Weekend Recap & Menu Planning Monday 10/6

October 6, 2014 Courtney

Another week has come and gone already. Worse yet, the weekend came and went even faster! We seem to be on this trend of having one busy weekend followed by a not busy weekend. When we have a busy weekend it is stupid busy. When we have a not so busy weekend it is such a breath of fresh air. The hubs’ family wanted to spend some time with Payton so we were on our own Friday night. So we had a random date night. An early Happy Hour dinner at Bar Louie in St Charles followed by coffee at Picasos. It was fun and spontaneous!

Saturday we had a great morning workout and brunch with friends. Then we met up with the family to pick up Payton. We got to relax at home for a few hours before going to meet up with friends for dinner. While Saturdays are usually go go go, I try to take Sundays to get stuff done. That is when I normally do my meal planning.

I looked at this week’s eMeals Clean Eating Slow Cooker Plan and decided that 3 of the dishes looked really good, so I added them into our weekly plan. I super duper puffy heart love my crock pot.

Sunday- Smoked Meat and Dip
Monday- Chili
Tuesday- Chipotle Pork and Garlic Potatoes (eMeals)
Wednesday- Cuban Sandwiches & Artichoke Dip (eMeals)
Thursday- Gingered Broccoli & Beef with Glazed Carrots (eMeals)
Friday- OUT

Saturday- Leftovers

I love planning ahead, it makes it so much easier! For example, the Chipotle Pork on Tuesday doubles as the meat for the Cuban sandwiches on Wednesday. Cook once, eat twice. Also with the eMeals app on my phone I can skip the meals I wasn’t planning on making and it automatically updates the shopping list for me. I’m all about working smarter, not harder.

After putting together the menu I headed to the grocery store. I usually shop for 80% of my groceries at Target and get the 20% of specialty items, meat, and produce from Dierburgs (a local grocery store). Target has an awesome app for your phone called Cartwheel, I use that with Coupons, sales, and the Red Card and end up saving a good amount of money. I love saving money.

What are you eating this week? Did you have a good weekend?

I’m linking up with OrgJunkie for more Menu planning tips and inspiration!

EAT, food

Menu Planning Monday 9/29

September 28, 2014 Courtney

Not too long ago I wrote a post about how I meal plan. Since menu planning is such an important part of my routine I decided to try to make it a regular part of what I share here on the blog. I hope sharing my meal planning tips and ideas helps you find new recipes or meal planning ideas. So, here goes Menu Planning Monday! I’ll be linking up with OrgJunkie for her Menu Plan Monday Link up!

Sidenote: For the last year or so I was following a strict meal plan from my nutrition coach. It was extremely helpful for the season I was in, but it was so stressful to try to keep up with that meal plan and still have something different for the husband and kiddo. Planning/cooking 3 separate dishes at every meal time just hasn’t been feasible in the last few months since my surgery, so I’ve just been doing my best to make smart, balanced, and healthy decisions… Just living out #WYCWYC. I’ll update ya’ll on my future nutrition plans in more detail in another post. Just like yours probably is, my life is crazy busy. Here is a very generic example of my day:

5:15am- Wake Up, Get Dressed (unless it’s Tuesday, then I’m up at 4:15!)
5:30am- Wake Payt up, get her dressed and ready to leave
5:45am- Head to CrossFit
6:00am- Work out
7:00am- Coach
8:00am(ish)- Head Home for Breakfast and work
8:30am-12pm- Work from home…. Emails, spreadsheets, stats, more emails
12pm- Lunch/Chores
1:00pm-4:45pm(ish)- More work.
4:45pm- Finish up work, pack up to head back up to CrossFit to coach
5:00pm-7:30pm(ish)- Coach
7:30pm- Head home to eat. Clean up after dinner.
8:30pm- Put Payton to bed. Chores. Prepare for next day.
9:00pm- Bed.

