PW

Today turned into quite a day!  I had two rather large cups of coffee with Hazelnut creamer for breakfast this morning.  I wasn't very hungry so I just stuck with coffee for the time being.

Once everyone around here woke up and began moving around and functioning, we decided to take a trip to Panera for brunch.  I "picked 2" and chose 1/2 a fuji apple chicken salad and 1/2 a ham and swiss sandwich, and a piece of bread.  I still wasn't very hungry--I know who the He** am I right?-- so I just ate the salad and bread and saved the ham sandwich for later.

YUMMM!  Love me some Panera  :)

After lunch, my friend Kathryn and I went out on the town.  We went to Dick's Sporting goods, just for fun, no purchases made.  Then we went over to Books-A-Million to purchase............................

these gorgeous pieces of paper!!  Have I happened to mention that I am going to meet Ree in Birmingham next week?/in 5 days!!!  I cannot even describe to you how excited I am!  And I get to go with my friend Kathryn to make it even better!  Beyond thrilled!!!!  I decided that I needed to go ahead and make the book purchase beforehand.  Can you imagine if we arrived to Birmingham and all of the books were gone??!  Devastation is what that would be.  Pure and total devastation.  So I wanted to be prepared  :)

And in true pioneer woman fan fashion, my roommates and I decided to cook her Peach Whiskey Chicken tonight for dinner.  Okay, now I know what you're thinking:  this girl is a freak and should not be allowed to meet Ree in person.  Well you should all calm down.  I am perfectly sane.  Or maybe just moderately.  Point being, we have made this meal before, we just were all craving it again.  It just so happens that it's on the same day I bought her cookbook.  And in 4 days we will be BFFs.  No big.

Sorry the lighting is so terrible but it was dark out and our living room has very little light.  It was the best I could do.  This dinner is FAB-u-lous and more than filling.  Trust me.

Well, I hope to be back tomorrow with some more healthful meals.  But hey, I can't be blamed for the weekends right?  Good!    

I put on my Boogie Shoes

Let's see I think the last time you saw me was Thursday morning, if I do remember correctly.  LOTS has been happening since then so this might get a little long.  You have been warned.  

So Thursday, I had a ham sandwich for lunch.  For dinner, I went to a friend's place for a cookout/potluck.  I had a hamburger, buffalo chicken dip with fritos, and 2 cake pops and a few handfuls of candied popcorn for dessert.  I splurged Thursday night to say the least.  It was a fun night with friends that I haven't gotten to hang out with in quite a while, so it was worth it though!

On to Friday!  I decided I would treat myself to a Chik-fil-A lunch since I had to work on campus straight through the lunch hour.  Sometimes I pack my lunch, but I was running late yesterday.  So Breakfast was a Nature Valley Peanut bar and a HUGE cup of coffee!  Lunch was a spicy chicken sandwich from CfilA with french fries--hey, it was Friday!  

(sorry I don't have any food pictures from the past couple of days, just didn't really think to take pics. while I was out and about.  I'll redeem myself soon.)

When I got home from work yesterday, my friend Kat had arrived!  She drove in from Atlanta for a few reasons.  First, it is her Spring Break this coming up week--she is a PE teacher at an elementary school in the Atlanta area.  Second, she was my date to my sorority formal last night.  Haha yes, I promise you read that right!  She was in DZ before she graduated in December, so it was fun for everyone to get to see her again and for her to be there for our last formal.  And finally, she and I are GOING TO SEE THE PIONEER WOMAN IN BIRMINGHAM NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!!  I'm kinda excited.  lol.

So as I mentioned, we had formal last night.  It was at the Capitol City Club in Montgomery.  It was a pretty venue with delicious food!  I had a plethra of things including pork and chicken, a delicious dinner roll, a southwest roll-up with some sort of fajita filling, and pineapple slices.  I had a glass of wine as well.  But just A glass because the bar was expensive if you ask me.  But I'm kinda stingy.  And I lost $20 somewhere between home and Montgomery.  oops?!    

Anyways, as you can see, I had some pretty smokin' dates right?  We all just went together and had such a blast dancing.  It took us a little while to get warmed up, but once we started I think everyone probably wished we had stopped lol.  It was so fun and I am definitely feeling all that dancing in my feet and legs today.

