But, first, let’s recap the food (because the thought of colitis and eating is so appetizing).

Dinner

Last night’s dinner was chicken stir fry with red and yellow bell pepper, broccoli, onions, mushrooms, edamame, and brown rice. My diet has been lacking veggies lately, so this was the perfect meal to get some in.

After dinner, I satisfied my sweet tooth with a bite (ok, like, 4 bites) of cookie dough.

Breakfast

This morning’s breakfast was a big bowl of pumpkin oatmeal with ground flaxseed meal, dried cranberries, pumpkin pie spice, and a big scoop of Chia Charger nut butter.

I also drank a glass of iced coffee.

I attempted to recreate Marylou’s Almond Joy iced coffee at home using coconut milk, chocolate almond milk, and almond extract, but I didn’t get it quite right.

The coconut flavor doesn’t come through very much, so I’m going to try coconut-flavored coffee or coconut extract in my next attempt.

Colitis Update

I’ve received a ton of questions about my colitis episode back in June, so I figured I would give you guys an update on CNC. The main reason why I hadn’t talked about it until now is because there hasn’t been much to report— thankfully!!!

After my doctor diagnosis me with colitis, he prescribed me a ton of different drugs and, eventually, a low dose of steroids (Prednisone). Within just a few days of starting the steroids, my condition drastically improved, and slowly but surely my digestive tract got back to normal. I continued to take the steroids for several weeks as my doctor weaned me off them, and I just got better and better.

My doctor diagnosed me with colitis, which is swelling/inflammation of the large intestine. It can be caused by a variety of illnesses and infections, which is likely what happened to me. (We still don’t know what caused it in the first place.) Ulcerative Colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the the large intestine and the attacks (flares) can occur more often. Right now, I don’t *think* I have Ulcerative Colitis. It doesn’t run in my family, and I haven’t had an more GI issues— and hopefully, I won’t ever again!

With regard to my diet, I don’t think eliminating gluten, dairy, etc. made much of a difference in my condition. Maybe it helped a little bit, but I think, ultimately, it was the concoction of drugs that I was taking. I just think it took awhile for them to do their job. At the time, the only reason I eliminated those foods is because I was desperate to feel better. I honestly would have eaten cockroaches if they helped me! I’ve eaten plenty of gluten and dairy since my colitis flare, and I haven’t had any GI issues because if them. However, I’ve noticed that my digestive tract gets a little weird if I drink too much iced coffee or beer (the horror!), but I think that’s pretty normal, right?

One crazy side effect of the colitis that I haven’t yet talked about on CNC is the severe iron deficiently and hair loss that I’ve experienced. A couple of months ago, I noticed that I was losing a lot of hair. At first, I just ignored it, but it got worse and worse, so I finally made an appointment with my doctor. She did some blood tests, which showed that my iron levels were really low. This surprised me considering that I take a multivitamin everyday, eat pretty well, and get a decent amount of red meat in my diet. My doctor said the colitis and its trauma to my body likely caused the iron deficiency and hair loss. I’m taking daily iron supplements now, but my doctor told me it could take six months to year for my hair to get back to normal. Thank goodness I have thick hair!

So, there you have it. I think I answered all of your questions, but let me know if I missed any. Let’s just hope that colitis flare is a one-time thing, and I never have to go through that hell again.

Hi, friends!
After breakfast this morning, I headed to Starbucks to get some freelance work done. I don’t usually work in coffee shops (mostly because I’m cheap and don’t want to spend money), but I switched it up today because I really needed to get away from my usual distractions (i.e. Murphy, Twitter, gchat) and get sh*t done.

I spent a few hours at Starbucks and accomplished quite a lot. Hooray!

While working away, I enjoyed (ready for this?) a decaf, tall, non-fat, toffee nut, misto. I feel ridiculous typing that, but, hey, I got exactly what I wanted. Translation: a small hot coffee with steamed non-fat milk and toffee nut syrup. It tasted pretty damn awesome.

Ordering a misto instead of a latte is one of my favorite ways to save money on a cup of coffee. Lattes and mistos pretty much taste the same to me, but a misto is often close to a $1 cheaper. I also save money by registering my Starbucks card and bringing a reusable mug. That’s a savings of $0.60 right there! Sometimes, I’ll ask for my coffee in a larger cup and then go heavy on the milk from the condiment bar. This works especially well with iced coffee because it pretty much tastes like an iced latte and costs a lot less.

