. From the minute I started running, I had an awful side stitch that continued to get worse and worse, making it hard to breathe. It was like Monday’s run all over again. Ugh. I could literally hear my stomach gurgling, it was pretty gross. Still not sure why this keeps happening. It had been 3 hours since I had eaten lunch, so it wasn’t like I had food sloshing. And the burping was there again today too. So who knows, but I don’t think I will run in the afternoons (unless I can’t help it) for awhile! I managed to finish running 3 miles and then walked 1 more for a total of 4 miles. I also did some ab work. So frustrating! Ugh…

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Enough complaining… I gotta wrap this up because Grey’s Anatomy is fixing to come on!! It’s considered studying if I watch medical shows, right?!? Ha, maybe someone on there will have some heart issues, since that’s what my test is on tomorrow!!  :)

Any Grey’s lovers out there?!?

Have a GREAT night friends!!

Posted in: on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at at 7:49 PM 3 comments    

Greetings!! Sorry for my lack of posting last night. I went to dinner with Katie and when I got home I was tired and just wanted to relax! So this morning, you get a recap of yesterday!!

I got up at 5am so I could do some yoga before class. I had to make myself take a running rest day because I think my body really needed it since my last couple runs were pretty sucky. I ended up doing 30 minutes of Polly’s yoga. Amazing how refreshed I always feel after my early morning yoga!!

Breakfast yesterday morning actually started on Tuesday night!! I prepped my Overnight Oats so they would be all ready for me to eat for breakfast!

Introducing Kefir Overnight Oats!! In the mix:

• 1/2 cup plain Kefir
• 1/4 cup oats (uncooked)
• 2 tsp Pumpkin Butter
• Dash of cinnamon
• 1 tsp flax

Mix all that up the night before and then top with your desired toppings!! Mine included strawberries, 2 TBSP PB granola, and 1 TBSP NMPB! Kefir makes Overnight Oats UNBELIEVEABLE!! The perfect consistency!

With my coffee :)

For snack during class, I brought a banana.

This banana turned completely BROWN in my purse! It looked like a whole different banana when I went to eat it. It got mushy too :(

I got home from class right around lunch time!!

I had pasta leftovers:

• WW Penne
• Bertolli Four Rosa Cheese Sauce
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Leftover Roasted Cauliflower
• Lots of Texas Pete

With some Applesauce with cinnamon on the side!

And some chocolate chips for dessert.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading all about Heart stuff. I have a big Cardiac test Friday!! I was actually really motivated to ready yesterday and got a lot accomplished!! I did break for snack time though!!

Home made trail mix:

• Kashi H2H
• Raisins
• Peanuts
• Chocolate chips (obviously I can’t get enough of these babies!)

And an Orange Black Tea Latte! Yummers!

Last night I had plans with Katie to go order her bridesmaid dress for my wedding (!!) and then go to dinner!! We ended up eating at one of my favorite Sushi places!! I was able to find 2 yummy vegetarian rolls to try! Plus miso soup and house salad, natch!!

 

One was the vegetarian roll and the other was the fried tofu roll! Both were really good!!

And when I got home, my sweet tooth got the best of me and I broke into some Chocolate Cherry Cordial ice cream!

OMG! This ice cream is AMAZING!! Bad, bad, bad for this ice cream lover! Must not eat the whole tub in one sitting! Haha! I was good and only had this one small serving! But those frozen maraschino cherries were TDF!!

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And now were are back to this LOVELY Thursday!! I woke up and immediately checked the weather to see when the best time was to fit in my run!! It said it was currently 29 degrees but the high this afternoon was 53 degrees!! Yay!! Sunny and 53 sounds perfect for a run! So it looks like I will be doing my run this afternoon and my tummy better cooperate!!

So I headed to the kitchen to whip up some Steel Cut Oats!!

