Monday Two-A-Days, New Product Reviews!

Hello! I hope you're having good Tuesdays! Mine was pretty slammed - got up early, walked 1/4 mile, ran 2 miles, then walked 1/4 mile, then went through an all-day training class. It was a good class, but I hated being cooped up in a room, all day, with no windows and only cookies and pizza. Seriously. I told Austin and he said, "you're kidding, right?" That sounds amazing. LOL It wasn't, but I did see his point, not the end of the world!

Quick backtrack, yesterday I did my double workouts:

• a.m.: 1/4 mile, 1-mile run, 11 minutes on the stairclimber; abs
• Lunchtime: 2 1/4 mile walk; back and chest

Not bad! 3.5 miles, stairclimber and some ST - good day. Other than that I just worked, and tried out a few new products...

Now I'm not a huge fan of frozen meals only because I prefer making meals myself! However, sometimes they're just absolutely handy and necessary. I tried this one and just loved it. Such great sauce (really saucy enchiladas are awesome), and I loved the beans and little tofu bites. It was very filling and a meal I definitely plan to have in the freezer just in case!

I loved these little peanut butter sandwich crackers! You can have 12 for only 150 calories, and I thought that the serving was filling, too. I think my favorite part was that they were bitesize!!

Well these were just ridiculous. The serving size was 2 cookies and I swear they tasted like cookie dough. They melted in your hand and were incredibly soft. Be warned - addictive doesn't even begin to cover it, but so long as you're capable of holding yourself to no more than 2 in a serving (hehe!) you should try them!

Q: Have you tried any of the above? Did you like them?

Q: What's your favorite frozen meal? This is mine. Really - that good. I DO like Amy's stuffed shells too... but this one wins!

Monday Two-a-Days, New Breakfast Recipe

So it's true - hanging out with babies while enjoying a glass of wine is now one of my favorite things to do. hehe Neither of them even got fussy - sweet! haha I miss those little things but am glad I have my little poodles for now! Still crushing on this summer picture. :)

So yesterday was a really great Monday. I know, right? How often is that said? haha I got up early and headed to the gym. I wasn't feeling it, but I walked 1/8 mile and then took off running. I told myself i'd go 1 mile... but it felt great so I ran 2 1/4 miles at 6.3 mph, then walked another 1/8 to take me to 2.5 miles. Nice a.m. workout! HRM said: 27 minutes, 219 calories, 4 fat-burning minutes, 23 fitness minutes, 152 average HR, 174 max HR. Then I just got ready, worked, took my lunch break to walk 1.5 miles and do back and biceps. Awesome to get in some ST and catch up with Stacy! Then I just worked more and headed home to the family. Pretty sweet. I don't know what I was thinking not working out in the a.m. I know. I can't believe it but I just love it so much and it's cutting my commute time (now only my afternoon commute is a biatch). I feel so refreshed and my hair is actually styled now at work as opposed to in a ponytail. haha

What else is up?! Not much - LOVE that. I did want to share a new recipe though...

Spicy Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole
Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information: 308 calories, 27 carbs, 12 fat grams and 22 protein grams.

Loved it! It was really easy, pretty (in my humble opinion) and made very healthy sized servings. Especially for 300 calories - I felt more like it tasted like a 400-calorie meal! It's a keeper, and I think you could really make it your own with more veggies, too! The recipe is over at Healthified Kitchen like always!

one slice - yum!

Q: What have you been eating for breakfast lately?

Q: How was your Monday? I hope it was good - now I hope we have great Tuesdays, too!

Wednesday Two-A-Days, Breakfast Sliders

Yes, you guys MUST try Thai basil! If you can't find it, buy a plant. Seriously - the're like $3 full-grown and it'll last you for several recipes. :) I could see tossing it into just about any Asian-inspired dish and plan to do so! And OMG thank you for the DJ/mash-up master suggestions - i've already been tuning in to youtube - awesome. No such thing as enough running music; it's frightening how quickly I can get 'over' a playlist! So Yesterday was another standard day. Just got up early for the gym: I walked 1/2 mile, ran 1 1/2 mile and did 20 minutes on the stair climber. Great workout! HRM said:43 minutes, 356 calories; 7 fat-burning minutes and 36 fitness minutes; 155 avg HR and 177 max HR.

After the gym, I went to the office, worked, and took my lunch break to walk 3 miles. Then I worked more and headed home to finish packing and do all of my pre-cooking for our upcoming trip to Destin - CAN'T WAIT! Other than that, I finished Sophie Kinsella's Mini Shopaholic - SUCH a cute book, love that series. I'll post a review soon! I also had a yummy treat for breakfast, sliders!

Breakfast Ham sliders
Adapted from Say Cheese
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information: 412 calories, 35 carbs, 13 fat grams and 37.5 protein grams.

