Seven Things Sunday II

Good Evening Everyone!  Hope all of you had an amazing weekend! I sure did!

Since I got such a positive response last week on my Seven Things Sunday post, I figured I would do it again.  Hey, this just might become a weekly thing! 

So, without further adieu, I’m proud to present…

1.   Meal:  The Veggie Sandwich I had yesterday.  *Recipe coming soon!*

 

2.   Song:  “I Just Wanna Run” by Downtown Fiction

I was actually introduced to the song by my friend Adrianna when I was injured because she felt like it fit me perfectly. I have to admit, she was right!

3.   Workout:  Still walks with Fluffy, but I have a feeling once Track starts (tomorrow!) running will take the top spot.

4.   Laugh:  This week I had a lot of laughs but I couldn’t think of any that were extremely hilarious.  I did have a pretty good spur-of-the-moment joke this week, though.  Once again, you had to be there, but I’ll try to explain it to the best of my ability.  Earlier this week I told some kind of corny joke at my lunch table and a few people chuckled, however a few moments later the table next to us started laughing hysterically at something someone said at their table.  Quickly, I quipped “Haha, they must have heard me!”  Then my entire table was in hysterics.  I have no idea how I come up with this stuff!

5.   Website:  Foodgawker – You know you have too much time on your hands when you decide to look through 20 pages of food pictures.

6.   Discovery:  Resizing photos.  Yeah, it sounds lame, but I never knew I could resize photos before!  Speaking of photos, how do you like the new photo size.  Keep it or go back to the old sizing?

7.   Hope:  That my back will be A-okay from now on!  I really, really, really want to run!

“I just wanna run, run it away, run because their chasin’ me down…”

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Well, that’s all for now folks!  Now I’m off to straighten my hair, watch a little TV, and hit the hay.  I’m tired!

Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite website right now?
2. Have you ever been featured on Foodgawker?
3. What was your favorite workout this past week?

I hope you all have a great week and stay tuned for another Blog World Weekly tomorrow!

Baking + Birthday

Heyyyy! How was your Saturday?

Today I did a lot of baking for my Uncle Ozzie’s birthday party. I also ate some really good food and had a pretty tiring workout. I didn’t do any homework. Oh well!

Breakfast:

Grilled Cashini Sandwich on Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread

After breakfast I did some blog reading and then got to work.  I had a lot of cleaning to do in preparation for the birthday party.  I swear, cleaning the house lasts longer than the actual party!

Thankfully, once the cleaning was over, I had to do something much more enjoyable: BAKING!

I was the designated “Dessert Chef” because my family knows I am quite the baker.  (Can my head get any bigger?!)

The birthday boy requested a Funfetti cake.  I was so close to making it from boxed cake mix but then I came across Jenna‘s recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream. 

Instead of cupcakes, I doubled the recipe and made a layer cake with 2 8-inch round pans and baked at 350F for 30 minutes.

 I also made some Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies because he loved them so much last time I made them.

I couldn’t wait to dig in.  Talk about a test of self-control!

After the kitchen was cleaned (I make such a mess when I bake!)  I got out of the house and took Fluffy for a walk.  It was beautiful outside today!

70 degrees and sunny!  Spring is here!

Workout:

• 3 mile walk with Fluffy
• 15 min. Abs 101

After my workout, I was ravenous!  I made myself lunch right away.

Lunch:

Tomato, cucumber, avocado, mushroom, roasted pepper, Laughing Cow, and hummus sandwich on Rye

  

I forgot how much I loved avocado.  The sandwich was so good.  I think I’ll post a recipe soon, but I still have a bit of tweaking to do. 

Soon after lunch, the family started coming over.  We talked and caught up for a bit and then got ready for dinner. 

On the menu for tonight was:

• Mom’s Gumbo

• Make-Your-Own Pita Pizzas

• Salad

Can you see Fluffy?!

I decided to skip the gumbo tonight, but I had some pita pizza.  It was so good!

Dinner:

Salad and 1/2 pita pizza with onions, mushrooms, and olives

I made sure to keep dinner light, considering I wanted to make sure I saved enough room for dessert.  I couldn’t wait to dig into the cake!

“Happy Birthday to youuuu…”

Dessert:

Oh.My.Gosh.  The cake was so good!  Well worth the wait!  I got a bunch compliments on it – thanks Jenna!

A sweet end to a wonderful night.

* * * * * * * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. How did you spend your Saturday?
2. What is your favorite cake flavor?

Have a great Sunday! 

Fluffy Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend so far – I sure am!  I meant to post last night, but I came home super late from watching the school play and was too tired.  Oops!

But, don’t worry, I’ll post it today because it’s a really good one.  Better late than never, I suppose.

Slightly adapted from SHAPE Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup plain greek yogurt (regular yogurt would work too)
• 3 tablespoons flour (I recommend 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon all-purpose)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Separate one egg.  Combine the yolk in a small bowl with the yogurt, flour, and vanilla extract.  Stir well with a fork.
2. Separate the second egg.  In a larger bowl, beat two egg whites, sugar, and salt until they are fluffy and hold a soft peak.
3. Melt butter in a small nonstick pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add a quarter of the batter. Cook 2-3 minutes, until brown, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the reverse side. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Yield: 1 large serving (4 pancakes) or 2 smaller servings (2 pancakes each)

* * * * * * * * * *

I enjoyed my pancakes plain: no nut butter, no sugar, nothing.  They were just that good on their own.  However, if you’re a syrup person (I’m not) then you can top your ‘cakes with syrup, agave, fresh fruit, chocolate, etc. 

