Chicken parmesan & vitabrownies

The other day, I saw Biz make some chicken parmesan which is one of my favorite ways to make chicken. Honestly, I don't love chicken so I'm always searching for new ways to jazz it up.



I had to buy myself a mallet for this! I pounded out the chicken but not quite thin enough. I breaded it in half panko/half italian seasoned bread crumbs. The panko is the best!



For easier eating, I sliced the breasts up and served with buffalo mozzarella and whole wheat spaghetti with a veggie marinara on top.



This was delicious! Andy and I only managed to eat one of the pieces of chicken so we had leftovers.



For veggies, we had romaine lettuce salads with parmesan, tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella. We obviously needed more veggies in the house. We had to stop our CSA delivery for 2 weeks since we'll be out of town on the pick up days.



I was sent these vita brownies a long time ago from the folks at Vitalicious for free so I could sample and review. I must have forgotten about them and was excited when I pulled them out of the fridge.



I topped the plain tart froyo with sliced bananas, chocolate chips and put the warmed vita brownie underneath. It was delicious. Andy and I both really liked the brownies. They were more cake-like than fudgy but still very good. I think I'd prefer them with ice cream or fro-yo than on their own.

I have a few more vitamuffins to try out so I'm looking forward to that!

Disneyland was a ton of fun, I took tons of pictures that I plan on sharing with you soon.

Buitoni Pasta Review and dinner ala Andy

I was recently sent a few coupons to try some of Buitoni's pasta from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. I was sent the product for free and will give an honest review.



I picked the Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti. I figured it'd be light and slightly cheesy.



I topped it with some vodka sauce and a roasted zucchini/squash mix. It was incredible. A serving is about six agnolotti which isn't super filling so bulking it up with veggies and sauce helped a lot.

Overall, I'd buy this product again for nights when I crave cheesy, carby and delicious pasta. Buitoni has some whole wheat versions as well that I'm dying to try.



Before Andy's surgery he made us a delicious dinner.



Grilled chicken & pineapple sausages with green bell peppers.



Refried black beans with jalapeno.



Salad made with organic red leaf lettuce, feta cheese, organic tomatoes, cucumber and a homemade salad dressing.



For the dressing, I combined 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (infused with blackberries and pear), 1 tsbp olive oil, 1/2 tbsp honey and some chopped garlic chives (maybe 1 tsp) I just mixed it all up in the measuring cup and poured it over our salads. Otherwise Andy did most of the cooking. He is a keeper.

FYI: I decided to try Jillian Michael's "No More Trouble Zones" again. My biceps are killing me. I need to get this DVD into my regular rotation again.

Do you crave carby meals like pasta?

Eggo: Real Fruit Pizza.

Thank you for all the well wishes on Andy's surgery. The patient is healing just fine.



See what I mean? Not only did he post a blog but he watched a few movies, went with me to Trader Joe's and made coffee this morning!

Color me impressed. The whining has been minimal. I think I've been whinier.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I received some free samples of Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas.



They microwave on a "grill" tray for only a minute so it was a nice quick breakfast.



Here's what it looked like frozen. I expected the crust part to be a waffle since I naturally associate Eggos with waffles but it was more pita like.



Here it is cooked. Doesn't look that different does it?

Here's the thing...yes this makes for a quick and easy breakfast but it wasn't show stopping or nearly as crispy as an Eggo Waffle. I enjoyed the smell and the taste but the nutritionals did not impress me. These pizzas are about 300-400 calories which is fairly calorie dense for what it was. I think I'd rather take a note from Em and make my own fruit pizza. Still, I can see buying these for kids every now and again if you were in a rush.

Have you tried any new products lately?

"I have a bit of a sweet tooth"

"Oh so you're ordering it for your tooth?"

If you have not heard of Jim Gaffigan, please check his website out. He is one of my favorite comedians!



My sweet tooth kicked in this morning. So I fed it half a grapefruit with 1 tsp of sugar and a chocolate chip waffle with a dap of white chocolate wonderful.

Delish! I love grapefruits this time of the year!



Lunch was at Panera Bread. It's been raining here a lot and rain puts me in the mood for three things; creamy soups, coffee and movies.

I ordered a bowl of baked potato soup and half a turkey artichoke panini. This meal was good but I could have saved tons of calories by ordering my favorite french onion soup and half a veggie sandwich. But you know what? I was craving potato soup!



Andy was smart and ordered french onion soup in a bread bowl.



After lunch Andy and I took my little brother Daniel to see Disney's The Princess & The Frog. I LOVED this movie. I got teary-eyed several times throughout this movie. It was soooo good!!!!

Daniel was treated to a child's size sprite which made his day. I managed to refrain from my usual diet coke. Go me!