What are your tips and tricks for buying a cheaper cup of coffee?

Workout

After Starbucks, I headed to the gym for a workout. I started with 30 minutes of strength training. I did three sets of the workout below.

And then I hit the treadmill for a 35-minute run, which covered close to four miles. I did this treadmill workout:

If the speeds are too fast, just subtract 0.5 from each interval:

Lunch

After the gym, I headed home for lunch. I started with a big bowl of yogurt with banana slices, chia seeds, and Uncle Sam cereal. Then, I picked out and ate all of the turkey sausage and most of the mushrooms from last night’s dinner. (I wonder who’s going to eat the rest of those leftovers now?)

Snack

Just a little while ago, I whipped up a fun, autumn-y protein shake with pumpkin, protein powder, soy milk, and all sorts of spices as an afternoon snack.

Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp canned pumpkin
• 1.5 cups soy milk
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of nutmeg and ground ginger
• Handful of ice

Directions: Combine all ingredients and shake like crazy.

Makes 1

Mmm! I love pumpkin spice anything. I wonder if I’ll ever get sick of it?

Happy Friday, guys! Enjoy the start of your weekend!

Good morning!

Mal and I cooked another rockin’ dinner last night. We’re on fire this week!

Mal and I were in the mood for tacos, but we didn’t have everything we needed to make them, so we improvised with what we already had in the kitchen. The end result was a delicious chicken and rice dish with peppers, onions, and taco seasoning. It was awesome and, of course, easy to make. We aren’t that fancy when it comes to cooking.

How to:

• Cook rice as directed and grill/bake chicken breast
• Meanwhile, sauté chopped peppers and onions in olive oil
• Add a packet of taco seasoning + 1 cup of water to the sautéed veggies
• Stir taco seasoning with veggies until it becomes a sauce; add more water if needed
• Cut chicken breast into bite-size chunks
• Combine rice, chicken, and taco-veggie mixture in a large bowl
• Serve warm

I added a side of mashed butternut squash to my plate. It was such a delicious dinner.

Breakfast

Breakfast was also really tasty this morning. I made a big pumpkin pancake with peanut butter, chia seeds, and maple syrup on top. For the pancake, I combined 1/2 cup Kodiak Cake Mix with 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, 1/4 cup of water, and cinnamon.

Feel Great Weight

When I gained more than 20 pounds after college, I knew I wasn’t being completely honest with my weight-loss efforts, so I started to pay more attention to serving sizes with the help of measuring cups and spoons. Here’s how these slimming kitchen gadgets helped me lose weight: 4 Ways Measuring Cups and Spoons Helped Me Lose Weight.

Question of the Day

What tools or gadgets have helped you lose weight?

P.S. I’m hosting a giveaway on Trading Up Downtown to win TWO copies of the new Sparkpeople Cookbook! Definitely check it out. It’s a great cookbook!

Hooray for pumpkin (and pugs)!

The blog world is crazy for pumpkin (myself included), so here’s a fun, little post devoted our favorite fall vegetable fruit.

Did you know…

• Pumpkin seeds are high in protein? There’s 12g in a one cup serving. [source]
• The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,676 pounds? [source]
• Pumpkins are 90% water? [source]
• Adding pumpkin to your diet may help mild to moderate facial acne? Pumpkins are packed with zinc, which has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties that may help calm irritated skin from the inside out. [source]
• The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over 5 feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds? It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs, and took six hours to bake. [source]
• The word pumpkin originates from the word pepon, which is Greek for “large melon.” [source]

I’m a mega dork and love fun facts like these. I honestly can’t help myself. Plus, Mal and I always try to one-up each another with fun facts. We’re constantly trying to outdo/impress each other with our random knowledge, so these ones will be great ammo for tonight when he gets home. I bet he doesn’t know that the largest pumpkin pie ever made weighed over 350 pounds!

And while we’re talking about pumpkin, here are my favorite pumpkin recipes! Of course, the majority of them are baked goods because pumpkin rules in baking.

• Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
• Pumpkin-Ginger Muffins
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
• Pumpkin Blondies
• Pumpkin Coconut Date Bars
• Pumpkin Date Nut Bars
• Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Breakfast

Surprise, surprise! This morning’s breakfast included canned pumpkin– the first of the season! I actually had no problem finding it. My local Whole Foods had two varieties available.

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup water
• chia seeds
• peanut butter
• dried cranberries

Question of the Day

Share a fun fact!

