Hello readers, I have exciting news! I have decided to expand my blog and change my web address. Everything is different, even my name! To find my new blog location, click here: http://vitaminamy.wordpress.com/. See you there!
This afternoon was more hectic than I anticipated - work-related stuff! I’m extremely happy to be spending the evening relaxing on the couch. Tonight’s dinner was nothing spectacular and creative (sorry to disappoint). We needed to finish up the last of the leftovers before they went bad!
I had a taco sandwich for lunch the other day and enjoyed it so much I decided to make it again! Taco meat served up on a whole wheat sandwich thin topped with American cheese, onion, lettuce and tomato.
My plate
Veggie medley on the side: Carrots, peas and broccoli sprinkled with garlic salt.
As I said earlier, not the most creative meal but it was definitely delicious! I got home late from work today so I was very happy to have dinner on the table quickly. I don’t know about you but when I wanna eat, I wanna eat NOW. There was no waiting tonight :)
I have something very exciting planned for tomorrow that I can’t wait to share with you all! I promise it will be worth the wait :) Goodnight!
Today’s lunch was a no-brainer considering there were leftovers from last night’s panini feast. Leftovers make lunch-packing so much easier :) Ok, I know there are leftover haters out there but I just love them. Why wouldn’t you?!
When it came time for lunch I was way too hungry to wait to re-heat this baby so I ate it chilled. Just as delicious!
Leftover eggplant panini pieces.
Veggies.
Cantaloupe. Julie’s cantaloupe photo comment made me laugh yesterday! I love a good corny joke :)
Fruits and veggies galore! Minus the chocolate ;)
I always have to have something sweet after my lunch and dinner. My meal just isn’t complete without a little chocolate! I’m thinking it’s a mental thing but I don’t mind one bit. I’m always looking forward to enjoying a treat or 3 :)
Time is crawwwwling by at work so I’m entertaining myself by catching up on my favorite blogs!
Plus SO many others! Honestly, I literally would be sitting here all day writing a list of my favorite healthy food and fitness bloggers. All these ladies, mentioned and unmentioned, are wonderful and inspire me to continue leading my healthiest life :)
Question of the afternoon: Are you a leftover lover or hater? I’m a lover if you couldn’t tell!
See ya for dinnaaa!
It’s Fridayyyyy! Woohoo! Too early to be that excited? Nah…;) I woke up to the sound of angry geese and a hungry meowing cat. No, I don’t live in a zoo or on a farm, but we do happen to have a pond by our house and a cat that really loves his salmon. Sheesh!
We had an abundance of summer berries in the fridge so I wasted no time incorporating them into my breakfast this morning.
Friday morning yogurt, berry and barley bowl.
Sorry if some of you are getting sick of the barley bowls…I’m not!
All mixed up.
On the side I enjoyed a cup of cinnamon vanilla nut coffee from a sample I got from Archer Farms. This coffee tasted delicious! I’m all for dessert-flavored coffees if you haven’t noticed :) Archer Farms sells exclusively at Target and other products include organic granola, hot cereals and much more!
Off to strength spinning! I’ll definitely be workin’ for the weekend ;) I’ll leave you with this.
I’d like to think I’m a pretty smart girl and that I am always on top of things, but this was not the case tonight. I was really proud that I got to the gym early to set up my equipment and pay for my final month (I move in approximately 1 month!). I thought BodyFit started at 5:30 but come to find out, class started at 5:15! D’oh! I only missed ten minutes but seriously, I felt like an dum dum.
In other news, dinner was fantastic! After this weekend our (newly engaged!) friends are coming home so I decided to bring a bunch of my stuff home tonight. While I was working out, Mom was prepping for tonight’s meal…eggplant panini’s! Eggplant panini’s are particularly special to me. When I worked at the local bakery and cafe in town, Mrs. London’s, this was my absolute favorite sandwich. Guess who made these sandwiches every day during that summer? Troy! He always made sure to save one for me so I could have it for lunch :) What a guy <3
My mom made an incredibly yummy rendition of this panini. First, she prepared the eggplant by slicing it into medium size rounds. She then coated the slices with salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. Finally, bake in the oven for about 20 minutes on 400 degrees.
Our family loves to use ciabatta bread for our panini’s. We slice it lengthwise and pull out the insides of the bread…and eat them! Only the crust and a hollow middle is left. Spread red sauce on the bottom of the bread, top it with eggplant slices, fontina cheese and fresh basil. Put it on the panini press with a little olive oil on top and wait until the cheese is nice and melted :)
You don’t have to have a panini press in order to make one. You can put the sandwich on a regular ol’ pan and top it with a heavy plate or another pan. Works just as well!
My Cuisinart panini press
It’s almost done!
Ready to eat.
I’m drooling all over again.
Side salad with fresh arugula and tomatoes.
Tomi really wanted some of my arugula! Excuse my post-gym appearance.
Hungry boy.
Give me that arugula!
My plate. I had 2 more pieces of panini after this one. I was a hungry gal!
This meal was great! It took about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking time. Not too shabbayyy :) Tonight’s agenda? A little laundry and relaxation.
Question of the night: What’s your favorite panini sandwich?
Goodnight!
I was feelin’ like cheese for lunch! You can never have enough cheese…at least I don”t think so. What’s the simplest thing you can do with cheese?…make a cheese sandwich!
Cheesyyy
Yummy sandwich
I know it seems kinda plain, but I love this flavorful combo and wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, maybe grilled cheese but the break room kitchen isn’t well-equipped for such extravagance :-P
Summer berries + yogurt
There were no veggies to be found in the kitchen! Nooooooo! Not to worry, I stopped at Price Chopper on my way to work and picked up a bag of baby carrots to eat alongside my lunch. I also stopped at Stewart’s and got a small hazelnut coffee……eek!
