Good News

Remember this weekend when I made cinnamon french toast?  I said I really want to try this with cinnamon swirl bread...well what do ya know I got a loaf of cinnamon raisin swirl bread last night from Ben and Danielle:)  What do you do when you have cinnamon swirl bread?  Cinnamon Roll French Toast!!

 I didn't use quite as much butter as this weekend because I try to keep my weekday breakfast on the healthy side.  A little butter in the skillet.  I whipped 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp. brown sugar, touch vanilla and cinnamon to dip my bread in.

 With some delicious coffee.

 This was very tasty.  I still had a little cinnamon cream cheese glaze from the weekend:)  I recommend making this if you like french toast and cinnamon rolls-its make a beautiful collision of the two.

I snacked on some cuties and did some more applying.  Danielle went for a walk with me and then I made a green monster (I know, I am addicted, I usually do that with food and then one day I will look at it and say I am not having this for a long time-maybe I need to pace myself!).

 

I was excited because it looked more green today.  It tasted great and I have decided the key to a good green monster is using some kind of sweetened yogurt (strawberry or vanilla for me).

Anyways, back to crafting an applying for jobs!  I am having leftover meatloaf for dinner so maybe you will actually get a picture of the meal I worked so hard on:)  Have a great Wednesday afternoon.

Job Hunting

I am not a fan of job hunting.  I am trying to be patient and mindful with my current search which does not come easy for me.  If you don't already know, I like being on the go!  I like being active and I like working...but it has been hard for me to find work that I truly enjoy.  Anyways, I have not been hunting long, so I just need to buckle down and enjoy some down time:)  You would think with all this time that I would be cooking up amazing things.  Truth is, Cliff is out of town and I have been trying to eat up my leftovers!  Yesterday my food was pretty boring-green monster, leftover nachos, and then this yummy snack you see here:)

This was my afternoon pick-me-up!

Dinner: I know, weird but it is what I was craving.  It is my homemade instant oatmeal (recipe is perfected and I am happy)!  I went to work from 6-10pm and snacked on some awesome cranberry chocolate trail mix on my way home:)

This morning I went to Pilates (the Pilates I am used to is really hard-but this was basically yoga..it was nice to relax and stretch).  My body needed it after body pump yesterday!  I was craving eggs when I got home

1 egg, 1 egg white, whipped with milk and into the skillet.

Flip and fold and place on bread.

These are awesome bagel thins from Ben and Danielle.  I put a little jelly on there too!

Yummy:)  Next time I will use real cheese (not the american slices-I think the real stuff is better on eggs)

I also just got through eating the best smoothie ever!  I have been on a green monster kick, but this was the best one yet:)

 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt, about as much spinach as you see here, 2 tsp. dark cocoa powder, 1 tsp carnation, 2 tsp flax, 5 ice cubes, 3/4 frozen banana, 5 frozen strawberries.  At the end add 2 rounded Tbsp. of peanut butter and 2 Tbsp. oats.  Oh man this was SO good.

 I could have drank another (but that would make me way too full).

Went for a walk with Danielle and check it out.  It flooded in some parts of Houston yesterday.  This is usually a small creek, but there are a lot of drainage systems that go into it!

I'm off to apply for some jobs!  Hope everybody is having a great day:)  Here is some encouragement for the day:

Fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

Lean Green Cleaning Machine

GREEN MONSTER!  I made one and can hardly believe it.  The first time I saw a smoothie that had spinach in it I thought, "I don't think I will ever be that healthy-that's going a little too far..."  I gave in after reading so many benefits from several different blogs.  Iowa Girl Eats is who finally convinced me.  I think the benefits that stuck out to me were:

• Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, K, iron, fiber, folate, and lutein (since I have been eating less meat, I need more iron).
• People who drink them usually talk about how much energy it gives them.
• Good source of fiber and easy way to get vegetable servings in early in the day.

So, after my short pilates video I headed in to the kitchen to make the monster.  I got the original recipe from Oh She Glows.  I modified mine just a little.

This was my last blending stage.  I put about 2 Tbsp. Peanut butter and 1 Tbsp. raw oats!

 It looked more green than this but you can tell it is smooth and creamy!

 It was not as green as expected but it still kind of freaks you out to drink a green smoothie...ha!

I have to give you my pros and cons and it should help you decide if you should go for it (you should).

Pros:

• It kept me full for about 5 hours
• I felt really good after I drank it and throughout the entire day
• It tasted good and it can be made many different ways
• It is creamy and frothy and it is cool to say I had a green monster for breakfast...it feels like you accomplished something
• The flavor of your smoothie stays about the same...so spinach could be added to your favorite smoothie (next I am going to try it with My Favorite Smoothie).
• Nutritionally a great start to your day with 1 serving of veggies, 1 serving of fruit, 1 serving of dairy, 1/4 serving grains (flax + oats), 1 serving protein (from peanut butter + protein powder), fiber (fiber always make me excited lol because it helps keep you full and regular)

Cons:

• The color kind of freaked me out (but you get used to it)
• The texture is a little different.  I recommend you blend it very well.  Occasionally I could kind of feel the spinach (it was very small and it was not bad, but again it is something in you mind saying that is spinach in your smoothie). Don't worry because it is NOT slimy!

Basically, after you start drinking it and get used to the color and texture (which is not bad to begin with), it is really good.  More importantly, I will be making this again!  I will probably try to have it about 2-4 times a week.  To be honest I am already craving another one.  Here is my adapted recipe:

Green Monster (Lauren Style)

2 cups spinach

3/4 cup milk (I used 2 %)

1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt (would be good with vanilla also)

4-5 cubes ice

1/2 scoop protein powder (prob. close to 2 Tbsp.)

2 tsp. flax

1 sliced, frozen banana

2 Tbsp. peanut butter (add last as seen above)

1 Tbsp. oats (add last as seen above)

Place ingredients in blender in order listed.  Blend until very smooth (spinach should get super tiny).  Add peanut butter and oats at the end and blend until well mixed.  Pour into a glass and enjoy!

My Mom asked about the calories so I figured it up and it is approx 550 calories.  There is a lot of protein because I used peanut butter and protein powder (if I had vanilla yogurt, I would omit protein powder most likely).  Like I said, this kept me full for a long time so the calories don't bother me!

Danielle and me went for a power walk today (good thing I had a lot of energy).  I got to cleaning when I got home and our apt is looking really nice now!  After a cleaning for a while, I was ready for a veggie burger.  I used to have veggie burgers all the time in college (especially when I lived alone).  Since I am trying to eat less meat, I decided I needed to get some veggie burgers.  I bought Morning Star Garden Veggie Patties:

This may be my new favorite.

 Pickles, tomato, honey mustard, spinach, cheese, ketchup.

 On a delightful bagel thin from B & D.

This was so delicious!!!  I can't wait to make another.  The box says the dietary exchange is 2 veggies and 1 lean protein.  I will say this, if you have never had a veggie burger, don't expect it to taste like beef.  It tastes similar to a burger because it had the same toppings, but it does not taste like beef.  I love them.

My snacks today were fage mango yogurt and 2 cuties!  I did a puzzle with Danielle and headed to the grocery store before dinner.  I didn't really feel like cooking so I just whipped out some good ol' mac and cheese and made that with green beans.

 I like to rinse my green beans before putting them in the skillet with a little olive oil.  I followed the package directions on the mac.  This three cheese flavor was really good!

Hit the spot.

Finished with a delicious peanut cluster!

Hope everybody has a great weekend!!  I am really excited to hang out with Cliff.