Planes, trains, and automobiles”¦ and I’m home!
Breakfast
My alarm went off at 6:01 AM this morning. I woke up in Katie’s guest room, took a quick shower, packed up all of my stuff, ate a banana with peanut butter, and then headed to the airport to catch my flight home. It was a whirlwind weekend, but an awesome one, no doubt.
At the airport, I bought an iced decaf latte made with almond milk.
And a Good n Natural bar, which was just okay. I’m not sure I’d buy this one again.
Plane —>Shuttle —>Subway —>Taxi —>Home!
When I walked in the door of our house, I received the most excited pug welcome I have ever experienced. Murphy was running around and barking like a nut job and wagging his curly tail straight! Apparently, he was really happy to see me. And, of course, I was happy to see him! Dog welcomes are the best.
When I walked into our living room, I noticed Mal did a little rearranging while I was away.
Hmm”¦ I have a feeling we’ll be getting rid of this chair soon. I wonder why Mal moved it into the back room? Maybe he’s trying to make space for a new couch? 
Mal also meal planned and went grocery shopping for the week. Best husband ever!
This week’s meal plan:
- Monday: Take-out (Dave is staying with us tonight!)
- Tuesday: Honey Cashew Chicken
- Wednesday: Flank steak with red onions, potatoes, and broccoli
- Thursday: Spiced Mini Burgers with Couscous Salad
- Friday: Wing it/leftovers
- Saturday: Out to dinner
Lunch
I was hungry when I got home, but I wasn’t sure what I was in the mood for, so I just mixed a whole bunch of foods together in a bowl and just hoped for the best: sautéed spinach, sliced deli turkey, fresh basil, half of an avocado, cashews, salt, and pepper. Random, but delicious.
Once I finished, I still wanted something more to eat, so I whipped up a two-ingredient pancake with sunflower butter on top. Perfect. Satisfied.
Snack
Just now, before starting this post, I mixed up a batch of iced Pumpkin Spice Dandy Blend. (I just added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice before I added water.) Mmm! Pumpkin spice deliciousness!
And now I’m off to walk Murphy and then unpack from this weekend! I’m happy to be home!
Weekly Workouts
- Sunday: Army 10-miler
- Monday: Off
- Tuesday: Off
- Wednesday: Yoga
- Thursday: CrossFit
- Friday: Off
- Saturday: CrossFit <— special Halloween class!
Plank Challenge
My Plank Challenge officially starts today! I’ll give you all of the details tomorrow, but if you want to participate, all you have to do today is time yourself doing a plank. (I do them on my elbows, but feel free to do them straight-armed if you prefer.) Try to go as long as you can and then record your time. It’ll be your starting point for the Challenge. More to come tomorrow morning!
Health News & Views
I absolutely love pumpkin. I love it so much, I labeled myself a pumpkin-holic. I add it to everything””from breakfast to dessert””and it’s one of my favorite (ok, the favorite) fall food. With that said, here’s a healthy treat that is seriously indulgent without all of the calories and fat of a typical chocolate chip cookie. In this recipe, sugar and butter are replaced with more nutritious canned pumpkin and date puree, and mini chocolate chips replace regular-sized chocolate chips to add even more tiny bits of sweetness throughout the cookie without added calories. Enjoy this guilt-free seasonal treat with friends and family!
Fall Baking: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
P.S. Speaking of pumpkin, this article is hilarious: Halloween Horror Story: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin Lattes. Some of the quotes seriously cracked me up!
48 Comments
oh goodness I loooove pumpkin! I’ll have to check on that recipe!
I love dog greetings! I got a very excited yorkie hello yesterday when I got back from a destination race.
I made your two ingredient pancake this weekend for breakfast. And my husband and I both agreed that they were a great way to start our day – surprisingly filling too!
Ummm, so can I have Mal’s # to give to my b/f?? The meal planning & the grocery shopping done?? Amazing! I guess I shouldn’t complain thought as I’m going home to a new set of handmade basement shelves. “Pinning” those cookies for sure 🙂
I think I’ll do the plank challenge too! I would do it at work in my cubicle, but I’m not really prepared to deal with the weird looks and questions.
Oh yay! Plank challenge! Just wondering, do you do your planks on elbows or hands?
Elbows! 🙂
what. 2-ingredient pancake?!? I’m doing my first Whole30 and I’m missing my Paleo Waffles, so thank you thank you thank you! 🙂 Glad you’re home safely and had such a lovely welcome!
Just click on the link! 🙂
@Tina: First thing I did, with a quickness! 🙂 Also, plank challenge… alright, I’m in. Just timed my first one.
Hooray Plank Challenge!
Can’t wait join in…my core needs it!
Love your pumpkin cookie recipe! Going to try make a flax egg version!
Mmm those cookies sound GOOD! After reading your plank post the other week, I decided to time myself and last 3-min in an elbow plank before collapsing to the floor!