There is not much time built in for cooking or running to the store for forgotten ingredients. Since there is literally an hour from the time we get home to when it is time to get ready for bed I do my best to have dinners already prepared. I live and die by my crockpot during the week. Usually when I’m making lunch I’ll go ahead and put dinner together as well. I have some family favorites that I will have in the rotation ever few weeks, but coming up with meal ideas that are healthy and quick is the most stressful part of meal planning. Thank goodness for eMeals! I’ve been a member off and on for the last couple years. I used it back when we were eating more paleo-ish, I’ve done the store specific plans, but most recently I’ve discovered their Clean Eating Crockpot Plan. The weekly plan gives you 7 meal options with sides. I pick and choose a few of the meals to try out each week, mostly because I don’t want to try something new every single night. There are also a few meals that don’t jive with our personal taste, mainly the fish meals. I fill in the holes with those rotating favorites. The meal plans come with shopping lists and estimated costs, which is really helpful for budget planning as well. This kind of planning help is especially useful for back to school season as you try to get back to a routine.

Now on to the menu…

Sunday- Teriyaki Grilled Chicken//Coleslaw//Asian Salad
Monday- Crockpot Orange Chicken
Tuesday- Pasta Sauce and Meatballs (eMeals)
Wednesday- Smokey Chicken Fajitas (eMeals)
Thursday- Texmex Rice Bowls using leftover Smokey Chicken (eMeals)
Friday- Family Date Night Out
Saturday- Leftovers

If you are interested in checking out eMeals, use the code SCHOOL to get 20% your plans.

What’s on your menu this week?

Discliamer: This post contains affiliate links where I may earn a tiny portion of commission if you choose to purchase through my link, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

EAT, Family Life, Life, STL

Out of the Ordinary Day

September 24, 2014 Courtney

Hey Guys!

How is your week going so far? Seems like my week has been SO long. How is it only Wednesday? Today is a super special day… It’s my husbands 29th birthday! So we decided to take the day off. Payton had school so after working out this morning we went to breakfast with some friends then headed home to clean up before making the trip out to Sump Coffee… Mid-Week Coffee Date for the win!

Obviously I love coffee, so a new coffee experience is always welcomed. It was a great ambiance. It was really all about the coffee. They buy their beans green and roast them. The flavors are out of this world. It is not a frilly coffee shop. They carry only whole milk and soy milk and have no syrups or cream. Coffee truly is an art to them and I enjoyed it.

//instagram.com/p/tVj3ryDIqD/embed/

After that we went down to the Central West End and found a cool place for lunch. I forgot to take a picture, what kind of blogger am I?! I had a great Chipotle Chicken Salad and lots of chips and salsa. After we picked Payton up we went to get cupcakes. Because every birthday deserves a good cupcake!

When we arrived home I was super excited to see that my text book arrived for my Precision Nutrition Certification Course!!

//instagram.com/p/tV5C3-DIq2/embed/

I have been wanting to do some sort of nutrition certification for a long time now. I’ve looked into lots of different options but when I found this one I knew it was the one. It is not just about nutrition in general, but sports and exercise nutrition. I love that it combines the science and the application. They have a Level 1 and a Level 2 certification. I’m doing the Level 1 now and plan on getting the Level 2 next spring. I’ll share the journey with you along the way, of course.

After sneaking in a little bit of work we decided to go out and celebrate some more. We ended up at the local kids party place. I am not usually a big fan, mostly because lots of small children make me feel stressed… but on a Wednesday evening it was empty! Score!

We played lots of Ski Ball

Chris won the jackpot on Deal or No Deal

And I beat Chris twice in the Sink It game.

It was such a fun spontaneous day! I love spending time with the hubs and kiddo. And I love being able to celebrate another birthday with the man I am lucky to call mine. He is my best friend and biggest supporter. He is my sanity and keeps me grounded. Plus he has a pretty epic beard. I mean, look at it…

Can’t argue with that, can ya? #BeardStrong

Happy Birthday!

