Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 08:47 PM
The theme of this afternoon and evening could definitely be: I WANT MORE! Everything that I have eaten since lunchtime has been absolutely delicious. I just want to eat more of it!
Snack
After work, I came home and enjoyed a big bowl of Galaxy Granola with banana slices and non-fat milk. It filled my stomach right up, but I wanted more! (I may have grabbed a small handful of granola on my way out the door to meet Marie. 
)
(Granola is heaven.)
This afternoon, Marie and I were supposed to have a gym date, but we opted for a manicure date instead. Getting our nails done was much more fun than riding the elliptical for 45 minutes!
Marie has been raving about OPI’s new Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer System, which is basically a gel manicure (or pedicure) that is cured with UV light. The system allows your polish to stay perfectly intact for 2-3 weeks. Marie says her manicure has even lasted up to a month with very minimal chipping! I destroy manicures in less than 24 hours, so I obviously needed to see what this Axxium thing was all about.
I picked a boring shade of light pink for my manicure with the hope of it lasting until next weekend. (I’m going to a wedding.) If it lasts, I’ll definitely try a color next time. The only reason I avoid color is because my nails look terrible once they start to chip.
I love the way that my nails look now! Nice and neat! They were so nasty before! I’ll let ya know how the Axxium stuff holds up.
After getting our nails done, Marie and I drove over to Marathon Sports to pick up our race stuff for Sunday. I’m getting excited! (Hopefully, we don’t get rained out! 
)
Dinner
I arrived home to the most delicious smells coming from my kitchen– my wonderful husband cooked dinner for us! What a guy! He’s THE BEST! 
Inspired by one of Real Simple’s recipes, Mal created a fantastic barley dish with tomatoes, arugula, onions, brie, Parmesan, and chicken sausage. (The folks at Coleman Organic sent me a bunch of their products to sample.) I must say, the chicken sausage totally made the meal. It smelled amazing and added so much flavor to the dish.
My husband is truly a cooking genius. I still can’t get over how great this meal turned out. I wish he’d make dinner every night!
The recipe called for dry white wine, so Mal and I each enjoyed a glass with dinner. This meal definitely left me wanting more!
Guiltless Goodies
Yuuummmm! This Guiltless Goodie was especially tasty! It might just be the best one yet! 
Swanson Vitamins sent me some coconut flour to sample the other day, so I decided to give it a try this evening. Check out what resulted!
Almond Joy “Ice Cream”
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp chocolate protein powder
- 1 tbsp almonds
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- Serve cold.
Omg, this Guiltless Goodie was delicious!!! The consistency was nice and smooth, and a very subtle, yet sweet, coconut flavor dominated. You’ll definitely see this goodie on the blog again in the near future. I already threw two more bananas in the freezer for future treats. I want more!
Enjoy the evening! G’night!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, recipe
Tags: Axxium Soak-Off Gel Lacquer System, coconut flour, Coleman Organic, Creamy Barley with Tomatoes, Galaxy Granola, Guiltless Goodies, Marathon Sports, OPI, Real Simple
Monday, March 8, 2010 at 07:59 PM
Did Monday fly by or what?!? Holy moly! 
Today was one of the fastest Mondays that I’ve had in awhile. Let’s hope the rest of the week flies by this quickly!
Ok, let’s get right to it and recap today’s eats. I have a hot date with my husband, pug, and couch in a few minutes. There’s some serious cuddle + TV time on the agenda for this evening. For some reason, we’re all exhausted tonight.
Snack
After lunch, I snacked on a Mmmaple Pecan Chewy Granola Bar from Nature’s Path, which was very tasty. It had lots of sweet maple flavor and it was soooo soft and chewy. The texture sort of reminded me of a cookie. I also drank a mug of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride with my granola bar.
After work, I headed straight to Starbucks to write. While there, I ordered a non-fat Dark Cherry Mocha, which is a brand new drink at Starbucks. The Dark Cherry Mocha actually debuts tomorrow, but I got a special sneak preview today!
The Dark Cherry Mocha was quite delicious– very chocolaty with a hint of cherry flavor. It could have easily passed as a dessert, especially with the whipped cream on top.
Instead of whipped cream, I asked for extra foam on my mocha.
