You know it was a good class when

you look like THIS after!

I LOVE ZUMBA!!

Phone Photos

Today in food! From photos from my phone! woo hoo

Breakfast was my usual choc/pb/banana oats w/milk. YUM.

Lunch: PB leftovers in the jar, 1/3 cup oats, some water, and a very mushy banana soaked overnight with honey drizzled over this morning.

This smelled SO GROSS this morning I almost didn't pack it. Seriously not good. But I packed it anyways (with a backup Cliff Bar), and it tasted soo good. Seriously, stirring it or something made it amazing.

Dinner: Cheese burger with Ciabatta bread. Too many calories! Oh well, it was worth it.

Then I went to cook my oat bars for the week and saw this in the kitchen. Seriously the whole place is covered with water, and it's like it's raining in there. Icky.

I still managed to pump out some oatmeal bars for the week though! woo hoo! and wrote my 600 word English paper while it cooked. Yeah.

I should just get a stock photo for this recipe I think haha

I should be sleeping

I really should. It would be tons easier though if the lovely next door neighbors didn't feel the need to broadcast their conversations throughout the halls. Let's hope the apartments are more sound proof than this.

Here's what I want my space in the apartment to look like:

I love Ikea :)

No-bake cookie experiment

note I said experiment, not necessarily success.

Here's what I was trying to make. 

Here's what I made:

1/4 cup dry oats

1/4 cup Kashi cereal

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbs honey

2 heaping tbs peanut butter

ALL MIXED UP!! I'm sure these will taste good (I'm letting them chill in the fridge for 10 minutes), but they look weird as heck, and my hands got all gooey mixing them up!

I licked the spoon. YUMM. 

Walking gets you shredded

..Well my feet at least. Seriously, if they could, I think my poor toes would stage a full-on mutiny of me :(

I treat them well, I really do. Good socks, nice shoes, lotion, you name it, I'll do it. That still, however, does not prevent them from blistering, aching, and just giving me grief. Urgh. This may be t.m.i. but there is a blister the size of Manhattan on my big toe. Ooh joy.

After looking at apartments, I hung out with a new friend and walked, and walked and walked (hence the whole foot-rebellion thing). It was great to get out in the nice weather. I think we were out for at least a couple hours, so that'll be my exercise for today. Tomorrow I'll be at the rec a bunch!

Discovery of the day: asparagus is not only yummy, but extremely low calorie, and a great replacement for french fries! They were serving fish and chips at northside today, but I had asparagus instead of the "chips." Great decision. And they're 5 calories per spear. 5 CALORIES!! hello?? and filling. woo hoo! That's my only veggie for today sadly.

For breakfast I had my signature oats+choc chips+peanut butter+banana+milk combo. This keeps me full so long- I love it! By the time lunch rolls around I'm only just hungry, never starved.

For lunch I made an almond butter sandwich with honey (Go make this now. It will change your life.), milk, and a juicy pear. Yum.

I'll be cooking tonight and posting pictures with that! Be prepared for more oatmeal bars.

Apartment Hunting

This is probably the most productive Saturday morning on record.

After looking at 4 different apartments, I have a definite favorite. Yay!

Here are some HORRIBLE photos I took of it. I swear it doesn't look this sketch in real life. Seriously though.

living room:

Bedroom, closet, bedroom:

Floor+toes that need another pedicure (:

more wishing :)

Rainy Day

Right before I left for class this morning it was pouring. POURING! Here is today's rainy day outfit:

For lunch I ate at southside, and had milk, a couple turkey/mustard/lettuce wraps, and a small bowl of some sort of yummy spinach-y soup.

Then after classes (and making some extra money- thank you psychology researchers!!), I was starved, so had a banana with almond butter, one of my oatmeal bars, and two dark chocolate Hershey's kisses.

My belly dancing scarf came in the mail today! Here are my pictures. Too bad the light sucks in my dorm.

yep. that'd be my tushie :)

I can't wait for Thursday!

Good Morning Monday

Off to the start of another full week. I knew I'd need a hearty breakfast to make it through three classes before lunch.

I reheated my egg casserole from a few nights ago..  It really redefines the idea of a "square meal."

Then I had an orange, to get my vitamin C, and had a glass of skim milk from my Henry VIII mug.

I wish!

Zumba Clinic

Here's the logistics of the weekend:

A Day at the SRC

SRC= student rec center

and no, I did not compulsively just workout all day long. Today was day one of FIT (fitness instructor training- these guys seriously love acronyms. They need instructors for the gravity machines (GTS- gravity training systems) and classes, so that's what we were learning about today!

I knew I'd be busy all day so I put some planning into food. I made overnight oats again last night with equal parts greek yogurt, skim milk, and oats. This time I added blue berries instead of a banana. And then this morning I microwaved them to take the chill off, and added cereal for a crunch. Mmm!

before cereal

with cereal!