After we took this pic, Anna told me she reads my blog!  I was flattered.  So she get s a shout-out for sure!  She is a nutrition major as well at Auburn but is a year younger than me.  She will make such a great little dietitian  :)

Well, it looks like today will be full of rain.  Maybe that means lots of kitchen time?!  Stay tuned!

Good (beautiful) Thursday morning!

Well I hope your Thursday is off to a great start!  My day is already great for many reasons:

1. I woke up all by myself.  No alarm. It was glorious!
2. I have 0 classes today because they were all cancelled!!

3. This breakfast I made:  Holy wow, yum, deliciousnesss!

Since I have no time constraints (until work this afternoon at 3) I rolled out of bed feeling refreshed and ready to go.  I already have 1 load of laundry washed and in the dryer and the 2nd load is in the washer now.  Inluding my sheets.  I am so on top of things---lolololol.  Anyways, after starting some laundry, I brewed some coffee and decided I would make something for breakfast since I had time.  I have a box of pancake mix that has been in my cupboard for quiiiiite a while now.  I decided to break it out this am.  While I was reading the prep instructions, I got the idea to add some oats to the mix.  The box called for 1 cup of pancake mix and 2/3 cup water.  I decided to use 1/2 cup pancake mix and 1/2 cup oats and then just used the suggested 2/3 cup of water.  This was such a good decision.  Like, these might be some of the best pancakes I have ever had.  And I have eaten a LOT of pancakes from lots of places.  I topped them with peanut butter and put cranberries on one and honey on the other.  Honey wins hands-down btw.  SO GOOD!

Well, I hope to get a lot accomplished today with all of the free time I have been blessed with today  :)

slow start

Do you ever have those days when you just can't seem to wake up.  It doesn't matter how much coffee you drink, how pretty it is outside, or how many laughs you have, you still just feel miserable.  Well until about 3 o clock today, that was me.

Luckily, this afternoon was full of pick me-ups.

But, back to breakfast.  I wasn't starving when I woke up this morning--shockerrr-- so I just had some Multi-grain cheerios and a couple of cups of coffee with Hazelnut cream.

On Wednesdays I have a class from 12-1 and then lab from 1-4 so I eat an early lunch between 11 and 12. Today I fixed a peanut butter and blackberry jelly sandwich with banana slices.  I cut up a sweet potato and made "fries" to eat with my sandwich.  That took about 20-25 minutes.  While I waited, I discovered that we were out of honey mustard.  How the heck am I supposed to eat sweet potato fries without honey mustard? Right?!  So, I began to experiment.  I mixed honey and mustard (genius, I know).  I honestly thought it was going to be disgusting, but it actually tasted, and looked, like Chik-fil-A honey mustard sauce.  Success in my book!  It was like 2 parts honey to 1 part mustard.  Try it next time you find you're out of that perfectly delicious condiment!

 After lab, I took a quick nap, snacked on the leftover banana from lunch, and then went for the day's run.  I was feeling adventurous, so I opted for the 4.2 miles today.  I definitely got my sweat on.  Fortunately for me, I only got lapped by three runners today.  But, it is things like this that keep me motivated anyways  :)

http://funstoo.blogspot.com/2011/03/no-matter-how-slow-you-go-you-are-still.html

After the run, it was Bible Study on Samford Lawn.  There could not have been a better way to spend time in the word than outside.  It is so humbling to sit and reflect upon all of creation.

For dinner, I had about 20 minutes to scarf something down until I headed off to church.  I opted for leftover barley and brussel sprouts.  I added some bites of ham and a handful of dried cranberries.  This was a delicious and filling dinner.  And quick too!  

I finished the day with a slice of bread smothered in peanut butter and topped with butterscotch morsels.  Perfectly savory, salty, and sweet!  

And that is how this day of mine went from slow to glorious!

change of plans

Well, another day in the life of Renee has come and is about to have gone.  Because yes, I am about to go to bed. Don't judge.  I'm pooped.

The day started bright and early this morning about 5:00 a.m. when my alarm went off.  I was planning on getting a good bit of studying.reviewing done before my 8 o clock class.  But before I even realized it, literally, 5:00 a.m turned to 6:00 a.m.  Oops!