How do you celebrate birthdays?
Are you Pro or Anti beard?

EAT, Weight Loss

Meal Planning and Staying on Track

November 4, 2013 Courtney

I don’t dread Mondays as much as some people do. I usually look forward to getting back to my workouts after a day off on Sunday. This week I’m still pretttttty sore from Saturdays WOD. It was the Hero WOD DT which is:

5 rounds of
12 Deadlifts 155/105
9 Hang Cleans 155/105
6 Push Jerks 155/105

105 is a light deadlift for me, but 105 hang cleans would get tough after a few rounds and 105 push jerks were going to be tough. I did it. And I was SO proud that I was able to do it RX. But man, oh man, did I feel it the next day. Like tender to the touch sore. I also had some awesome battle wounds from the cleans and jerks…

//instagram.com/p/gOMk8mDIjh/embed/

They were still a little tight this morning but I got them good and warmed up before I jumped into this gem:

6 Minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
5 Thrusters 95/65
5 Pull Ups

Oh yea, that burns. It’s like Mini-Fran. And it gave me the same hard to breathe sock in the gut as Fran does. Yay!

Anyway, Lately I’ve been feeling a little lost when it comes to staying on track with my meal plan. I had one plan that just wasn’t working for me, those dang no carb days are killers and I can’t function. So I switched back to my previous plan. In between I was kind of winging it with what I had left on hand. And then there was Halloween… Where I may have snagged a few pieces of candy… and a night out with friends where I had some cheesecake… and well, it turns into a slippery slope of “Just a bite” or “I’ve been pretty good” and then it’s hard to find the groove again.

I’m still learning this whole balancing act between buckling down to reach my goals and enjoying life without guilt. Moderation is a beautiful thing, but I feel like it is SO hard to do it right. I am far too often the “all or nothing” kind of girl. Like I will stick to my meal plan 100% or not follow it at all. The last few weeks I’ve been more on track during the day and then weekends have been a little tough.

The good news is my weight has maintained around the same few pounds. So, I’m good at maintaining my weight. I know that if I want to keep losing I realllly need to stay on track. So, for this week I’m going to do my best to have a “No Cheat Week” – Follow the plan 100% – Including drinking my water!

For those of you that are curious I am following a meal plan from my Nutrition Coach, Jamie from Precision Fitness STL, that is currently a 45% Protein, 40% Carbs, 15% Fat Macro Breakdown. I have around 6 meals a day. To be honest I have no idea how many calories it is or even how each item breaks down because he gives me a whole meal plan with recipes to follow. I prefer it that way because I don’t have to think about what to eat, I just eat what is on the schedule. That doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for me. Remember, you have to do what works for you!

My husband and daughter aren’t doing the same eating plan I am, so I often have to make several different meals. I’m ok with that. The hubs is trying to gain muscle so he eats a lot more than I do and the kiddo eats pretty clean for the most part (though she would live off PB&J if I let her…) My typical process for meal planning for the week starts in Evernote. I looooove that it syncs with my phone so my shopping list and meal plan is always right there. I list out the days of the week I need to plan for and have a few staples I keep in mind for their meals like shredded buffalo chicken, Tacos, Chili, and Italian Beef Sandwiches. I always ask the hubs what he is in the mood for even though every time the response is the same “You do a good job, you know what I like” – I also think of meals that are easy to pre-prep or do in the Crockpot since we are at the CrossFit late. Thanks to Pinterest for keeping the inspiration fresh! I also have a subscription to the emeals clean eating crockpot meals. This provides me with good ideas, though I don’t follow it to the T every week. Click on the banner below to check out other emeals options including Paleo, Clean Eating, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Natural & Organic and tons more. Each week they send you a meal plan and grocery list.

