Catching up from the weekend? Check out a few things you may have missed:

• I Got Sponsored for the Healthy Living Summit! But with WHO?
• What’s My Name Again? and FFF Features
• Call for Guest Posters and Self-Love Reflection on Passion

Every Saturday night, Peter and I have a “date night” where we try to decompress from life’s daily pressures and spend more time together than the standard night. Most of these “date nights” consist of dinner and a movie at home to keep our budget in check…and not to abuse our free babysitting benefits from the grandparents. Besides, it feels more special having one night a month to head out together for a special night just the two of us. We had our night out for July this Saturday and what a good one it was.

We actually started our date on the earlier side. Why? Well, to fit in enough time for this special occasion…

Yes, we were die-hard enough to go opening weekend. And to see it in 3D!

Attractive (and blurry), no? I doubted that the 3D would make a better viewing experience, but Peter insisted after seeing Transformers in 3D with some friends from work a couple weeks ago. And it really was neat! I definitely think it added to the already super-amazing-so-sad-it’s-over-want-to-watch-again movie. They really worked to end the series on a high note and the movie could not have been better. And…now I can’t wait for part one of Breaking Dawn. I’m secretly fifteen.

Once we finished our afternoon at the movies, we headed to dinner.

 

My beautiful Cheeky, we meet again! I couldn’t remember the last time we dined here - only one of my favorite restaurants - and knew we needed to pay it a visit.

We started with the required chips and salsa…

…which still lived up to my expectations. I love their salsa because it has a decent kick and is the perfect consistency – not chunky salsa but not watery either. I could have dunked the whole basket of chips in that delicious tomato flavah!

But I had to save room for my adored tacos – two fish tacos with poblano slaw and chipotle cream and one crab cake taco with poblano slaw and pineapple salsa.

Despite my happy looking face the meal ended up an Utter. Disappointment. 🙁

I don’t know what happened, but the tacos did not taste near as good as usual. They didn’t necessarily taste bad, but just not like they were freshly made and with as much quality. Part of why I always loved Cheeky was for their reasonable portions, fresh tasting food, and flavorful combinations. I didn’t get that vibe last night. I hope they had an off night and aren’t going downhill. I may just have to try that new taco place my friends love.

Even after a decent amount of food at dinner, I still felt really really hungry. If I don’t get the satisfaction I seek in taste, it’s almost like I never ate. I need food that satisfies my taste buds in order to feel satiated physically. So what does a girl do to satisfy those taste buds fully? 

I think you know what that is! Self-serve fro-yo!!! We found a coupon for a new frozen yogurt stop, so of course we had to include it in our date night. I quickly fell in love with this location. Because a) they have birthday cake flavor and b) they have cookie dough topping. A match  made in heaven…

You know…along with espresso flavor frozen yogurt and brownie bits, toffee, and butterscotch chips for additional toppings. You think I went a little topping crazy?

 

And do you think I care??? Thanks, Peter for the action shot. Imagine it in 3D. You would think I’m about to eat your face off. Obviously, the night ended on a high note. Do I look happy or do I look happy? ;) 

• Ever seen a full-length movie in 3D? Did you like it?
• Can you relate to my need for food to taste good in order to feel satiated?

Hi, friends! Top of the morning to ya! It’s Wednesday morning, which you may have figured out now means a What I Ate Wednesday post a la Jenn!

Let’s hop right in with the good stuff!

Yesterday morning, I grabbed my standard piece of fruit for a pre-workout snack as I run around feeding little children’s mouths and getting ready for the gym. I don’t like working out with a heavy stomach because then great workouts will make me want to vomit. And vomiting is no fun, agreed? 😉

I completed a full body weights workout followed up with 30 minutes of light elliptical action. No intervals. Just slow and steady. It felt calming, which is just what I needed after the hectic mindset I had earlier. And cereal was just what I needed after a great workout.

 

Have you heard that cereal is actually fantastic for a post-workout meal because it has plenty of carbohydrates to refill energy stores and some protein as well from the milk? I believe it because cereal sounded good for post-workout today. Have you also heard of Fiber One’s new Honey Squares 80 calorie cereal?

 

I got a box of this cereal to sample free of charge and have fallen fully in love. I assure you the company did not buy my love. In fact, I promptly went out and bought myself two more boxes while on sale – using two coupons of course. Pick up $1.00 off and $0.75 off printable coupons to use for yourself after hearing how good this stuff is.

It has the perfect crunch, just enough sweetness, ingredients that don’t make me feel like I’m a rat in a science lab, and a healthy dose of fiber (40% daily value!). And I will admit – I like that it has a lower calorie count than most cereals because I can fill up on even more. I love cereal, but I can easily go heavy on the pouring and end up with three servings. Three 80 calorie servings = way more reasonable than three 180 calorie servings. Not that I would know or anything. Ahem.

 

I devoured a large bowl topped with my diced strawberries and raisins combo. You didn’t think my favorite oatmeal topping would disappear now did you?

None of my meals really got any more difficult than a bowl of cereal the rest of the day either. In fact, I almost feel a little embarrassed by the sheer ease, laziness, and packaged-ness of most of the day’s eats.

Lunch:

 

A grilled ham and swiss sandwich. Carrot sticks, cucumbers, and hummus. Watermelon.

Snack:

 

A S’mores Lunabar and a container of Chobani greek yogurt.

Dinner:

 

I actually pulled out more produce for dinner. I chopped up a zucchini, two small summer squash, a small head of bok choy, some onion, and some mushrooms to stir-fry all together. Since I didn’t feel like cooking a full meal, I turned to the freezer for some packaged chicken egg rolls we had to use. And while the nutritional stats aren’t terrible in those little eggrolls, I can’t deny their super processed state.

 

I almost felt embarrassed for showcasing meals like cereal, packaged bars, and frozen eggrolls in a What I Ate Wednesday post. No cooking. No creativity. Nothing fancy. Nothing perfectly unprocessed with zero added sugars and zero disodium guanylate.

Then I remind myself I still strive overall to eat as high quality as possible but also without stressing myself over every meal choice. I can’t feel embarrassed for eating what suited me yesterday despite it not living up to some of the standards that occasionally seem prevalent in the blogging world. I always appreciate blogging for opening my eyes to new, fun ways to eat mindfully and beneficially to my body. At the same time, I also have to remain aware to not allow the “blog food standard” I create in my head to overwhelm my decisions. So, I had my egg roll lazy meal day. Chomp.

 

• Are you a cereal addict?
• Do you ever feel a certain unspoken standard for food on blogs? What do you think are the pros/cons?