But don't worry, that doesn't mean I missed breakfast or anything!  This morning I had a banana and Chobani Greek yogurt.  It was raspberry flavor, and I am honestly still debating whether it is my favorite, or if blueberry still wins.  What do you think?

And of course, coffee with hazelnut creamer. MMMmmmm.

P.S.  sorry the pics are so blurry and dark.  That's because it was still DARK outside when I took them--it was that early!  

My Tuesday afternoons are usually pretty full becasue I have class until 1 and then I volunteer from 315-515 at the local Boys and GIrls Club, and then I have chapter at 630.  So, I usually run between my 1 and 3 o clock break, and then shower and eat lunch then too.  

So on these days, I like to eat a snack around 10 or 11 so I am not starved during my run, but I am also not bogged down from eating a meal right before it either.  That all being said, my snack today was a Cliff Bar.  Mint Chocolate flavor--another first.  I am being mighty adventurous this week as far as trying new flavors of things.  So far they have all been pretty good choices to! 

I love a Clif Bar.

So I got home from class, checked my e-mails, and realized I didn't have chapter tonight.  It was cancelled today.  So I could eat lunch at regular time afterall and then still be able to run after my community service project.  So of course, I did just that!  I fixed 1/4 a grapefruit and a spoonful of peanut butter topped with granola.  I also munched on some carrots and hummus while prepping all of this.

Now it's time for a confession.  This whole piece of grapefruit is now sitting downstairs in my garbage can.  I have never had grapefruit before and I wanted to try it.  I was really hoping I would like it, but I had a feeling I wouldn't.  Citrus fruits are probably some of my least favorite fruits.  Those and melons.  Needless to say, I could not force it down the hatch.  I am going to have to find a way to prepare the remaining 3/4 of the grapefruit because I certainly don't want to be wasteful!   Suggestions??

This afternoon, I spent a couple hours volunteering and then went for a run.  I opted for a shorter run today.  I ran just over 2 miles in about 25 minutes.  Then, I walked over to the softball field to enjoy my 2nd AU softball game of the season.  They played Alabamer and unfortunately, we lost.  But, it was a great time and my friends, Allison and Brittney ended up coming to keep me company.  It was a fun evening  :)

I didn't eat dinner before, and my tummy was sure letting me know it was empty!  When we got home, I fixed some slices of ham and enjoyed the leftover fruit salad I made for a meeting yesterday.  Just right for a late dinner!

Busy Monday!

Gosh what a day today has been!

I started off the morning with a LUNA bar.  I had never had this flavor before, but it sounded too good not to try!  It was coconut chocolatey drizzle (or something like that) and it was great!  Like dessert for breakfast.  I can think of nothing better.

I enjoyed it with a fresh, and not quite ripe/semi-hard kiwi and a cup of coffee with hazelnut Coffeemate!

Well it was then off to class for about 5 hours.  Fun, right?!  The day did start to look up when I found out some exciting news around 11:42 am!  1. My best friend, Brittney, text me and said she finally has set her wedding date!!  woohoooo  I could not be happier for her  :)  

And then, of course, I was starved for lunch!  I fixed a sandwich on Publix 100% whole wheat bread with sliced ham and a slice of pepper jack cheese.  I snacked on some carrots and hummus while I fixed the sandwich.  I had a handful of granola for dessert, because it is essential at every meal.  duh,

This afternoon, I mainly spent my time studying.  However, I did open my window to let in the beautiful sunshine and fresh air.  And my lovely friend, Mr. Hornet.  I also spent some time spending the first iTunes card I've bought in like a year.  Here is my favorite song I purchased today:  

Amos Lee, Windows are Rolled Down

tell me he doesn't make your heart melt.  actually, don't.  or we can;t be friends.

By 6 o'clock I was more than ready for an exercise break!  I ran the same 4.2 mile loop as yesterday.  It was another good run.  I think the weather helps motivate me.  Seriously.

Then, I was ready for dinner!  I made a salad with Organic Girl greens, the other half of the can of tuna (from yesterday's lunch), crumbled, fresh bleu cheese, a handful of dried cranberries, and a generous pour of balsamic vinegarette dressing.  It was delish!

And for dessert, a slice of whole wheat bread smeared with peanut butter and topped with delicious butterscotch morsels.  I am a happy girl right now for sure.  Now if only this test material would just magically soak into my brain, we would really be in business.  