I loved these little guys! The cream cheese and swiss cheese mixed so well together, and the whole sammy had a lot of flavor, a nice salty kick and lots of protein. Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen.

Q: Ever had sliders for breakfast? What's your favorite slider topping?

Q: What are you up to this weekend? We're heading to the beach (Destin) to celebrate Mary & Jimmy's 5-year anniversary for 4 nights with 3 couples, should be a blast! And I hope to meet Christina - a beachy blogger meet up!

New Flatbread Recipe, Monday Two-A-Days

So glad so many of you are considering (or have!) seen Something Borrowed - I really loved it and hope that you enjoy it as well! I'm also loving re-reading it - almost halfway through! So how was your Monday? Mine was pretty hectic. I got up early for a 2-mile run + 1/4 mile walk. HRM said: 22 minutes; 203 calories; 1 fat-burning minute and 21 fitness minutes; Average HR 166; max HR 211. I wish i'd had time for more, but I had to get into work! I worked all a.m., then took a lunch for a 2 1/4 mile walk and did my Feb. 2011 chest and back workout.

Great workout! I'm glad I was about to get in 4 1/2 miles - even if it was all split up! I worked through the afternoon then headed straight home from work to my family and to this yummy recipe.

BLT Flatbread with Maple Vinaigrette
Adapted from a Can you Stay for Dinner recipe
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information: 428 calories, 55 carbs, 12 fat grams and 17 protein grams.

The vinaigrette was really tangy, and mixed with the bacon, feta and maple it had a lot of flavor. ]The mix was good fresh, and after refrigerating it was just as good, maybe better because the flavors had more time to mingle. The vinaigrette went a long way, and the recipe was very filling. We will definitely have this again - a great, summer recipe! Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen!

Q: Do you make any flatbread recipes at home? If so, what do you use for flatbread? I've used tortillas, pitas and flat out wraps, but yet again, naan tastes the most like the real thing!

New Romper, Awesome Weekend!

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had great weekends! Mine has been wonderful - I am not wanting to go into work tomorrow - BOO! Friday was just another a.m. workout: 45 minutes of spinning with a new drill sergeant instructor followed by a 1/4 mile walk at 4 mph and a 3/4 mile run at 6.3 mph. HRM said: 58 minutes, 516 calories, 1 fat-burning minute, 57 fitness minutes; Average HR161; max HR 185. Then I just worked, bought a romper at Urban Outfitters during lunch, worked more and then headed straight home to wash the puppers, pack and get ready for the weekend!

new romper - I think it will be perfect for Auburn games! (hard to tell in the pic but it's blue and orange!)

Saturday we woke up early and hit the gym! I never get to go to the gym with Austin - so fun! We hopped on the treadmils and I walked 1/4 mile at 4 mph, ran 1 mile at 6.3 mph and 7 mph, then walked another 1/4 mile at 4 mph. So 1.5 miles - woo! Then I did abs, back and chest! HRM said: 53 minutes at 363 calories; 34 fat burning minutes and 19 fitness minutes; average heartrate 137; maximum heartrate 193. Then we headed home, packed up the car and visited Birmingham! We hung out with Austin's parents, saw his brother off to his senior prom (so fun!), then headed to Scott & Kim's wedding with Mary and Jimmy! We had a great time reconnecting with so many of our old college buddies, celebrating at the reception, and of course catching up with Jimmy and Mary - LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Great night, so glad we headed over! Picture time!

Austin with his little bro Elliot on E's prom night

I mean seriously - 25 couples took a bus to dinner - can you imagine! It was so fun to see everyone dressed up!

Me and Austin pre-ceremony!

Me and my bestie Mary!

The boys at the reception

Keeping it classy as per usual

All of the pikes in attendance - SO many! (and yes, the pro photographer hopefully got a better shot!) :)

Austin, Scott, Fox and Johnny!

The Martins and Veloti with the new married couple!

Fun catching up with Ellen!!

Had a great time with these girls!

Austin had a blast with the boys!

And of course we had the best time with Mary and Jimmy - "the two best friends that anyone could have!"

Q: What was the highlight of your weekend? Mine was definitely Birmingham - we just had so much fun with our family and friends!

Q: What is your ideal Sunday? Mine is sleeping in, spending the day with my family and reading!

New Bruschetta Casserole, 4 Miles, Rest = The Bomb

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your sweet comments here and on Healthified Kitchen! I really am so excited to have the site up. I've been working on it for a while and although it's not completely where I want it to be I just couldn't wait any longer to share it!!

Other than sharing the site, yesterday was fairly uneventful for me. Just work, 4-mile walk during lunch (sans Stacy, that hooker had the nerve to take a vacation day. sigh), then more work. After work, I planned to make up for my Thanksgiving Holiday of Slack (i.e. no exercise whatsoever) and go the gym. But it took me AN HOUR to get home so I stayed home. I did do this back and biceps workout.