I love thorinw random salads together. They always taste the best.
Puppy welcomes are also the best way to enter a house! Our dog is all over us; our cats watch from a distance, couldn’t care less if we ever return, lol!
That’s throwing, darn tablet keyboard. :/
Dog greetings are truly the best! I just got the best greeting when I walked in the door from work! I always look forward to the best hello ever!
I love pumpkin too! Choc chips combined with it = amazing.
Turkey & cashews is a good combo. Mmmmm!
Now that is a puppy very excited to see his mama. 🙂
Hahaha i am definitely a pumpkin-oholic too 🙂 Especially anything combining chocolate and pumpkin! Welcome home Tina!
I love that you set your alarms for odd times like 6:01! I do the exact same thing:)
Your husband does the meal planning AND the shopping? Wow. I’m so impressed! At most, I give my husband one night a week where he is responsible for dinner…and I can pretty much count on it being a pasta-with-red-sauce night. 🙂
I am definitely up for the plank challenge! Someone else was posting about planks recently and got me motivated to try to do them for longer. My first try (a couple weeks ago) was 1 minute and now I’m up to 2 minutes. I don’t have any plan for holding it longer, though. What do you think? Increase it by 5-10 seconds a day? Less than that? How many times a day do you do it? Just need a plan and I’m ready to go!
I love when my brother’s dog greets me, she goes crazy and it always makes me feel good! I’m also intrigued by this plank challenge!
Tina I love the boots you are wearing. They look comfy for traveling. What are they?
@Arie: I love them too! Please tell us what they are!!!
I’m obsessed with pumpkin too. I can’t get enough of the seasonal flavor!
That’s so awesome Mal did the meal planning! I’m the meal planner in our home-my husband does the shopping! I’m pretty sure without my plan he would wing it, since he’s more of a cook than a recipe follower.
I’m in on the plank challenge! I did my first one today!
Traveling is totally exhausting. Coming home to a super excited dog rocks! Way to go Mal on the food shopping and meal planning. WOW! I need a challenge…maybe I’ll rock this plank thang
I love my pup’s welcomes – whether I’m gone 3 minutes to get the mail or back from work 9+ hours later, it’s always the same wonderful enthusiasm, isn’t it? Love that unconditional love (and the occasional, unintentional ‘french kiss’ that comes from my crazy pup!).
I’m planking as soon as I submit this to join in – the first one will SUCK!
Welcome Home! I’m going to join you on the plank challenge!! I’ll try one before bed!! Your meals look great for the week!!
Aw, I love that Mal meal plans for you. 🙂 What a great hubby.
I’ve tried all of the Good N’ Natural flavors, and didn’t like any of them. Something seemed off with the flavor & texture, hmmmm..
Agreed. I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t like it though. It just wasn’t good.
I love “random but delicious” meals. As a student living on campus (but we have our own kitchen), I feel like that’s how all my meals are.
I’ll be participating in the plank challenge and get on it tonight 🙂
I’m about to start my own personal plank challenge as well. My last effort was 4:32. I’m hoping to hit 5 mins next time around. Looking forward to following along!
Dog greetings are the best! I love it when I come home and Sashi and Lucy are waiting at the door for me. Makes me feel like I might be the most awesome person in the world for a second… lol.
Meals look great, especially Thursday!
I need to try Dandy blend! Coffee triggers migraines for me (life-long torture), but I love the flavor of it. I might have to try this.
Thank you for sharing your recipes!! It is fun to try new things!! Have you tried any other new cookbooks other than the ones you have shared, also have you read the new Paleo for Athletes that just came out? One more do you have the frittata recipe you made last week?
Thanks and have a great day! Heather
I don’t sorry, but I’ll make it again and post the recipe soon! 🙂
A happy puppy welcome is the best 😉 Question: do you know if I can substitute regular or whole wheat flour for the almond meal/flour in your recipe? Haven’t seemed to find almond flour over here! and I love pumpkin recipes too, so I’d love to try your cookies 🙂 I’m substituting pureed squash for pumpkin though. No canned pumpkin over here either 😉
Yea, I think it would work! 🙂
I think I wil do the plank challenge too!:) And I have to try that recipe!
I’m in for the plank challenge. Maybe a stronger core will help with my K2E in Crossfit.
Mmmm cookie recipe pinned!
What could I subsitute for the dates?
Raisins? Prunes? Dried figs?
Nothing better than a puppy welcome home! You guys always do a great job meal planning, but I don’t know if I could plan out all of my meals for an entire week. Usually I wing it because I never know what I will feel like having on a particular night. I wonder if you could just add pumpkin pie spice to a regular cup of coffee for pumpkin flavor? I absolutely love the Dunkin’ Donuts pumpkin spice ice coffee, but the closest DD to me here in Tampa is 15 minutes away! Insanity!