Eat. Run. Eat.

I couldn't think of a more appropriate title for this post because I literally feel like this is what I did today.

When I got home from church I was starving!  I decided to make a good salad--since I have fresh food now!  I used a handful of Organic Girl mixed greens, half of a can of tuna fish, a handful of dried cranberries, and a sprinkle, okay let's be a real--a nice heaping puddle-- of balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  This salad was delicious, filling, and also really light so I didn't feel miserably stuffed afterwards  :)

I also had some carrot sticks and red pepper hummus.  And a blueberry pomegranate propel!  These drinks were buy 1 get 1 at Publix yesterday, and I just couldn't pass them up.  I couldn't tell you the last time I had one, but they used to be a staple in my high school lunch box.  Yea, that's right.  I just said high school lunch box.  Don't hate.

After lunch, I did some studying.  And then more studying.  And then I did some facebook stalking.  Then I ate the other half of my banana from breakfast this morning-with peanut butter on top, of course!  And then more studying.  Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.  I had to get out of the house!  

I decided I would go for a run, but I was leary as to what distance I should try to run because my legs were feeling a little tight after yesterday's 5K.  But, I stretched really well and decided I would give my long route a try.  And boy am I glad I did!  The loop I ran was a little over 4 miles and I was able to finish in just under 40 minutes.  I actually ran at a quicker pace today than I did in the race yesterday.  I think it is because my path is a bit more flat than the race course was.  Either way, I felt really good while running, and also after.  Success!

When I got home, my belly was definitely ready for some dinner!  I decided to cook pearl barley with brussell sprouts and dried cranberries, and a side of sweet potato wedges.  

This was the first time I have ever had barley and I can't say it is my favorite grain.  It wasn't bad though once I mixed it with the fruit and veggies.  The combination of the savory sprouts with the sweet cranberries was really perfect!  The sweet potatoes were a sweet addition as well!

To make this dinner (for 1) you will need:

1 cup pearl barley
6-8 brussel sprouts
1 handful of dried cranberries
1 medium size sweet potato

Since I had never cooked barley before, I followed the instructions and portions listed on the bag.  Boil 2 1/2 cups water, with a pinch of salt added, and then add barley.  Reduce heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes.  Stir occasionally because it does stick to the bottom pretty easily.  While the barley simmered, I cleaned and washed some fresh brussel sprouts and a sweet potato.  Cut the potato into wedges and then toss the veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper, to taste.  Roast them on a sheet pan in a 350 oven for about 30-40 minutes.  The sweet potatoes were done about 10 minutes before the sprouts so I just took them out and then continued to cook the sprouts until they were done.  The veggies should be fork tender when ready.

It took me about an hour to prepare this meal, but now I have 2 1/2 cups barley (as 1 cup raw makes 3 cups cooked...oops!) in the fridge to reheat for meals this week.  I also went ahead and cooked extra sprouts to have ready for this week too.

For dessert, I was feeling adventurous and enjoyed 2 sweet potato wedges with PB and butterscotch chips.  Don't hate it 'til you try it.  Trust me!!

Alright well I am off to study for a little bit more.  Then I am catching some zzzzz's.

Happy Sunday!

Well, I was planning on being up and at 'em early this morning.  But, with no time to sleep in yesterday morning, and quite a few late nights these past few days, I decided I would use today to sleep in.  Not waking up to the sound of an alarm is one of life's little pleasures that I love!

Once again, the weather here is absolutely, stunningly gorgeous!  It is a perfect 64 degrees.  I'm contemplating going to a park somewhere to study for the afternoon.  I just can't fathom sitting inside on a day like today.  Especially when it's the weekend!

Since I went grocery shopping yesterday, I could actually have a real breakfast this morning, instead of just a granola bar.  I had passionfruit Chobani Greek yogurt, half a banana, and coffee with hazelnut creamer ....mmmmmmmm.  It really hit the spot!

Yes, that would be my monstrous to do/study list under my breakfast.
 Keeping it next to me at all times is my way of trying to stay motivated haha

I'm off to church and then to study!  Blessings on this Sunday.

Racing again!

