Brown Bag Challenge Update

I've really been bad about updating my blog with posts about my Brown Bag Challenge.

I haven't failed, though! I am still packing my lunch every day. I have not had sushi, Thundercloud or anything from the HEB Deli since the challenge started. Swear.

Most of my lunches have been kind of lame-o.

Mainly sandwiches or salads, neither with anything awe-inspiring in/on them. See, I thought this challenge would force me to get out of my sandwich/salad routine and encourage me to throw caution to the Brown Bag wind..... seems it hasn't quite worked that way. (lack of funds is also to blame, bleh)

Brown Bag Challenge is winding down- I think the official end date is October 4th?

Here's what lunch has looked like this week:

Monday- Slice of pizza (veggie, peperoni & sausage) & homemade zuchini fries.- so tasty

Tuesday- Homemade Chicken tacos & a side of pineapple.

Wednesday- BLT side salad (homemade with cherry tomatoes & bacon bits) plus a bowl of Spicy Southwestern Style Black Bean Soup, (and they mean spicy)
Thursday- leftover stew meat on a whole wheat bun with cheese, side of broccoli & ranch.

280 calories, 1g fat, 14g protein,
& clear sinus' from this baby!

BIG blog news coming this weekend! Stay tuned, it's exciting!

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I've been seeing this one pin on Pinterest lately for a two ingredient muffin (cupcake)

Two ingredients? I gotta try this.

Ingredients:

1 15oz can pure pumpkin.

1 box cake mix

(I used spice cake, genius idea)

Directions:

Combine two (2!) ingredients, fill lined muffin tins, bake at 350* for 20-25mins.

(or don't bake them, just eat the batter, which I totally did. Hey, no raw eggs!)

DONE.

what!?

two ingredients mixed

bake at 350* for 20-25 mins

GET IN MY BELLY!

licking the excess batter is part of the process of cleaning the dishes.....right?

Motivation Monday #7

Happy Monday!

This week's MM was inspired by an email I got from Women's Health Magazine titled Snack Yourself Slimmer.

It made me think about the snacks that are part of my every day eating routine. I am a breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner person. It helps me curb hunger and cravings throughout the day plus it keeps my energy level consistent. I choose snacks that are low in calories and high in protein to help keep me satisfied (the article talks about carbohydrate snacks, and if your body can process and use all that without storing it, more power to you.)

 This week I motivate and challenge you to try adding some snacks into your day and see what a difference it makes. I think this quote best explained why snacking is a good choice for most people- "When you're famished, your blood sugar is low and your defenses are down, so you don't necessarily make the best choices."

Have you ever been SO hungry that when you finally did eat your self-control was nowhere to be found? Small sensible snacks in between meals can help keep that self-control in check. 

Some of my favorites are:

low fat greek yogurt with honey or fruit

cottage cheese with fruit

Breakfast Cookies 

Steamed edamame

Hard boiled eggs

Apple with peanut butter

Homemade trail mix

So get your snack on, friends, and get that metabolism revved up! Portion control is key, but you can enjoy great food and keep your waistline in check!

Meatless Dinner

I have really come to enjoy the nights when the bf says "don't worry about me for dinner, do whatever".

Last night was one of those nights

I didn't have any meat thawed, so I decided to have a meatless dinner. I had plenty of veggies that were in need of being eaten, so here's what I came up with:

Quinoa Stuffed Pepper & Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

For those that have never had Quinoa (keen-wah) here are some quick facts:

It's a seed, it has tons of wonderful protein and good carbs, the taste (to me) is almost like a mix of couscous and brown rice, it's super easy and fast to make, you can flavor it with anything!

Quinoa Stuffed Pepper

Cut the top off of one red bell pepper (just like a pumpkin) then seed and wash it. Place it in some boiling water- sans top- until it is just al dente (if peppers can be al dente).