See ya lata!
Good morning! I rolled out of bed and headed straight to the kitchen (obviously) to make a healthy breakfast for myself. I planned my workout for later this afternoon so I had some extra time to make oats on the stove!
First, I brewed myself a cup of cinnamon roll coffee. It’s like drinking a cinnamon bun! Deeeelicous :) More about my caffeine addiction kick in a little bit. Let’s get to the food!
This mornings oatmeal bowl contained lots of yummy ingredients:
Mmm peanut butter blob - my favorite part of my oatmeal bowl!
Thursday breakfast bowl.
Ok, now on to the caffeine. I’ve always had a healthy relationship with caffeine. I will only drink coffee and tea to get my caffeine fix. I’m proud to say I’ve never, ever had a soda in my entire life and I’m 23 years old. I don’t plan on it either. I prefer yummy coffees and teas (I drink both my coffee and tea black).
Well, for the past 2 weeks or so, I haven’t had a drop of coffee or tea with my breakfast. But for some reason, this week, I MUST have coffee at breakfast and I even picked up a cup of the good stuff yesterday afternoon! I didn’t have trouble sleeping last night but my body just wanted the caffeine sooo badly. I do get jittery if I consume too much but I seemed fine. Maybe because I spaced it out? Not sure what’s up with my extra love for coffee lately, it could be all those delicious tasting k-cups I bought for Troy’s birthday. He’s very good at sharing :)
I was going to head to my gym this morning for a run but my mom has my car right now so scratch that. One of the ladies in my class said there was a new routine for the BodyFit class so I’m heading there tonight to try it out. I haven’t been to that class as much lately because the old routine was starting to bore me. Yes, I must be constantly entertained :-D
Question of the morning: How do you enjoy your caffeine?
Troy and I had a mid-week dinner date tonight! We both received a birthday gift certificate to Max London’s restaurant from the owner himself - Max and Carey (his fiance). It was a lot of fun going out on a weeknight! I feel like a middle-schooler when I say that.
Wednesday nights at Max’s are Wood Fired Wednesdays aka $9 pizza night! We were so there. The entire menu is extremely creative, unique and gourmet. It changes all the time depending on what ingredients are in season. I’m constantly trying something new whenever I go there. For our appetizer we split the panzanella salad. It was a bread salad mixed with fresh peas, caramelized onions, arugula, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, arugula and parmigiano cheese.
Amazing-ness
Since there was no way we could decide or be satisfied eating just a single pizza, we each chose a different one to order. I ordered the BLT pizza and Troy ordered the Speck pizza.
BLT pizza: Bacon, tomatoes, scallions and goat cheese. So good!
Mmm look at the big chunks of goat cheese!
Speck pizza: Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese, arugula on top!
Beautiful greenery :)
I had 2 slices of the BLT pizza and 1 slice of the Speck. The BLT pizza was my personal favorite. The flavor of the goat cheese with the bacon was to die for. I’ve been to Max’s many times before and I’ve never had a bad experience. The food is ALWAYS delicious and amazingly fresh. We love it there!
Max’s also has amazing beers on draft and kindly let us know that a woman that works for Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY was at the bar offering samples of a few of their brews. I’m more of a wine girl myself but the beers I sampled really surprised me. They were good! Troy ordered a Rare Vos to drink with his dinner. It was very light and refreshing, a summery beer. I picked up some hints of spice - maybe allspice? I also sampled the Ommegang Abbey Ale. This was a darker beer that tasted a bit fruity with a hint of spice as well. Delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever given beer a fair chance because I always associated beer with disgusting frat boys and college parties. I’m glad I tried something new!
Phew! My arms are achin’…in a good way! I increased my weight for almost every BodyPump track this morning and I’m feeling it already. I’m getting stronger with each class and loving it!
I continued the fiesta from last nights dinner to today’s lunch. Instead of a regular taco, I decided to make a taco sandwich.
Taco meat + onions
I put the meaty mixture on a hearty whole wheat sandwich thin.
Steamed broccoli with a little garlic salt and pepper.
Veggies, protein, grains :)
I also ate the other half of my banana from breakfast after lunch. I’m assuming you can imagine what it looked like :)
Today I’m working at Saratoga Dance. It’s a beautiful store with tons of dance clothes. dance shoes, accessories and more! Everyone who works there is so kind. My mom used to work there before she retired the same time as my dad did. I help out a lot with checking in new items and making sure everything was received. It’s a nice change from reception work because I don’t have to constantly answer the phone. I can work in peace and quiet. I also love it there because I wear pretty dresses to work!
This morning I woke up bright and early (when did waking up at 6:30am become a luxury?). I also woke up craving a chocolatey doughnut for breakfast! Luckily I don’t deprive myself of treats so I happily gave in :)
I satisfied my sweet tooth by brewing a cup of chocolate glazed doughnut coffee to have alongside my healthy breakfast. Chocolate craving = successfully satisfied. Gotta love zero calorie indulgences!
Chocolaty coffee + healthiness
I’m all about yogurt bowls for breakfast lately and the fun continues! This mornings yogurt bowl included:
Delicious and filling!
Hump Day breakfast.
My BodyPump class isn’t until 9:30am this morning…so late! My plan is to head to the gym early to do a little cardio then take class. Thankfully, my work schedule is more flexible today so I’m able to go to the gym later. Yay!!
Question(s) of the Morning: Do you sometimes wake up craving something sweet? Do you give in or fight it? How do you make what you are craving healthier?