Well, I completed a 5K race this afternoon!  I believe this was my first race since my friend Margaret and I ran a 10K back in late January.  Needless to say, I was a bit rusty.  But, I have been running about 2-2.5 miles on a fairly regular basis since then so it wasn't embarassing or anything of that nature.  I finished in 32:06 which is a little over 10 minutes per mile.  I only walked up one hill for probably about 2 minutes or so.  The race was also at 5 pm so it was a bit warmer than what I am used to running in.  I ran with my good friend, Kathleen, and her friend Elizabeth.  I kept a steady (and obviously sllooowwww) jog pace the whole race and was able to maintain that speed, minus the one hill/water station break I took.  They ran really fast and would then walk for a while and run fast and catch up with me again.  We all finished together though, which was exciting!  It was the first 5K for both of them and they did great  :)

Here we are post race!  What a great way to spend an afternoon with friends  :)

This morning, I took part in a large community service event on Auburn's campus called Big Event.  I worked with a group and we helped paint wooden fences at a local farm from about 10-1230.  Before we started we were served a free Chik-fil-A chicken biscuit for breakfast, so of course I couldn't pass that up!  After we finished our work, our service group went to eat at Momma Goldberg's Deli.  I ordered a Momma's Love, which is a sandwich on white bread with turkey, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and italian dressing on top.  I ate half of it, and it was delish!!  

After the race, I came home and decided it was cleaning, laundrying, and grocery shopping time!  I have yet to grocery shop since I got back from spring break, so I was in dire need of some goods!  Here is the loot I accumulated at Publix!

I will post tomorrow about some of the meals I have planned for this week.  happy Saturday  :)

Spring is upon us!

I can't even describe to you how beautiful the weather is right now in good ole Auburn, AL!  It is a perfect, breezy, clear, sunny, pollen-free(!) day!  I am reallllly struggling to do anything related to school as I am in no way tempted to shove my face in a book right now.

Well, I missed blogging yesterday.  So let's recap (without pics for hopefully the last time--Im off to get a new memory card this afternoon!!)  I had to leave Auburn at 730 yesterday morning and head to Birmingham for a class field trip.  6 of us went to the Harris Early Learning Center to observe the lunch service and to interview the directors of the program and the head chef.  I can honestly say that I hope one day my children will be lucky enough to attend daycare at a place like that!  It was so cool!  The facility was built as a model daycare for the HDFS department at Auburn.  It is in downtown Birmingham and is seriously one of the most kid friendly centers I have ever seen!  It had a kid size kitchen with low counter tops and a low range top and oven/microwave center.  We were told that the children use the kitchen for special occasions or when there is an experiment that can be done in the kitchen that deals with what they're learning. It was adorable!  And every room/hallway was named after a children's book, so the kitchen was called "Stone Soup Kitchen".  The hallways were things like "Curious George" Drive and "Cat in the Hat" alley.  Each classroom, which was perfectly decorated with anything a kid could want (including a treehouse reading nook!!) and also had an attached "water room" that was completely tiled.  The rooms are used for painting and there are water tables for experiments as well.  Clean up is a breeze because there are sprayers that you literally just spray everything in the room with and it drains and dries easily.  Also, there was an outdoor play area for each age group, and each of those areas has a built in water feature for the summer time!  I am telling you this place would be like heaven for a toddler!!  The younger children had a water wall for more of a sensory feel, while the older children had a huge tunnel with sprinklers--AWESOME!  Finally, after seeing all of that amazingness, it was lunch time.

The way they serve the children lunch there is so cool!  On the menu yesterday was chicken 'n' dumplings, broccoli, and pears/oranges.  The children are each assigned a lunch duty.  One sets out a plate for each student, one the silverware, one cups, and one napkins.  The children then find their assigned seats and patiently wait for the blessing.  Then, each of the three tables receives one bowl of food.  For instance, one table received the bowl of broccoli, one the bowl of dumplings, and one the bowl of fruit.  The children then served themselves one by one from the bowl. sort of family style-ish if you will.  The served using a measuring cup because a)  It is easier for them to grasp and manipulate  and b) to teach them proper portion sizes for each food group.  None of the children began eating until every child had served themselves all 3 foods.  It was seriously the neatest thing!

For breakfast yesterday, I ate in the car on the way to Bham, so it was a Nature Valley Oats and Honey granola bar kinda day.  I love those things!