Dinner was raw veggies, red pepper hummus and chili cheese sweet potato fries. YUM!!!!!!



I topped my chili cheese fries with a little low-fat sour cream and some shredded cheese.



Because of my sweet tooth, I opened up these chocolate alphabet cookies that Newman's Own Organics sent me. *No I was not paid to review these cookies.



I had a serving which was ten mini cookies. They are about 130 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving. And considering the chocolate punch that they have, I find that pretty awesome. These cookies are addicting! They remind me of chocolate teddy grahams.

I really hope my sweet tooth goes away but I think I handled it pretty well today.

PS. I only had one and a half beers at the football party yesterday! Each beer is 140 calories so I don't feel too guilty. BUT I AM HAVING A MARGARITA this week no matter what it takes!

PPS. I start school tomorrow YIKES!

PPPS. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Everybody's working for the weekend

Hi! How was your friday night? Andy and I went out for dinner and a movie with our friends Tiffany and Gary. We saw "Up in the Air" with George Clooney. I really enjoyed it!

Dinner was slightly rushed and went unphotographed. We went to a chain greek place Daphne's. Despite it being a chain, I really enjoy Daphne's! The pita bread is so soft and doughy.



Rewinding back to yesterday. I ran 2 miles in 30 minutes. I walked half and ran half. I WISH I could do 3 miles in 30 minutes. That's actually one of my goals! I get upset about my slow pace all the time.

Then I remind myself;

1. Rome wasn't built in a day
2. I had an extra 20-30 pounds on me.
3. There was a time in my life when even half a mile was a struggle!

So instead of whining and crying, I celebrate my slowness! Man, my heart rate got high. I can't believe it.



I ran about two hours after having breakfast with Sam at Starbucks. But the running made me STARVING! So a raw veggie plate with hummus was in order.



And some peanut butter/flax toast. And some leftover Potato Kale Soup



This morning, I sampled some cereal that Nature's Path was kind enough to send us to sample. Andy raved about this cereal so I knew I had to try it out before it was all gone.



I made a yogurt bowl with blueberry oikos, strawberries (from Oxnard, Ca which is a walk, skip and a jump away from our apartment!) and Nature's Path. The maple flavor in this cereal is fantastic! I loved that the cereal stayed crunchy in my yogurt. Nothing is worse than soggy cereal.



After my yogurt bowl, Andy and I went to the gym. Andy ran 2 miles on the treadmill and I did an easy 4 miles on the elliptical. I wish 4 miles on the treadmill was that easy!

And I burned 414 calories. NICEEEE. I immediately ate a tangerine when I got home. ("So sweet & juicy!" I hope someone gets that.)

We are going to pack for our night in Anaheim now! I'll be sure to take pictures. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

I am so over Mondays.

I own this really nice wooden salad bowl from Crate and Barrel but I always manage to grab this lazy plastic salad bowl for huge salads. I need to stop being lazy. (The wood salad bowl can't go in the dishwasher.)

In the salad; tomatos, candied pecans, carrots, romaine lettuce, dried berries, garlic croutons and fat-free feta cheese. Is it weird that I prefer fat-free feta to the regular kind? It's good!



I used this raspberry dressing with the salad last night and loved it! I am a sucker for sweet dressings. Or ranch dressing but I am swearing off of it.



To complement the salad, I made a hearty fiberful chili. This chili had 1 can black beans, 1 can pinto beans, 1 lb ground lean turkey and chili seasonings. I'll admit it wasn't my favorite. What do you add to your chili to kick it up a notch? Vegetarian chili recipes will be gladly accepted!!!

Anyways that was dinner last night and will be my lunch today. I am trying to waste less food. So although I am craving black bean quesadillas, I will suck it up and eat leftovers. Go me?



This morning, I had an appointment with a private investigator to get fingerprinted. (For a job I swear!) So I ate my Chobani greek yogurt while flat-ironing my horse hair.



Chobani pre-mixing. I read on the packaging that Chobani is best enjoyed by scooping the fruit from the bottom rather than stirring. I always was a rebel. I love Chobani for 3 reasons. 1. It has 14 grams of protein in a six ounce cup. 2. No gelatin. (Gelatin freaks me out!) 3. It tastes like blueberry heaven.

Need more reasons to eat Chobani? Chobani Romance



Post mixing! After I finished my yogurt, I went and got fingerprinted and headed to the doctor for a TB test. (The things they make you do in order to work with children! YIKES!)

I tend to avoid breakfast so a yogurt was perfect for me. I got hungry again around 10am and had a banana nut vitamuffin.



This baby was GOOD! I wasn't feeling vitamuffins at first but I have changed my tune. I love banana nut muffins.

anyway, I am off to do more paperwork and errands before running 2 miles with Andy when he gets off work. I am making myself a mix on itunes. Lady Gaga is definitely going to be the star of my workout. Let's pray that my slow body can complete 2 miles in 20-25 minutes.