These pancakes are also pretty filling considering they have over 6 grams of protein each!  Approximately 25 grams in the entire recipe.  Yay for protein!

* * * * * * * * * *

I definitely think all of you should get up and make these pancakes right away.

Before I sign off I’d like to share a few more things with you.  Remember a couple of days ago when I told you that Katie and I were doing a 3 miler?  Well, it was actually a 2 miler because instead of running the entire way we stopped to get pizza on the way back to school and walked the mile back.  Fail.  However in my defense, who wants to run on a full stomach?!  Not me!

Another thing, remember my Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies?  Well, when I first made them I brought a few over to my uncle’s house and he loved them so much that he requested I make them for his birthday party (later tonight)!  Of course!  I’m in charge of all desserts, but more about that later.

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you put syrup/other toppings on your pancakes or prefer to eat them plain?  I like to add sugar and nut butter, but I also eat them plain 75% of the time.
2. Have you seen the movie, Beastly?  Was it good?  I saw the previews awhile ago and thought it looked cool.  My friends and I are thinking of going to see it.

Have a great weekend! 

Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Today was my school’s freshman Spirituality Day, so the first half of my day was spent praying, learning, and thinking about God.  The second half of my day was spent finishing homework, running, visiting my elementary school, and baking! 

It was a very good day!

My Mom was out for an hour or so running errands today, so naturally I took that time to do two of my favorite things: running and baking. 

Today’s run was nothing special (only a 1 mile sprint) but the baking was delicious. 

Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Adapted from Cook’s Recipes

“Having grown up with cinnamon raisin bread I have a “thing” for anything of the cinnamon variety.  This cinnamon bread isn’t just healthier, but it’s also tastier!”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 – 1 cup sugar (depending on taste, I used 2/3 cup and it had a mild sweetness)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk (or 1 cup  milk+ 1 tablespoon vinegar)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping:

• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Set aside.
2. For Bread: Measure all ingredients in order given in a large mixing bowl, stir until combined.  Pour into prepared pan and smooth the surface.
3. For Topping: Combine all ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle onto bread batter and using a knife, cut in with a light swirling motion to give a marbled effect.
4. Bake for about 50 minutes.  Let cool.

Yield:  1 loaf (12 slices)

* * * * * *

I loved this bread.  So did Phil, and my Dad.  My Mom thought it needed a little more sugar and Fluffy…well…let’s just say she managed to get a little nibble too.

Bad dog!

I already had two slices for an afternoon snack and I’m planning on having some more for breakfast tomorrow.  I can’t wait until breakfast.

Mmmmmm…I love cinnamon. ♥

* * * * * *

In other news, today I went back to my elementary school to watch Mikey‘s 4th grade show.  It was so cute!  He had a speaking part and didn’t have a bit of stage fright.  He takes after his cousin.

After the show they also had refreshments.  I managed to nab some homemade Funfetti cookies before the 4th graders could get to them.  They were so good!  I smell a remake!

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you like cinnamon? Loooove it!
2. Do you know any cookie Funfetti cookie recipes?
3. What is your favorite elementary school memory? (or favorite school memory of all time!)

Hope you had a great Wednesday Dr. Seuss and Banana Cream Pie Day!

PS – Tomorrow Katie and I are planning on going on a run together. We’re planning on 3 miles. (My longest run in months!) Wish me luck!

February/March Goals

WHOA! I cannot believe that it is already March 1st.  It feels like February 1st was yesterday!

Since it’s the first day (well, actually the 2nd) of the month, I figured I should check up on my February goals and then set some new ones.  Gotta keep up my New Year’s Resolutions!

* * * * * *

February Goals – Recap

1. Do at least one fun thing every weekend! Throughout February I actually got out a lot more than usual.  I went to school basketball games with friends, I went to Cotillion, and worked out with friends.  Overall, I think I did a great job!  A-
2. Eat less sugar!  The first two days of the month I went completely sugar-free and loved it.  I felt so much better with less sugar that I continued it through most of the week, but after a while I started to slip, and was completely fine with it.  I don’t want to cut out all sugar anyways, but I just think I could have controlled myself better around things like Tropical Mango Bread and Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies.  C+
3. Stop procrastinating!  This was another one that I did really well with in the beginning and then began slacking at the end.  I have been starting my homework right when I get home from school instead of spending an hour on Facebook though!  B-

* * * * * *

March Goals

1. Eat less sugar!  I feel like this is going to be a continued effort on my part, so I’m going to post it as a goal again. 
2. Use what I have!  Our pantry is filled to the brim with various flours and other baking necessities, yet I still find a recipe where I need something else that I will probably never use again.  This month I want to start using up ingredients that I have on hand before I go out and buy others.
3. Find time for yoga!  Now that I am able to run again, I find myself neglecting yoga and stretching.  While I was injured I fell in love with yoga and don’t want it to be forgotten (again!)  Since spring track starts in a few days and I will be running almost everyday, I’m going to aim for about an hour of yoga a week.

* * * * * *

Sorry for another wordy post!  I promise I’ll be back to regular, photo-filled posts soon! 

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you set monthly or weekly goals for yourself?  If so, what are they?
2. Do you ever find yourself slacking on your goals?  What do you do about it?

Have a great Wednesday!