Enter the code HOLIDAY at checkout to save 15% on your meal plans
Good until 11/6

As far as my meal planning goes I usually just make sure to have all ingredients on hand and lots of chicken pre-cooked. I also try to chop my veggies and roast them if need be. It all depends on whats on the plan for that week. The more a pre-prep the less likely I am to slip up! Preparation is key!!

Sunday is my grocery day. I get a lot of my groceries from Target and use coupons and the Cartwheel app to save a TON. Yesterday I saved about $8 on things like milk, cheese, eggs, peppers, & canned goods just by using the Cartwheel app. I get a lot of my more unique “health food” type items from Dierburgs. It would probably be cheaper at Trader Joe’s, but that is like a 40 minute drive. I clean out the fridge of old foods and prep anything I can on Sundays. That sets me up for the week. Let’s hope this week is a good one and I can break free from the curse of 183!

How do you handle meal planning and staying on track?

EAT, food, Weight Loss, WIAW

Homemade Coconut Creme Larabars, WIAW & Weigh In Wednesday

May 15, 2013 Courtney

Guys. This is freaking brilliant. So, I’ve know that making “lara bars” seemed relatively easy. I liked regular Lara Bars, but it wasn’t until I tried the Coconut Creme ones that I was hooked. I’m pretty sure the only reason I survived my last week of Whole30 was because of those puppies. Thing is, at $1.25ish a piece… I was droppin a lot of dough on these little treats. So I decided to try to recreate them at home… and man oh man, they were spot on!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:5]

I did a ton of food prep on Sunday so that we would be well prepared for the week. Since feeling confused about my eating I realized I do better with a plan. Also with running the CrossFit we are gone most mornings, then have to come home and jump right into our “day” jobs then we are gone a lot of evenings too – when we come home and have to eat dinner later than I’d like. So I’ve been prepping lots of breakfast food like breakfast casserole and protein waffles

With the hubs on a quest to gain muscle and Little P on some kind of huge growth spurt eating kick, the breakfast casserole lasts about 3-4 days. It is seriously so good. Pop it in the microwave for about a minute, add some tabasco, tomato and avocado… the perfect breakfast in a pinch. and my kitchen stays clean. win-win.

For dinners I’ve been keeping it simple lately. For awhile I got all fancy with my meal planning and was trying something new (and most likely complicated) almost every night. Between coaching CrossFit classes, making sure my 3 year old gets to bed at a decent time, and school/house work I just don’t have the time for that. I’m relying on the crock pot a lot. I used one of my old favorites last night, Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken.

Instead of making it on a bun I put mine over roasted cauliflower and ate it with celery. Fulfills my buffalo chicken craving without the breaded and oil friend boneless buffalo wings.

I’m also trying to make an effort to keep most dairy out of my diet. I have been using canned coconut milk since the whole30 – and then I found this beauty and had to try it…

I’m not sure what makes this “Barista Style” different from the other coconut creamer I’ve tried… It seems a bit smoother. I noticed this one has pea protein and the regular one didn’t. Either way – It’s good!

Since we talked about all this amazing food, let’s also take a minute to talk weight. I know the scale is a lying whore. I also know that the last 2 weeks of food choices have been less than stellar. That is one of the reasons i’m trying to get more on board with prepping/planning so I don’t make bad choices. Since my last Weigh In Wednesday Post where I shared my Whole30 Results, I’m up 3 pounds. So, yup. I’m back to 190. I know, After eliminating dairy/grains/legumes for 30 days and then essentially bingeing on them is going to cause weight gain. Now I’m just striving to find balance. And pushing SO hard to get to my next mini goal of 175. Why are these 15lbs SO. DANG. HARD. to lose? UGH.

Linking up with Erin and Alex for Weigh In Wednesday and Linking up with Jenn for WIAW

Do you love LaraBars? Do you food prep? What have you been eating lately?