Taking a serious look at my life

I lost a pound this week. Not terrible but not exactly what I wanted. That means I have three weeks to lose seven pounds. It can be done...but the holidays are RIGHT around the corner. How am I going to tackle this?

My plans are to track what I eat down to every bite, lick and taste. I am going to run today immediately after I hit publish on this post for about 45 minutes. After my run, I'll try some of the weight machines at our apartment gym out. Question: Do you weight train before or after cardio?

As for the eats, I could always do better!



The people over at Vitalicious sent me and Andy some vitamuffins and brownies to sample. (For free, I was not paid to write about their product.)



As soon as the box arrived on my doorstep, I froze the muffins and brownies. When I was ready to eat one, I plopped it in the mircowave for 30 seconds.



Then I topped it with light whipped cream, vanilla ice cream (I actually measured out a proper serving size of 1/2 cup) and some caramel. Including the muffin, this dessert ended up at about 300 calories. I think next time, I'll put only half a muffin with my dessert. I was super full afterwards.



I also received these noodles from the folks at Al Dente Pasta. While Andy cooked the turkey italian sausage, I started boiling the water for the noodles. Once the water is boiling, you throw in the noodles for a mere 4 minutes. Our noodles weren't done until about 6 minutes.



Look, there's no way to make a sausage look attractive. (TWSS!) But I digress, I served up the pasta with some tomato sauce, a turkey italian sausage for protein and some roasted asparagus. The flavor of the pasta was great. I love whole wheat pasta but this didn't even taste like whole wheat. My only gripe about these noodles is that they stick together easily. (Maybe operator error?) Anyway the stats for this meal aren't terrible...about 400 total with tons of fiber from the pasta and the sauce.

I am going to a Weight Watcher's meeting tomorrow so I'll post my weigh in stats from that and let you know how it goes. I think it will be good for me to sit through a meeting right before the holidays start. I'm hoping that increasing my workouts and decreasing my caloric intake works for me. Otherwise I'll be one disappointed girl come January 5th.

So tell me, any tips for me? Remember I'm trying to lose the healthy way. No cabbage soup diet, slim fast or mystery maple syrup drinks for me. Less ice cream might help though!

On the road again

"Just can't wait to get on the road again..." Tonight Andy and I are driving to see his parents out in San Diego. We live in Ventura County so we are about 2.5 hours away. Of course I am seeing New Moon with some of my favorite girls so we aren't going to leave for San Diego until about 11 or 12 pm! CRAZY!!! It'll be totally worth it to see Andy's parents. I love spending time with them. I have to say I am very thankful for my in-laws.

My parents on the other hand...well they have 5 children. They have an excuse to be a little crazy. Obviously I like them! Andy and I are road tripping with my fam to Bend, Oregon for Thanksgiving! This is something I never would have been able to do in the past. So I seized the opportunity to see my family and coerced my dad into taking the family to Oregon. (I have 3 aunts and a handful of cousins and a shiny new 2nd cousin who all live there.) I am so thrilled!!! Family has always been so important to me and I really miss when all of my relatives lived closer. My wedding was perfect because almost all of aunts and uncles came. It's a little scary seeing them all grown up with kids now! So we are driving for 14 hours to see them. SCARY!

On that note, HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN RILEY!!! See you soon! (I have baby fever. I might try to hold Ben waaaay too much.)

Yesterday I was going to try to do Vegan 4 A Day and completely forgot. This proves that I can never be a vegan. Instead I went out to breakfast with my friend Sam from See Sami Eat.



Started out with a delicious crepe.



Huevos rancheros. I am officially obsessed.



There was avocado hidden under there.



Delicious flavored coffee.

And good conversation. Sam and I met when she was a customer at my old work. Later we worked at the same place. Now we're good friends. We have tons in common so it's easy to talk. We are going on a run today...needless to say I am a little freaked. I haven't run since I majorily messed up my knee. My knee feels great now so I think I'll be okay...still nervous!



The folks over at Al Dente Pasta were kind enough to send me some samples of their pasta. I was intrigued by the colors, the flavors and the quick cooking (boil water and leave pasta in for 3! minutes) method. I had some veggies on hand and knew I had to try this out!



I tossed in everything that was in the fridge. Chicken apple sausages, roasted eggplant, roasted tomato, pesto, asiago cheese, roasted zucchini and feta cheese. It was so quick and easy to make! Love this pasta. The noodles come out perfect in just 3 minutes like they said!



Alright I'm off to read some emails, take a big test (!!!), run with Sam and drink loads of coffee. Catch ya'll later.