In the mix:

• 1/4 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup Almond Milk
• 1/2 cup water
• dash of cinnamon and almond extract
• 1 tsp flax
• stirred in a spoonful of cottage cheese at the end
• Toppings: strawberries and NM PB

Look how full my bowl is! It was WONDERFUL! Loved the cottage cheese addition! Was very similar to the addition of Plain Greek yogurt! Great, filling breakfast!!

All together :)

And a little glowing green eyed beagle says hello!!

I have studying on the agenda for the rest of the day! I may try to squeeze in a quick baking project if I have time! Depends how my studying goes!! I hope y’all have a GREAT day!!

And Happy Birthday to Allison!! :)

Posted in: on at at 9:39 AM 5 comments    

Hey guys! How goes it?? I’ve kinda had an interesting day here!! Most of it was good but then this evening, all of a sudden, I broke down and had a good cry for NO GOOD REASON! I think I’m just mentally exhausted! School is taking up such a crazy amount of time lately and is pushing everything else out, which is so hard for me! Plus, all the things that have been going wrong lately sure doesn’t help. Not to mention, one of the things that is getting pushed to the side is my running, which gives me such guilt over not meeting my weekly mileage. I so need a mental break! Too bad I won’t get one for a while! At least the cry made me feel better!!

Do y’all ever have times when you feel like you need a mental break?

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On that note, let’s talk about my eats for the day!

Banana Oatmeal with strawberries and NM PB on top! Breakfast of champions!!

 

Plus some Hazelnut coffee to get me in school mode!!

Although I didn’t have class today, I still had a ton of studying and a take home test to finish! It definitely kept me busy!!

I stopped around 11am to get a run in. Since it was kinda chilly, rainy, and windy, a treadmill run it was!! I managed to finish 5 miles and was pushing my pace pretty hard, but I had to stop and walk a couple times, which is so unlike me. I can’t remember my last rest day and I think my body is telling me I need a break. So tomorrow will just be some morning yoga. Hopefully my run on Thursday will be a bit better. Although, I did manage to finish my 5 miles under a 10 minute pace so it wasn’t THAT bad!! I also did some ab work after my treadmill run :) So basically my body is telling me I need a mental and physical break. That’s just great…..

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Onto lunch!! I was craving a bunch of different things, so I had exactly what I wanted!

I had:

• Cottage cheese with strawberries and pineapples
• Chips and guac
• an orange

 

It was just what I wanted!! Plus one two small handfuls of chocolate chips for dessert!

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This afternoon I had a hair appointment and had some errands to run. Just got some highlights and a trim, no major cuts here :) While I was running errands I stopped by Starbys and got a Tall Soy Awake Tea Latte!!

Delish! I am loving Soymilk more and more!!

I also had a small handful of pretzels.

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When I got home this evening, I really wanted to bake but just didn’t have enough time. So frustrating. Probably what ended up setting my good cry off! So after feeling sorry for myself for a little bit, I pulled it together and felt much better and decided it was time to make dinner. Amazing what a good cry will do for you!!

Dinner tonight revolved around an item I received the other day from the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program!!

Tonight we tried the Four Cheese Rosa sauce. I am not a huge Alfredo fan, but the fiancé really wanted to try this one!! It was probably the best cheesy alfredo sauce I’ve ever tried! We both gave it 2 thumbs up! Great job Bertolli!!

I cooked up some whole wheat penne and assembled our topping bar!

Tuna and tomatoes for the fiancé; spinach, tomatoes, and onion for me! No meat for this girl until Easter! Still going strong!!

I also sipped on some Sauv Blanc with dinner! Wine just goes so well with pasta, in my opinion!!

My pasta bowl

All mixed up with some red pepper flakes on top!

And on the side, I roasted some cauliflower with garlic salt and pepper at 400* for 15 minutes. Topped with some Texas Pete’s hot sauce! I am seriously obsessed with hot sauce! Guess I was feeling SPICY tonight! Ha!