The more random the better!

P.S. The voting for National Sandwich Day has started! My dessert sandwich is in the running for the title! Feel free to check it out and vote!

You bet Murphy wanted a treat this afternoon!! This dog loses his mind when the T word is uttered in his presence.

Murphy’s pug friend, Olive, sent him some homemade Peanut Butter Treats for Christmas. Peanut butter also has a special meaning for the pug, so I’m sure you can imagine what happened when I mentioned peanut butter treats! He was psyched!

I like treats too, so I did a little baking this afternoon.

As you probably know, I’m obsessed with Mama Pea’s Dough Ball recipe. It’s simply fabulous.

I’ve had a container of canned pumpkin in my refrigerator for about a week now, so I decided to use it up by making it into Dough Balls. Why not, right?

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Dough Balls

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325*F.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well. (Batter will seem dry at first, but just keep mixing.)
3. Coat a baking tray with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Roll batter into 1-inch balls.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool before serving.

I love Dough Balls.

Love them.

They’re all I wanted for Christmas!

Animal Resue Alert

Just wanted to share an email that I received from a reader yesterday:

North Shore Animal League is the most wonderful organization where they take animals from everywhere and make it their mission to adopt every single one of them.  It is the world’s largest No Kill shelter. Recently, they have rescued 54 animal (mostly small breed dogs – most popular in pet stores) from a puppy mill. The breeds include Yorkshire Terriers, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Cocker Spaniels, Pugs, and Papillons. If you’re interested in adopting a dog, here’s the Rescue Alert.  

—

Mal and I are finishing (starting?) our Christmas shopping tonight. Hopefully, we have better luck this time compared to last time!

P.S. I need a serious sugar detox. I think it’s my next life challenge. Tips/advice welcomed!

Poor Murphy. So many things confuse his little eraser brain.

Even still, he’s always curious to try to figure them out.

After sniffing and sniffing, Murphy decided that the pumpkin was harmless. But, as soon as Mal and I started to carve it, he was all sorts of confused again. It’s a tough life for this dog.

Dinner

When I saw my mom this morning, she gave me a big bag full of reduced produce. Green bell peppers were just $0.55 per pound, so she couldn’t pass up a deal like that. Clearly, we have something in common.

Three reduced green bell peppers = stuffed peppers for dinner!

For the “stuffing,” I combined wild rice with cauliflower, garlic, and marinara sauce and topped the peppers with bread crumbs. On the side, I whipped up some roasted broccoli. The broccoli was also part of the bag of reduced produce that my mom gave to me.

I really love reduced produce. If I’m going to eat it in a day or two, it’s such a good deal. It’s so cheap! But, if I don’t use it and it goes bad, I’m just wasting my money, so I always make sure to have a meal or two in mind when I buy it.

For dessert, I broke into one of the Halloween cupcakes that my sister sent home with me.

After dinner, it was time to carve our big pumpkin!

Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite fall traditions– Mal’s too!

Mal and I joined forces to carve the pumpkin. I dug out the “guts” and cleaned the inside of the pumpkin.

Mal designed the face.

And cut out the eyes.

I carved the mouth… and made an executive decision to add buckteeth!

Spooky!

Now, Mal and I are munching on roasted pumpkin seeds. We topped them with Garlic Gold (because we are addicted to it).

Does anyone else think that this weekend was the shortest weekend ever?! I feel like the past two days were some weird-o time warp!

Good night, all!

It’s quittin’ time here in the Haupert household– although, I’m not Murphy ever started his day in order to quit.

Murphy passed out on my foot for most of the afternoon after sleeping in bed all morning. He’s Lazy Pants McGee, I tell ya!

Lunch

Today’s lunch was a wonderful mix of sweet and savory. The combination of ingredients might sound a little strange, but trust me on this one. It’s worth a try!

Ok, are you ready? In the mix was plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, cold leftover apple crisp, chopped walnuts, and crumbled feta. Interesting, right? I swear it was delicious. In fact, I liked it so much, I went back for second serving.

Dinner

For dinner tonight, I’m making Rachel Ray’s White Bean, Tuna and Potato Salad. Doesn’t it look good?! It seems like the perfect Friday night meal to me!