For lunch, I had the same meal as the children--chicken and dumplings, broccoli, and pears.  (and we got a chocolate chip cookie).  The chef, Mr. Bobby, was incredibly talented.  The meal was delicious!

Yesterday evening. I went to Tuskegee with my roommate Allison and good friend, Katie.  We met up with Allison's mom and a group of geocachers.  They grilled out hot dogs and then we had some tasty snacks!  I don't eat hotdogs though, so I had a heaping portion of baked beans with some chips and salsa, and veggies and ranch.   I tried dehydrated green beans for the first time and they were wonderful!  I need to look up the nutritional value for them and see if they are really a healthy alternative to potato chips, or just a phony.  There were some delicious homemade cookies there too, so I may have over-indulged.  Then, we went for a 4 mile hike through the forest and found some night-caches.  It was such a cool experience!  I recommend checking out geocaching if you haven't already.  It is a great way to get outside, get some exercise, and have fun with friends and family!

Well, I am off to run a 5K!  Be back soon with a recap and today's meals  :)

Updates

Well you may have noticed that I have had a nice long break from the blog.  Or actually, let's be realistic.  You probably didn't.  But maybe one of you out there in cyber world secretly missed me during my 16 day hiatus.

You might notice that I have a new template on the blog.  I am temporarily satisfied with it, but I do not think I am going to keep it permanently.  We shall see though.  You know how I am about those things.

So what have I been up to you ask?  How kind of you to wonder!  lol

Well, last week was my very last (or so I think) spring break!! Yikes can you believe that.  I am so old.
I spent it at Lake Jordan with my sweet and precious friend Brittney.  Her fiancee (don't know how to spell that, first time I've ever had to use it).  And one of his good friends.  It was not very nice weather.  But with nice people, who needs nice weather right?!  haha

Here is the only two pictures I got of the wholeeee trip.  You ready....they're awesome:

Don't you agree, they're awesome!  Haha.  There were ducks around the whole time we were there.  But one morning in particular, I noticed this reallly long line of them swimming out on the lake.  There were so many I couldn't even get them all in my camera view.  Dern digital cameras don't have a panoramic view.  I knew I should have kept that film camera!

We had lots of awesome food.  But unfortunately, I didn't think to photograph it.  Amateur move I know.  Sorry.

Okay, well enough about the past.  Let's talk about the future.  Gosh what a broad topic right.  Let's narrow it down to the future of this very blog.

I had some time during my break to think about the blog and how I have been using it, and what I actually wanted to do with it to begin with.  Since I am a nutrition major and am constantly surrounded by food in some way shape form or fashion, I can only find it normal to already be getting lots of nutrition and food related questions from my friends and family.  Well, I have decided that I want to be more intentional with my blogging and focus on health and nutrition and how to easily incorporate those into a daily routine, so that I can refer my friends to my blog for ideas, recipes, and how-tos for these meals.

Now you must be thinking what I was thinking.  Ummm Renee, you actually have to eat healthy meals for that to be possible.  And that is just what I am going to start doing!   Don't worry, I am still going to post fun and decadent dessert recipes, don't get me wrong, but I also want to incorporate a more day to day feel into the blog as well.  All of that being said, I am going to try to post each and every night with what I have eaten that day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I may not be able to capture every bite I eat or snack I have, but I will do my best!  

Now, here is where you come into play!  You must hold me accountable for this!  I am going to rely on your feedback and encouragement to keep me cooking, eating, and blogging!

So, without further adue, here was tonight's dinner.  2 eggs, scrambled with peppers, onions, and some fresh bleu cheese!  Nice and filling, but not overwhelming!

Oh, and one last thing, I am running some cool races soon!  Updates to come tomorrow!

cookies on cookies on cookies on cookies....

Sooo, how many of you have ever decided it would be a good idea to bake a cookie inside a cookie?

Because I feel like I am not the first person ever to discover this awesomeness.

If you haven't ever done it, I highly recommend it.

Right now.

All you need is:

and

sorry this is sideways...don't know how to fix it lol  :/

Next, you simply wrap cookie #1 inside of cookie #2.


Like, how could you possibly ask for anything more simple??

Bake these guys for about 15 minutes at 350 and you, my friend, have a bundle of deliciousness waiting for a scoop of vanilla ice cream  :)