Oh yes, and I had two squares of dark chocolate to set the day off right, and for a little extra luck today ;)

Keeping in mind that we would be getting some physical training in today, I packed an extra hearty lunch: a big almond butter and banana sandwich. I also packed my favorite Cliff bar for a snack, but ended up eating it with lunch as well (why so hungry???).

Not sure yet what I'm having for dinner, but I'm pretty sure it'll involve an oatmeal bar!

I heart my 8x8 pan :)

I also heart pictures.

Here is my day in food and photos:

my overnight oats the next morning. I had these before going to Zumba and abs blast.

I heated up my oatmeal bar in the microwave, and it tasted even better than usual. Plus the pear was ripe, sweet, and juicy. yumi.

Here's my batch of oatmeal bars for the next week! These are perfect to make. One thing I do is let them cool like this, then flip them over so the bottoms can 'dry out' and cool so they don't get soggy. Definitely do this- no one wants soggy oat bars.

Amidst my baking frenzy, I didn't realize it was time for a snack like I usually do! Here's my impromptu snack:  a banana with almond butter. Anther great food item; I really like almond butter.

And making dinner! I got some mushrooms from the salad bar, and needed to cook them. As it turns out- they cook AMAZINGLY in the microwave. Who knew?? One minute, stir, another minute, and you're good to go! Mine had little tiny bits of bacon stuck to them which added even more flavor. These go into the casserole I made..

As-you-like-it breakfast casserole (my style)

5 eggs

1 cup milk

1.5 cups cheddar cheese, grated

3 pieces whole wheat bread cubed

1/4 cup mushrooms (about that much)

1/8 cup bacon pieces (again, about that much)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Italian seasoning (found some in the kitchen- made a nice addition)

Beat the eggs in a big bowl. Add the milk and cheese. Stir. Add the bread, and mix carefully so the bread doesn't disintegrate. Then add the extras (mushrooms, bacon, salt, and pepper). Pour into a buttered 8x8 pan, sprinkle seasoning over the top. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, and then enjoy!! 

original recipe here

before & after

My dinner:

Evidence of today's success in the kitchen, and proof of my love for my new pan haha

My overnight oats

Well I can cross one recipe off of my list.

Here's my recipe: 

1/4 cup oats

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1 banana sliced

2 tablespoons walnuts

Mix together and put in fridge overnight so the oats can soak up the moisture. I'll see how it is tomorrow morning. You can also add other ingredients, just make sure that there is always one part oats, milk, and some form of yogurt. Then you can add all the stuff you like! If this tastes good I might add blueberries.

Another weekend, more preparing

Yay for the weekend- now I need to start planning what I'll be cooking so I can survive through the next week.

What's on my mind (I'll save all the leftovers to eat throughout the week of course):

Last-Minute Lasagna 

As-You-Like-It Breakfast Casserole

Overnight Oats

Banana Bread

My oatmeal bars from last weekend.

What do you think??

Stay Healthy This Winter!

I will be rereading that article tonight. Ugh.

Despite feeling not-so-hot, and rocking the sore throat, I thoroughly enjoyed myself in Zumba class today, followed by abs blast.

Then dinner:

Followed by BELLY DANCING! I can't wait for my hip scarf to come in. That will make it even more awesome.

(oh, and for my afternoon snack I had an organic apple, glass of milk, the rest of the banana, an oatmeal bar, and a few pieces of dark chocolate- quite the smorgasbord!)

Sleepy day so far

I was going to get up nice and early this morning, have breakfast, study a bunch, and generally be productive.

Unfortunately I woke up with a sore throat and just not feeling super well.

Breakfast: usual PB + banana sandwich with milk. I only had half of the banana this time (it was HUGE), but had a small square of dark chocolate.

Lunch: I took these ingredients...

..munched up the egg and cheese in a bowl..

..toasted the bread, cut it cute, and microwaved the cheese and eggs..

I used the toast as chips to eat the eggs and cheese and then dipped the crust in salsa. I ate the orange on the side. This was a really good lunch!

Earliest Day of the Year (for me)

Around midnight last night I decided I wanted to go to Zumba this morning. What time is this class? 6:15 am. ouch. I dragged my butt out of bed at 5:12 this morning and had one of my oatmeal bars and a big glass of skim milk.

Zumba was great, got my heart pumping, and me sweating- always a sign of an amazing workout. I then chilled in the hot tub for a while before heading back to the dorm for some laundry time.

Then before class (around 9 am) I made myself a peanut butter and banana sandwich. These are my newest craving- I'm having one for breakfast tomorrow. Yum! Oh and I had milk with this too.

After another four hours- and classes- I had an orange, pear, slice of sourdough bread, and more milk for lunch.

A few carrots for a snack this afternoon, a tiny big of yogurt, then dinner:

soup from northside and a spinach salad with beans, ranch, and sunflower seeds.
and, most importantly, THE MARKET NOW SELLS BREAD WITH NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (see previous post for why this is oh so awesome). Here is me with the almost-gone bag of bread I bought at Dismore's, and then with my new bag I got at the market. On campus. Ooh I was excited.