Last Chance Bake Sale

You guys know Katie of Chocolate-Covered Katie, right? Well, she offered to bake a batch of her famous Fudge Babies for a “Last Chance Bake Sale” to help Mal and me raise money for Team In Training. Without getting into too many details, Katie has a connection to leukemia and really wanted to help us out. Mal and I were more than happy to take her up on her offer and raise money for TNT in anyway that we can.

So, you might be wondering what exactly is a Fudge Baby?

Fudge babies are raw chocolate truffles that taste super-decadent yet are actually healthy. It’s hard to believe something so good for you—high in fiber, with zero added sugars and unnatural ingredients—can taste so sinful. Imagine popping balls of pure chocolate bliss straight into your mouth.

Ok, so now do you want to bid on them!?!

On Monday morning, you can bid on Katie’s Fudge Babies. Once again, they’ll go to the highest bidder. I’ll give all of the details and list the Rules & Logistics of the Last Chance Bake Sale on Monday, but feel free to review them ahead of time. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about winning some delicious goodies!

Enjoy your Friday night, folks! It’s quittin’ time for me!

Hi, guys! What a beautiful morning!

Murphy and I just returned from a longer-than-usual morning walk. Typically, we walk for about 10-15 minutes in the morning, just so he can do his “business.” But, today, we did an extra loop around the block and walked for close to 25 minutes. It was so nice to enjoy the sunshine, hear the birds chirp, and breath crisp, fresh air. I think we both wanted to keep walking, but I needed to get home and start my day.

Breakfast

Mal needed to be at school early this morning, so I was on my own with breakfast. I made myself a big, creamy batch of pumpkin oatmeal.

In the mix:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup spelt flakes
• 1/2 cup vanilla hemp milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 scoops of Nuttzo
• Granola

Nuttzo was easily the star ingredient of this morning’s breakfast. (The company sent me a jar to sample the other day.) I’ve never tasted (or even heard of) a nut butter like it.

Nuttzo is a “omega 3 multi-nut butter” made with peanuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and flaxseeds. I love that it’s a blend of all of those healthy nuts and seeds– and it’s really delicious!

The flavor it sort of hard to describe– it just tastes like nuts! I guess the peanut and flaxseed (or maybe sunflower seed) flavors come through strongest for me. The consistency is thick and chunky with pieces of nuts and seeds throughout. I’m a big fan!

I always thought that banana oats were my favorite, but maybe it’s pumpkin now?

To drink, I had a mixture of iced coffee, non-fat milk, and chocolate-flavored Amazing Grass.

Feel Great Weight

I didn’t make my husband breakfast this morning, but you can read about how our little ritual has changed my thinking about food: Food Is Love: How Healthy Choices Mean More Than the Number on a Scale

Question of the Day

Do you associate food with love? Why or why not?

Oh my gosh, this Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf came out so well! I’m so pleased! It’s super moist and chocolately, almost like chocolate cake, but with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. It would make the perfect dessert after Thanksgiving dinner, especially with a warm cup of coffee or tea.

Ingredients:

• 1.25 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 can (7.5 ounces) pumpkin
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325*F. Grease loaf pan.

2. Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; blend well.

3. Once mixed, pour batter into loaf pan.

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.

5. Allow loaf to cool for 15 minutes; dust with powdered sugar (if desired).

Pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene and Vitamin A, so these muffins are healthy and deliciously spicy! Mmmm… so scrumptious! This recipe is easily a new favorite of mine!

Pumpkin-Ginger Muffins

Recipe adapted from Stonyfield Farm’s Pumpkin Ginger Muffin recipe

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup Stonyfield Farm organic French vanilla yogurt (8 oz. container)
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 
Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly spray twelve 2 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ nonstick muffin cups with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Set aside. In another medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set at high speed, beat the brown sugar, pumpkin, yogurt, egg, oil and ginger until frothy (about 2 minutes). Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the pumpkin mixture. Using a spoon, stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the center, about 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool in the pan on a wire cake rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm or completely cool on the rack at room temperature.

These muffins are fabulous! The whole-wheat flour makes them very filling and gives them a hearty, grainy texture. The brown sugar adds just a touch of sweetness to the pumpkin flavor, and the walnuts and pumpkin seeds add crunch. The ginger didn’t come through as strong as expected, but I used ground instead of fresh. I have a feeling that the fresh ginger makes a big difference in the spiciness factor.

Nutrition Facts (without walnuts):
Calories 183, Protein 5 grams, Carbohydrates 38 grams, Fat 2 grams (less than 1 gram saturated fat), Fiber 2 grams.