Before dinner, Mal and I took Murphy for his long walk of the day. We chatted and walked around our neighborhood for a good 45 minutes before heading home. The weather was absolutely gorgeous this afternoon! I am so ready for spring to be here!
When we arrived home, I snacked on a mini Larabar that Amie sent me the other day. I love these little Larabars! Thanks, Amie!
I was really snacky this afternoon, wasn’t I? I didn’t realize how much I ate until I started writing about it. I guess I was just really hungry? Or stressed? Bored?
Dinner
A little while later, I started making dinner. I’ve had some pesto from Bear Pond Farm in the freezer for weeks now, so I finally incorporated it into a meal this evening.
Inspired by a Women’s Health magazine’s recipe for Savory Seafood Penne, I created a similar pesto-penne dish for dinner tonight.
In the mix:
- Bear Pond Farm pesto
- Whole wheat penne
- Shrimp
- Tomatoes
- Black olives
- Arugula
It was a great meal– lots of bold flavors, satisfying, and tasty.
Guiltless Goodies Week
Guys, I have something to confess: I ate the entire dozen of Sweet and Salty Oatmeal Raisin Cookies that I baked on Saturday afternoon in about 24 hours. 
It wasn’t my finest moment, but stuff like that happens every now and then, right? So, after another cookie “overindulgence,” I’ve decided to treat my dessert habit a little differently this week. I suppose we can call it an “experiment.”
As you know, I almost always crave something sweet after meals– usually a cookie or a piece of chocolate will do the trick– but maybe a more nutritious treat would satisfy my cravings, too? So, this week, I’m going to create semi-healthy, single-serving goodies to see if they will satisfy my sugar cravings (instead of baking a dozen cookies!).
I realize that not all of my recipe experiments will turn out perfectly (mostly because I am just winging it in the kitchen), but hopefully, they will give those of you with a sweet tooth some ideas for more nutritious desserts, and if one of them sounds good to you, definitely give it a try!
Here’s tonight’s Guiltless Goodie:
Granola Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/8 cup liquid egg whites
- 1/8 cup granola
- 1 tsp agave nectar
- 1/4 tps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl; mix well
- Cook in microwave for 90 seconds
- Allow to cool before serving
This Guiltless Goodie turned out pretty well. It was soft and cake-like with a subtle pumpkin spice flavor to it. It wasn’t my best kitchen experiment, but it definitely satisfied my dessert craving and filled me up. The combo of pumpkin + egg whites is sitting in my stomach like a rock!
Time to chill with M & M! Good night!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, recipe
Tags: Bear Pond Farm pesto, Dark Cherry Mocha, Guiltless Goodies, Mmmaple Pecan granola bar, Nature's Path, review, Starbucks
Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 05:37 PM
And working, unfortunately. Boo! 
Mal and I spent the majority of the early afternoon working away. I finished my Health post, but I never got around to working on my book. The beautiful weather was just too distracting today.
Murphy, on the other hand, was not at all distracted by the nice weather. He was pooped after a long walk and puppy playtime at the park with Bella and Grady.
He snoozed in his crate for most of the afternoon.
Lunch
Around 2:00 pm, Mal and I broke for lunch. I made us tuna sandwiches with apple slices on the side.
Quick and easy.
I finished off lunch with a sweet treat.
And, a few more peanut butter + chocolate chips.
I finally called it quits around 4:00 pm to do some baking. It was that type of Saturday!
The other day, Beth blogged about the most delicious-sounding Salty Thin and Crispy Oatmeal Cookies, and I needed to bake them ASAP. Of course, in typical Tina-fashion, I made a number of changes to the recipe.
Sweet and Salty Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes 12 cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup vanilla hemp (or soy) milk
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/4 tsp course sea salt
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
- Combine all ingredients (except the sea salt) in a mixing bowl.
- Coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
- Scoop batter onto cookie sheet and flatten, then sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
These cookies definitely taste “healthy,” but the sweet + salty flavors were delish! In fact, they were so wonderful, I ended up eating 4 of them! They made an awesome afternoon snack!
Mal and I are having dinner with our friends, Dave and Marie, and then I am heading to a friend’s birthday celebration.
Better boogie!
Posted by: Tina
Posted in: Uncategorized, recipe
Tags: Sweet and Salty Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