Then I chilled with the fam, read your blogs and rested. This resting thing is SO underrated. I was seriously spoiled this week with being at home and absolutely love it! Lastly, as is the standard lately, I have a recipe to share! We had this one for dinner last night and it was a hit! (with me and Austin LOL)

Chicken Brushetta Bake
Recipe adapted from a Lauren’s Kitchen recipe (from Stovetop)
Makes 4 Servings

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package stove top stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
1 tsp minced garlic
18 oz. chicken
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 oz. fresh mozzarella, grated
2 oz. Cabot 75% reduced fat cheddar, grated

Heat oven to 400°F. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened. Spray a square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Put raw chicken on bottom, then stuffing mix. Press until flat, then top with cheeses and basil. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

whole dish -4 servings

Nutritional Information: 396 calories, 38 carbs, 7 fat grams and 41 protein grams.

Review: LOVED. Great mix and I never cook with stuffing so it was fun to use a new starch. The mix came out tasting a lot like brushetta, and I loved that it called for so much cheese, but was still so relatively low calorie. It was filling too - and the chicken layer at the bottom was moist. I love cooking chicken in the bottom of a casserole - genius. We'll be making this one again for sure -Austin was a fan, too.

Q: Would you prefer I just post the picture here and link to the other blog for the full recipe, or do you like the full recipe being here? I'm totally open to either - just thought i'd ask in case anyone cared one way or the other!

Q: Do you ever cook with stuffing? This is seriously my first time! It's kind of the bomb.

Breakfast Braid Fail, Cabot Tasting, 4 Miles

hehe Thanks you guys - I'm glad you agree that just sucking it up and being nice was the best move for me there. I'm sure it would have been fine otherwise, but i'm on this "pick your battles" mode lately and it just wasn't worth my energy. Aside from letting things go, i'm all for trying new breakfasts. ALL for it. It's a meal that I've never been a big fan of but force myself to eat because I buy into the whole breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day thing. I found lots of recipes for breakfast braids and even a great video for how to do it. Only, I changed the recipe SO much that it wouldn't fit into the dang braid. Shiz. I still LOVED the recipe, super tasty, but am going to mess with it before posting so you won't end up with such an ugly braid like mine!

Yummy slice of fabulousness

Not bad! Right? Looks pretty fancy!

FAIL!! Too much stuffing and not enough crescent!! That's okay - I have a total plan for how to make this right next time!!

Aside from the recipe fail, something else noteworthy went down recently... I got cheese in the mail! I love my life.

Hello Cheese! (and thanks for sending, Cabot!)

Yes, Cabot sent me two new products! It's fabulous pre-portioned mini cheese slices for serious snackers like myself. I chose 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar and 75% reduced fat habanero

Hi Habenero - my new best friend

I cut it up into pieces and put it on 5 carr's crackers. WOW - had such great flavor and a nice kick. I can't WAIT to use this cheese in my mexican-inspired recipes, and I think it would be great to spice up an egg/sausage wrap with some flare!

I'll let you know how it melts, but I've always been THRILLED at how Cabot cheese melts. I'm so happy and can't wait for these products to be offered on the regular!

Aside from recipe fails and exciting new products, yesterday was rather dull. Just work, walked 4 miles during lunch while reading Undone, more work, a trip to the library, and then straight home to get in bed and drink fluids and take medicine. LAME. I did muster up the strength to do some exercise. I did this bicep and back routine and the ab work below it!

That's about it, friends! Today i'm hoping I can keep up the walking and maybe go for a run - I dunno though - still not 100%. K - question time!

Q: Ever had a breakfast braid or braided one yourself?

Q: Any recipe fails lately?

Q: Have you ever tried Cabot cheese? Like or dislike? I'm a fan of any cheese that isn't a high in fat and that melts like "normal cheese." So I pretty much use Cabot in all of my recipes!!

4 Miles, New Recipe, Book Review

What up? Sounds like you guys had some fun weekends! And that i'm not the only one loving on some new Fall shows! My mom told me today that the critics are hating My Generation - so i'm not going to get too invested - sad! So Today was absolutely blah. True story. I woke up to dreary weather and rain - the perfect day to just stay in bed with the pupper but NO. I went to work. And sat in ATL traffic for an hour. Then I get there and find out that my two favorite co-workers are home sick - BOO! So the day dragged on. I did FORCE myself to go to the gym during lunch. I walked 4 miles while reading some Fitness magazines. I also started a new book: Charles Martin's Where the River Ends. I borrowed from Ruje and heard it's great - can't wait to get further along in it. Other than that I headed straight home from work to Reuben and the DVR - watched Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters- so good to have those shows back in my life! While TV watching, I did this bicep/back workout at home with my dumbbells:

Also, I almost forgot, I haven't done a book review yet on Jane Green's The Beach House. The novel was set in Nantucket, where mid-60's Nan finds herself with money problems, and decides to open a bed and breakfast. It unfolds as it's told my numerous perspectives, all great storylines. Each of the people end up staying at her home, with a few good twists to follow. I enjoyed reading it - it was a nice, sweet celebration of life, being yourself and doing the right thing. It definitely wasn't a challenging read, but was a great page-turner that i'd recommend. I give it a 4.5/5 - would have been a 5 if there had been a bit more relationship development among characters. I mean, I loved how close they got, but was like wow, that was quick!

I also realized there were quite a few recipes I've made that I haven't shared - eek! Here's a yummy one I found on About.com: Slowcooker Chicken Mac and Cheese. Forgive the not-good photo! It was already broken out into tubs and my lazy butt didn't feel like replating it for a photo!

Makes 4 Servings

1 pound chicken
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 can fat-free cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
8 oz. Macaroni

Rinse chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix undiluted soup and pour over chicken in a Crock Pot. Cook on high 3 hours. After three hours, remove chicken, shred it, and add in noodles. Cook on high for 20 minutes until noodles soften.

Nutritional Information: 437 calories, 56 carbs, 7 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Review: We both REALLY liked this one. I liked that it wasn't soupy but was very flavorful. It reminded me a bit of bacon ranch slowcooker chicken, except more on the cheesy side. I definitely liked the shredded chicken and it was fun cooking the noodles in the slowcooker, rather than separate. This recipe will be made again - probably soon!!

Q: Any yummy slowcooker recipes you have to share? I'm kind of loving these ones that involve meat + canned goods - toss it in and you've got 4-6 meals in a few hours - pure genius I say.

Q: Did you have a rainy Monday, too? I hope you had better weather - I was SUCH a waste of space today.

C25K Milestone, Wedding, Out with Friends

Thanks for your sweet comments about my video – I’m really enjoying making them!! I hope you all had wonderful weekends – mine was so fun!! It started out with a GREAT Friday you guys! Just worked, walked 2.5 miles during lunch + upper body ST + abs – did this circuit again.

Then after work I went over to our parent company’s gym planning to do C25K… and I did it you guys! Week 8, Workout #1 – 28 minutes straight at 6.3! I was SO pumped! I walked it out to get to 3.5 miles burning 213 calories in 35 minutes. I’m pretty THRILLED – I just can’t believe that two months ago a 5-minute run was daunting… now I feel like I can just GO! I’m on a cloud – perhaps it’s the endorphins! LOL After the workout I showered/got ready at the gym, picked up some sushi and hit up Monica/Andy’s house to visit with them and to see Katie and Kevin and baby Cullen in town from NC! They are doing so well and look awesome – SO good to see them and to see little man. And Lauren was there too – haven’t seen her in too long – great night. Austin came over to meet us too, and then me and him headed home around 11 or so.

Lauren, Katie, Mon, Me and Reuben!

Happy Friday indeed! I ended up at 1,785 calories, 176 carbs, 45 fat grams and 88 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Saturday was a great day! Woke up early feeling great to a beautiful day! Got ready, had a brunch pizza square, hit up BB&B for a wedding gift, stopped by Kroger to get more Claritin and headed down to Dallas, Ga., for a wedding of an old high school friend! So good to catch up with great friends in town from NY and Savannah! The wedding was sweet – great to see Tony get married! Then we headed home and Lindsey and Josh followed to stay over! We sat outside and had some drinkies, then Tyson, Jennifer, John, Jeff, his GF and two of their friends came over and it was time to go eat! We hit up Felinni’s then went to Buckhead to meet up with Mary and Scott – great night, good times at Fado and Park Bench! We stayed up way too late of course but I sure enjoyed our night and had fun chatting, dancing and catching up with everyone!


Jen, John, Lindz, Josh and Tys - we all went to high school together! :)

With Mary and Scott - love them!

Tys, Mar, Me and John at Fado!

The Lacoste boys - LOL - Tys and Scott had on the same one - this happens too frequently!

Lindz, Me and Jen

Austin and Tys!

They were apparently REALLY into that song! Too cute!


I ended up at 2,315 calories, 136 carbs, 79 fat grams and 60 protein grams. Here’s what I ate and drank.

Today I just got up, cooked breakfast for me/Austin/Tyson/Lindsey and Josh, sent them off, did laundry, made a meal plan, hit up the grocery store and now I’m reading! Great day so far! It’s another pretty one for sure.

How was your weekend?

What’s your favorite thing to do on Sundays?!