Posts Tagged ‘what i ate wednesday’

Bowl-Licking Good!

Afternoon, friends! We had a slight delay in getting into the regular fun of What I Ate Wednesday today. And with good reason, too. I’m loving all the comments, perspectives, and general thoughts in my last post on blogging money and page views talk. Have you weighed in, yet? I would love to hear your feedback! It is something I value and I believe this is a discussion worth sharing. So, hop on over and drop a line there before diving into some delicious What I Ate Wednesday action. Gotta love Jen and her link round-ups for inspiring great meal ideas!

Peas and Crayons

Since I felt compelled to talk about blog money and page views this morning, we have to do a little backing up to yesterday afternoon and evening. After my sweat fest of a workout with my favorite at home cardio workout,Peter suggested taking a short walk around the neighborhood as a family. It’s one of our favorite ways to pass time together.

IMGP1210-1IMGP1207-1IMGP1211-1IMGP1209-1

We even had to bundle up a bit! The temperatures dropped, so I had to bust out my Champion jacket from the Shape Your Life ambassador program (look for a review tonight!).

IMGP1204-1

After our walk, I came home with dinner determination. It was time to tackle another previously hated food. Last week, I gave asparagus another failed shot…and this week, I wanted to give quinoa another try and had this handy sample from the Healthy Living Summit.

IMGP1212-1

One of the lunches at Healthy Living Summit featured a quinoa dish that I drooled over. It was incredible! Before that, I had tried quinoa once with a recipe of my own…and hated it. I realized that my problem was having a bland ole quinoa. I always wanted to love quinoa (hello??? easy, quick, and nutritional powerhouse!!) and figured I would make an effort again, making sure to use a recipe with a little more pizazz.

Enter Mama Pea’s vegetarian jambalaya from her book. Enter a newfound love of quinoa and an even greater appreciation of Sarah and her genius ways with food.

IMGP1213-1

I now want to rack up a million and one quinoa recipes and eat it every week for the rest of my life. Do you see another food kick starting around here? Winking smile

Delicious food doesn’t stop there! This morning after a drizzly five mile run, I came home hankering for a warm bowl of oatmeal. Go figure, right? I did want something a little more decadent and special though, so I crafted a chocolate strawberry oats bowl.

IMGP1235-1

Oats with cocoa powder, chopped strawberries, raisins, peanut butter, and an Adora chocolate calcium disc chopped and sprinkled on top.

IMGP9915

Bowl-licking good!

It filled me up and powered me right through until lunch – which featured more quinoa jambalaya, an apple, and slices of sharp cheddar. I am loving on the cheddar lately. Hmmm… wonder if I could find a way to combine my two new obsessions. A quinoa sharp cheddar “macaroni & cheese”, perhaps? Or maybe I should play it safe and stick with tried and true recipes. I don’t want to find myself hating on the little grain balls again, after all!

  • Do you have a quinoa recipe you can share? Link it up!
  • How often do you lick your dishes clean? Daily! Oats are just too good!

Posted by on September 7th, 2011 48 Comments

The Birthday Edition

A little birdie told me today is the last day to enter the Love Grown Foods prize pack giveaway! But for now, some What I Ate Wednesday fun thanks to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons. This week = The Birthday Edition!

Peas and Crayons

I had such a great day yesterday for my birthday! And it wasn’t even my full blown “celebration day”! That’s coming on Saturday with whatever Peter has planned. Smile

The day rocked regardless! I even got greeted with a special package first thing in the morning. Peter snuck up on me as I was writing a blog post before the kiddies awoke with a little gift for me.

IMGP0799

What was inside? None other than some Mama Pea!!!

IMGP0802

I have wanted her cookbook since it came out but kept holding off to see if it showed up on my birthday. I can’t wait to make some goodies from her book. Love me some Mama Pea! And apparently so does little M. She keeps looking through the book telling me “I like this food” and “These are my friends” (talking about Gigi and Lulu). Sarah – wouldn’t it be so fun to get the girls together? I think we would have a cuteness explosion!

After that, my day kicked off with that insane full body weights workout I shared with you yesterday afternoon. Followed by a bowl of magic. Chocolate oats for the win!!

IMGP0808

And Barney Butter loves me so much they gave me a birthday present too…

IMGP0807

Or I just used my sample from my HLS swag bag. I can pretend, though. PS – Barney Butter = as fabulous as people say it is. Y to the U to the M.