EAT, STL

#STLBloggers Meet Up: Ces & Judy’s Catering

January 29, 2013 Courtney

So way back in September/October I contacted a fellow FitFluential Ambassador that I knew lived in the St Louis Area, Lindsay from ItzLinz, and asked her about meeting up. Turns out there was a little group of people who had met up before. Well, we decided to try for a meet up in October and after a gazillion emails back and forth between a handful of us… 3 of us showed up. It was fun, but I knew there had to be a more efficient way to bring bloggers together! So I started the STLBloggers Facebook group and invited all the bloggers in the area that I knew… who invited all the bloggers they knew… and now we have almost 90 members!

November we had over 20 people join us for our meet up out at Quintessential Dining in St Charles. With the holidays we decided to skip December and I was SO excited when Jenny approached me with idea to work with Ces & Judy’s, a local STL catering company, for our January meet up. I made the drive out to Frontenac on Friday, thankful that their location was easy to find with the help of my iPhone.

While they do have a very mobile catering business, reaching all parts of St Louis, they also have an absolutely beautiful venue. We were seated in the Round Room, which holds up to 80 people. They also have a ballroom that can accomodate up to 250 guests. It would be a beautiful place for an event.

We had a smaller turn out than expected, so many people were sick… boo! So we ended up pushing our tables together so we could have a more intimate setting. Jenna, who works with Ces & Judy’s told us a little bit about the business. They just went through a massive rebrand, and I am SO in love with their site:

Isn’t it adorable?! Then it came time for the food. When it was time to chow down we did what bloggers do best…. Take copious amounts of pictures!!

The Menu:

Mixed Lettuces Salad

Dried Cranberries

Bleu Cheese

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Chicken Marsala

Orzo Pasta

Herbed Beef Tenderloin Skewers with Lemon Caper Aioli

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions

Rolls and Butter

Dessert Bars

Everything was SO good. My favorite was the salad, the dressing was amazing. The Green Beans came in a close second. You just can’t go wrong with caramelized onions.

They also had the cutest little wine area, complete with a sparkly frame. Pink + Sparkles = WINNING

We sat around and talked for awhile. It was funny to hear other people’s stories about PR pitches and search terms. Or weirdest giveaways. I think Meghann Wins for that one. haha!

We had dessert and coffee

and of course took more pictures. I don’t know why we decided to do an up angle instead of down… but ah well…

From left to right: Rachel at Style Every Day, Yokasta at Get U Moving Fitness, ME!, Clare at Fitting It All In, Christina at Homemade Ocean, Katie at Mom’s Little Running Buddy, Jenny at The Jenny Pincher, Ashley at Eat, Run, Live Happy, Karen at Arch City Homes, and Lindsay from ItzLinz

We, of course, had to get a picture of all the FitFluential Ambassadors that were there

And what would a blogger meet up be without an attempt at a non awkward Vlog!

It was a Dazzling & Delicious Time!

Have you ever attended a blogger meet up?

EAT

November Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

December 1, 2012 Courtney

Somehow I completely forgot that yesterday was the last day of the month… meaning it was time for our Foodies Pen Pal reveal!

I sent my package to Cheri from Healthy Girl Gamer, you can check out her blog post reveal here. I had an awesome partner who dealt with my random traveling and forgetting to respond to email (Sorry Julia!) But she still put together an amazing package for me!

There were Smart Puffs – those were SO good, Veggies Straws, Skinny Cow Candy, Fiber One Brownie, Annie’s Fruit Snack, Panda Licorice, Newman’s Own Peppermint Cups, Trader Joe’s Green Beans, Gluten Free Macaroon, Coconut Water, and my personal favorite….

This heavenly stuff. Peanut Butter & Co White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter. I am certain this will be on the Menu in heaven paired with the Chocolate Tortilla Chips from Food Should Taste Good.

I loved it all (so did the hubs and daughter). Little Dreamer especially loved the Annie’s Fruit Snacks, which I almost didn’t want to share.

