My Friday

Holy yum bucket- the cat barf oats were even tastier this morning! They looked extra gross since the bananas are even soggier on day two but the taste and consistency was awesome. It's nice to take a break from cereal and have a new fave breakfast.

This may be the most boring photo ever, but here's how the lemon bars turned out:



They were so tasty and definitely didn't taste like a "diet" recipe. Parker must have agreed because I think he ate about half the pan which is a baking success in my book :)

I skipped the sweet and sour chicken last night and made Parmesan and sage crusted pork chops with sweet potato fries and lemony asparagus. I tried the pork chops last week and just made a few changes the second time around. The pork chops we bought this time were extra thick so I cut them into thinner and smaller pieces and also added more sage and some red pepper flakes to the breading. I also added a little extra mustard to the egg glop. Cutting them thinner cut the cooking time way down and the extra flavors in the breading were delish. Here's a photo of the crispy choppers:



For some reason I was really craving sweet potato fries yesterday and happened to have one at home so I cut it into small pieces, sprayed with pam, and sprinkled salt, pepper, and some cumin on top. They baked at 425 for .... hmmm should have timed those.... between 30 and 45 minutes I think. I stirred them around a few times and just kept and eye on them. Amazingly easy and tasty. These are a new favorite!



I also made some quick lemony asparagus with just a little bit of evoo, salt and pepper, and lots of garlic and lemon juice.

Here's how the whole thing turned out:



At 6:00 this morning when the alarm was going off I wondered if my earlier post this week about morning workouts was written in a fit of delusion. Getting out of bed to work out this morning was the last thing in the world I wanted to do. So I snoozed for another 20 minutes while Bruce tried to chew on my face and finally got moving. It really does feel so good to wake up and get moving and have that extra burst of energy to start the day out. I think I'm finally figuring out that just because it's not easy doesn't mean it's not worth it :)

Oooh- and I forgot to mention yesterday how grateful I am for my lovely, er handsome, talented and helpful photographic assistant. These photos are my doing, if you hadn't already guessed. I may have to make another batch of those lemon bars to bribe Parker to keep helping ;)

If you have an extra minute today check out this blog: http://healthytippingpoint-fattalk.blogspot.com/
Really inspiring ideas about how we think about weight, food and ourselves. Lots of food (har, har) for thought.

Hope everyone is having an amazing day and enjoying this gorgeous weather!

Morning workouts

Last week I decided it was time to stop finding excuses and start working out in the morning. It's so beautiful this time of year I can always come up with a million reasons to skip the gym after work. Like wanting to go out for a cold drink, or make a great dinner, or go get ice cream. None of which are terrible on their own, but no gym + food/drink indulgence = tight pants. So beginning last week I set the alarm for 6, went to bed early, and hoped for the best. Miraculously, it worked. I made it out of bed, got dressed, and drove to the gym. Bruce and Pman seemed terribly confused, and I was still half asleep. Other than the fact that all the television programming at 6 am is terrible, I now love working out in the morning. Today was my fourth time, and I think I'm becoming a regular. I recognize the faces of other folks at the gym who are willing to put exercise before sleep and get moving in the morning. If you had told me six months ago, heck six weeks ago, that I would be one of them I would have laughed. Wonders never seem to cease.

My adventures in peanut crusted chicken were a relative success. Besides the fact that I inadvertantly purchased kidney beans instead of black beans to add into the rice the dinner was pretty tasty (I think I was so focused on finding the low sodium kind I forgot to pay attention to the type of bean. Oops!). I added some red pepper flakes to the breading, used store bought bread crumbs instead of homemaking them (no food processor) and also added some lime juice to the salsa. I think next time I'll try peanuts and penko for the breading, per mom's suggestion. Having an amazing cook for a mom makes for some great advice :)

I'm going to give the mushroom chicken pasta a whirl tonight. Not sure how I can screw it up too badly. I'm skipping the white wine and adding shallots for some extra flavor. I think pasta likes to stick to my ribs once I eat it, so I'll just have a few noodles (whole wheat egg noodles to Parker's dismay) and cook some fresh green beans with a little garlic, olive oil, and some toasted pine nuts to have on the side. The picture at the top is what it's supposed to look like, I'll try and remember to take a photo of how it actually turns out :) Here's a link for a recipe that comes close to the green beans, but imagine a few crispy pine nuts on the top: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=549731

I'm also going to take a shot at making these lemon bars tonight if I find the motivation. I have been craving them lately and a friend found this great recipe for me:

http://www.foodfit.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=1929

One of my big goals since getting on this eating well/working out kick has to eat 5 fresh fruits and veggies per day. Although it sounds like a snap it can be a little tricky. Thank goodness spring is here! If I was starting this plan in the winter I would be doomed for failure. As it is, I've done pretty well but definitely need to be diligent. I snuck in some leftover asparagus with lunch today so that along with fresh pineapple, mushrooms and green beans will get me pretty close.

Hope you're enjoying this gorgeous day! :D