And for dessert, I mixed a little Kefir, Plain Greek Yogurt, NM PB, and chocolate chips! Yum! With my Gummy Vitamins on the side!! I think Gummy Vitamins are the best invention EVER! I never took vitamins until I realized they had gummy ones! Taste just like candy!!

What vitamins do you take?

I just do the Gummy Multivitamins but my mom takes a super yummy Gummy Calcium Vitamin that I really want to get my hands on! Haha!

Hoping y’all have a great rest of the night! I’m turning in early so I can get up at 5am for some yoga before class!! Goodnight!

Posted in: on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at at 8:09 PM 5 comments    

Evenin!! I’m typing this as I watch The Bachelor Finale, so sorry if it seems a little scatter brained! Haha!!

The most exciting part of my day was trying out something new for breakfast!! As I mentioned yesterday, I purchased some Kefir at the grocery store after seeing it all the time on Allie’s blog!! And this morning was the time to try it out!!

 

My breakfast included a Kefir bowl, one half of a Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with NM PB, and coffee!!

My Kefir bowl!! I used 1/2 cup Kefir, 3/4 cup Kashi Heart to Heart, and some sliced strawberries. My verdict?? LOVED THE KEFIR!! I am a Kefir Lover! It’s consistency is a mix between yogurt and milk and tastes like plain yogurt! Love, love, love! Glad I found a new staple! I bet it would be awesome in Overnight Oats!!

 

English Muffins were buy one get one free at the store, so expect to be seeing these a lot in the upcoming weeks!!

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I had class at 8am this morning. I brought a pear with me to keep my tummy happy!!

I sliced it and brought it with me and it got super gooey in the bag. It was weird but still tasted good!

I got home from class right around noon, so it was time for lunch!!

I had a veggie scramble, pickles, and cottage cheese with pineapples!

Veggie Scramble contained:

• 2 eggs
• chopped tomato
• chopped spinach
• chopped red onion
• chopped sweet pepper
• black beans
• a little shredded cheese
• lots of Texas Pete’s hot sauce

Love Veggie Scrambles!!

And some cottage cheese with pineapples. I am totally into cottage cheese right now! So glad I picked it up at the store!

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The rest of the day was spent working on my take home exam that is due Friday! I am almost finished! I have 7 more questions to write and should be able to knock that out tomorrow morning! Then I can concentrate on studying for my in class test I have Friday! It just never ends!!

I stopped around 4ish to run on the treadmill and watch some of my DVR shows!! I was planning on doing 4 miles but my stomach was cramping from the very beginning. It was awful. I had cramps, side stitches, you name it! And on top of that I thought my heart was about to beat out of my chest! It was really odd and kinda freaky. So I stopped at 3 miles and walked 2 more at a 4.0 pace totaling 5 miles. Not bad, not bad. But my stomach was even cramping while I was walking! So weird, it hasn’t acted like that in forever! Plus, I kept burping (TMI??)! So gross! I hadn't eaten since lunch so it wasn't a digestion issue, I think it may have been a lack of food in my tummy issue?? Is that possible?!? Anyway, hopefully I will have a better run tomorrow!

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Dinner tonight revolved around an avocado!! I am super obsessed with Guac right now, and I knew I had a ripe avocado just waiting to be made into guac! So with my guac ready to go, I knew Healthy Nachos were in order!!

Nom, nom, nom!!

With some No Sugar Added Applesauce with cinnamon on the side!! This was a GREAT meal!!

And the last piece of brownie for dessert! Finally it’s gone!! I’m definitely gonna miss these brownies, they were so yummy!!

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On to some Bachelor talk…I am still Team Tinley but I feel like he’s gonna pick Vienna!! What do y’all think?? I just think Tinley is so perfect for him and he better pick her!! Ahhh!!

Well, gotta get back to the show! Have a good night friends!!

Posted in: on Monday, March 1, 2010 at at 8:03 PM 4 comments