Next month instead of doing the regular Foodie Pen Pals Lindsay is asking people to donate money towards helping Hurricane Sandy. Check out her blog next week to find out more.

Have you done Foodie Pen Pals? You should!

EAT, Family Life, food, workouts

Thanksgiving 2012

November 22, 2012 Courtney

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are enjoying time with your family and friends. And reflecting on how blessed we are. Always.

Today started out with a special Thanksgiving WOD at CrossFit O’Fallon

Since they had just 2 classes this morning Chris went at 7 and I met him at 8, Payton was excited to get to go to CrossFit with me to meet him there for the kid exchange. Look how incredibly cute she was this morning

Already posing. She’s going to be a model. Or a blogger. I can already see her What I Wore Wednesday and #OOTD posts. Ha.

Delilah wanted to get in on the action too. Those two are trouble together.

Post WOD breakfast was a Very Berry Smoothie – A bag of frozen berries, milk, and some GNC Egg Protein. I’ve been on a green smoothie kick lately but Payton requested a red smoothie this morning. Ha.

Back to thanksgiving…

It has been such a whirlwind the last few ~~months~~ weeks and this holiday really snuck up on me. Being that I have made some great progress in my health this year I had a totally different mindset coming up to thanksgiving. I knew that there were a few things I wanted to indulge in (hell0, pumpkin pie) but I wanted to find some healthier opportunities from some of the classic staples. I had to make my favorite homemade rolls and lucky for me, I had a helper!

I found a recipe for a healthier version of the classic Green Bean Casserole. It involved slicing a lot of onions, which brought a lot of tears. Payton didn’t understand why I was “crying” and kept telling me “It’s ok sweetie, don’t cry”

She was a great helper! We prepped most of our food last night so we just had to heat it up today. This left us with quite the mess!

(ps- can you find payton? I didn’t realize she was in this until after I took it. then I thought it was hilarious)

It all turned out great. We also used a clean eating recipe for the sweet potato casserole. I made the wrapped pickles that I mentioned in my thanksgiving traditions post. I tried not to fill up on them though, that has been a mistake of mine in years past. The hubs made the turkey in his Rebel Smoker. It was SO good. His mom made an amazing jalapeno cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy as well as the Pies for dessert. His sisters made some amazing dip for an appetizer as well.

I filled my plate with Turkey and a sample of each of the sides, except the green beans… it was a little more than a sample. The Homemade cream of mushroom soup was so good with the fresh onions! I also had a piece of pumpkin pie with cool whip. Yum. Payton was thrilled with the turkey cookie her grandma made for her. That last picture on the bottom was her right before she said “No more pictures, I have to eat!” oh kids… love em.

I am so incredibly thankful for so much this thanksgiving. For my family, my supportive and handsome husband, and for YOU. I love all the wonderful people I have been able to meet through blogging. It really has changed my life. For the better. I am thankful for health. And happiness.

Thanksgiving 2012 is in the books!

How did you spend your thanksgiving? What are you thankful for?

EAT, Travel

WIAW: Clearwater Style

November 14, 2012 Courtney

Hellllllo From Clearwater, FL!

I worked the Tampa Pretty Muddy Event over the weekend, and I’m heading to the event in Miami next weekend so we are taking the week in-between to visit with family and friends here in Clearwater. We are renting a condo for the week. Here is the view from our Balcony:

Awesome, right?!

It’s Wednesday, so that means it’s time to link up with Jenn for WIAW!

Eating on vacation is always hard for me. I want to justify my “indulgences” with the fact that I’m on “vacation” but I also want to keep up with the healthy eating. We decided to find a compromise. Since we have an amazing kitchen in the condo we have been making our regular breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. With a little coffee on the side. Or maybe it’s Coffee with a side of eggs and bacon? LOL

Since we are staying right on the beach we have been visiting local hot spots for lunch or dinner. It is so weird being around here with all the changes they have done! I hardly recognize the area, but I knew that one of the best spots to eat is Frenchy’s! We went over to the Main Frenchy’s the other day. I loved being able to sit outside right on the beach. So did Little Dreamer!