IMGP0810

The rest of the day went by as any other since I did have two little munchkins to care for and blogging to do. Good thing I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE both of my jobs. You know what they say – work doesn’t feel like work if you love what you do. And that is certainly the case for me. Smile

I managed to get a lot done, which is a gift in itself. Productivity makes me happy. I took a break for a scrumptious lunch – black bean/sweet potato/BBQ sauce wrap and a pineapple Chobani.

IMGP0816

With an Adora calcium disc as a sweet ending. Adora had samples in the swag bags loves me and gave me a birthday present too.

IMGP0818

I was thrilled to get these samples because I had always wanted to try the Adora chocolate calcium discs and with good reason. They actually taste like really good chocolate! And a calcium boost doesn’t hurt either.

When Peter arrived home, I took some additional time to myself to fit in a quick cardio workout. I did 40 minutes of a Turbo kickboxing workout and loved every sweaty minute. I followed that with a shower and some more time relaxing with my little family before I had some special visitors!

IMGP0830

Hello to my mom and my sister!!! They came to hang out for the night and help me eat some sushi. A birthday calls for one of my favorite foods, wouldn’t you agree?

IMGP0819

We shared a version of a spicy tuna roll, a salmon and avocado roll, steamed dumplings, and a pile of steamed veggies.

IMGP0823IMGP0822

I love how easily you can order healthier dishes from Chinese/Japanese restaurants. And somehow their steamed veggies taste so much better. The perfect crispness!

The good food didn’t end there, though. Oh, not at all. No birthday would be complete without some form of dessert. It’s a law. I foresee a big birthday treat coming my way this weekend, so decided to go the simpler route and opted for some creamy Blue Bell chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream from the freezer.

IMGP0833

Blue Bell makes the creamiest ice cream you can get at the store. And their cookie dough bits taste like real dough! Heaven.

So, as you can see, I had a GREAT birthday! And once again I thank you tremendously for adding value to my special day. The plethora of birthday wishes, overwhelming excitement of the Love Grown Foods giveaway (have you entered?!), and just your smiling faces visiting here regularly leaves me speechless. I will forever find myself thankful for God placing me in this stellar community. It blows me away. Muah!

  • What cuisine do you find easiest to order healthier options?
  • What is your favorite ice-cream to buy from the store?

Posted by on August 24th, 2011 59 Comments

 

 
Catch Up With Recent Posts

Announcement Time

Posted: November 23, 2011 at 7:47 am

Well, I have had a whirlwind of a few weeks over here. I missed all of you so much! I can’t express enough gratitude for your patience while I got some important things sorted out. Some scary things. Are you ready for the announcement? Here goes! I will no longer be blogging at Faith Fitness […]

88 CommentsRead more →

Self-Love Reflection: The Road Not Taken

Posted: November 20, 2011 at 11:47 am

Hello FFF readers! Nice to meet ya! My name is Carissa and my husband and I blog at Fit2Flex.  Well, I blog…he consults! We are both certified personal trainers with a passion for healthy, active living and clean eating.  I am also studying to become a registered dietitian, a race announcer, and a runner.  Stop […]

24 CommentsRead more →

Healthier Eating For Kids

Posted: November 19, 2011 at 10:56 am

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens! As parents, we want the best for our children. We help them to feel loved. We strive to teach them […]

14 CommentsRead more →
 

Announcement

Posted: November 17, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Hey, everyone! I wanted to pop in and say I am working on some new and exciting changes.  As a result,I may not be posting as much during the coming week.  Please stay tuned for the big announcement! Love you all! And still feel free to find me on Twitter and Facebook for the time […]

21 CommentsRead more →

Where The Change Happens

Posted: November 16, 2011 at 7:54 am

It’s kind of funny. I become a certified personal trainer and the first workouts I turn to this week come from someone else. The book came in for me at the library last week and, after flipping through it, I couldn’t wait to give the circuits a go. Making The Cut includes a lot of […]

79 CommentsRead more →

From Beginning To End

Posted: November 15, 2011 at 11:53 am

Good morning! First off, thanks for the many congrats yesterday. Love you all bunches for the tons of support you have given me in so many things this year. I hope I can return a little bit of that love through this here blog as well. So yesterday I had my first parent-teacher “conference” for […]

55 CommentsRead more →