The hubs had the fish tacos and thought they were great. I had the Hawaiian Chicken Sandwich and it was awesome! Of course, I was so smitten with the scenery that I forgot to take pictures…. Bad Blogger!

Last night we decided to walk over to Frenchy’s South Beach location since it was right down the road from where we are staying. It is a part of the new Beach Walk area.

We sat in the outside area and I finally figured out how to use the panoramic feature on my phone. It was an epic day.

Little Dreamer and I decided to share the Greek Salad. This area (well, more Tarpon Springs… but Pinellas in general) is known for legit Greek Food.

This was totally legit. There was potato salad on the bottom, with peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and a massive block of Feta on top. It was totally filling, and with the dressing on the side I barely even used it.

The hubs ordered the Cuban and as soon as I saw it I wished I had ordered it too.

My grandpa is Cuban and we grew up eating REAL Cuban sandwiches. This is probably as close as I’ve ever found it to his. Hot Pressed Cuban with Rice and Black Beans…. I’d eat that any day of the week!

I’d say Frenchy’s was a hit!

While the food has been delicious, I am seriously craving some spinach. I’m almost to the point that Linzi was when she thought about bringing her own handful of spinach to the Barista’s at starbucks to mix in with a smoothie. Almost.

What is your eating strategy for vacation?

Thankful Thoughts

14. Thankful for a flexible job that allows me to work from anywhere

EAT, food, WIAW

WIAW: “Good Conscience” Waffles

November 7, 2012 Courtney

Welcome to Journey of a Dreamer! So glad you joined me today. If you are new around here feel free to click around and get to know me. You can also subscribe via email or Google Reader in the sidebar on the right. Glad to have you! If you have been around awhile you know what today is… What I Ate Wednesday!! This is just a typical day of eats for me. We link up over at Peas & Crayons and get to explore what everyone else is eating too!

So the other day the hubs and his BFF were talking about how they wanted waffles for breakfast (I make them both breakfast after CrossFit almost every day, usually Eggs and Bacon) Something about going to vote and it being election day… and waffles. Real Waffles (because if it were up to me I’d make Paleo waffles). Well I started looking up recipes for waffles and found one that looked fine, but then I started to feel guilty before even cooking it. I couldn’t, in good conscience, just give them plain old white flour white sugar filled waffles.

I had a guilty conscience. So I made a few substitutions to the recipe and created my “good conscience” waffles.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]

They were so good. I put some Almond butter and Maple Syrup on mine.

For Lunch I had some leftover chili inside an Acorn Squash that I cooked in the Microwave. and it was good. Dinner was a simple Chicken Fajita Salad.

The good stuff happened after dinner (doesn’t it always?!) Awhile ago I was offered a $25 Gift certificate to use over at Swanson Vitamins to review their products. I spent a good while shopping around and found that they have a lot of my typical “health food” staples at seriously LOW prices. Look at everything I got for just over $25…

That is Coconut flour, Coconut oil, Coconut Shreds, Almond Flour, and Liquid Stevia. They had super quick shipping and are always offering specials. I will continue to shop here for my health food staple items for sure.

Back to the food…I was really wanting some dessert and had a few frozen bananas in the freezer. Enter Banana Soft Serve.

I just put 2 frozen bananas and a splash of almond milk in the food processor. I added a tablespoon of nutella, some cocao chips, a few drops of liquid stevia, and about a tablespoon of coconut shreds. It was delicious. You could also add protein powder for some extra nutritional punch. It really curbs my sweet tooth and my 2 year old looooves it.

What are some of your favorite meals lately? How do you make your guilt meals into good conscience meals?

Thankful Thoughts

7. I’m thankful for my Keurig.