Meanwhile, simmer 1/2cup quinoa in 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of low sodium chicken stock for 15 mins, then turn off the heat, fluff the quinoa and let it sit. (when you see some little tails sticking out of the seeds, it's done)

When the pepper is done getting all al dente, remove it from the water and grab some shredded parmesean cheese. Stuff the peppers using one spoonfull of quinoa, then one pinch of cheese and repeat this until it is nice and full. Let sit for a min, to let the quinoa and the cheese become friendly.

For presentations sake, you could replace
the top of the pepper when serving.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
Preheat oven to 400*
Wash and Chop one head of cauliflower, then get as large ziplock bag and fill it was the cauliflower, drizzle in some evoo and a healthy dose of garlic powder. Close up the bag and shake it!
Spread cauliflower out onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with a tad more evoo, sprinkle with some salt and throw in the oven for about 20-25mins.

I may or may not have eaten the entire head of cauliflower......don't judge, it's too good!


Fun Facts about Cauliflower:
It comes in white, orange, green and purple, it's high in dietary fiber, folate, water and vitamin C, & it's a good substitute for potatoes on a  low carb diet.


The saltiness from the broth the quinoa was cooked in and the cheese blended so well with the sweetness of the pepper. I only used half the quinoa to fill one pepper, then I ate the rest by itself. So yummy. 

Motivation Monday #6

I wish I could make my kids understand this.

I wish I could make everyone understand this.

You are not going to be great at everything, but you will be great at something.

So do it. And do it with zest and enthusiasm.

*Didn't mean to get all emo with the MM today, but I've been thinking about this quote a lot lately and thought it was appropriate.

BTW: Some very exciting blog-news is coming soon: stay tuned!

Apple Cinnamon Muffin Cake

Happy Sunday! Everyone enjoying their weekend? Mine's been pretty great so far. :-)

On Sundays I like to make a little something that I can munch on throughout the week and today's recipe will be breakfast all week, I'm sure!

This recipe came from Christy @ The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Her recipe is for muffins, but I only have one 12 cup muffin pan and didn't feel like waiting for two batches to be done, so I threw the batter in a greased cake pan and voila! Muffin cake! Yummm.

Here's the good stuff:

You will need:

1.5 cups of sugar

2 eggs

1 cup of oil- canola or vegg.

1 tbs vanilla

Cream all the ingredients above together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, combine:

3 cups flour

1tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon (I did 2 tsp, cuz I'm like that)

Peel, Core and Chop apple- you'll need about 3 cups.
I used a giant Fiji and it was just about right.

Combine your dry and wet ingredients and then fold in your apples. Your batter will be VERY thick- it's okay, the apple will add some moisture.

Either spread in a 13x9 cake pan, or fill muffin tins 3/4 way full.

Sprinkle the top of the batter with brown sugar and some nutmeg.

Throw in a preheated 350* oven and try to be patient as your kitchen begins to smell like Hobby Lobby during Christmas-time.

I did not time mine, sorry. If you're doing muffins, it's 20-24mins. I just kept an eye on mine and removed it when I inserted a knife in the middle and it came out clean.

All golden and crispy.

Crunchy top, soft apples, mmmm. I'm going back
for another slice.

Enjoy this in your Brown Bag Lunch this week!

BB & a Cupcake

Cupprimo has a new cupcake out!!

 S'mores!

 

 

 

I had to run an errand on my lunch break anyway, and it was going to put me right past the bakery, so I guess it was a sign, no?

I'm making myself eat my salad first, don't worry. :-)

BLT, yumm. And that's an egg there,
not a blob of dressing.

It's been a slow blog week. The funds are running low for all of my kitchen creations :-/ 

I'm a great babysitter if anyone wants to hire me! :-P

Motivation Monday #5

WOW, can't believe this one's #5!

I'm feeling pretty icky today, woke up an hour before my alarm was to go off because I was super nauseous.Of course, that's when weener-dog wants to climb up in the bed and lick my face, then big white dog gets jealous and needs to squeeze in there as well.  So, as you can imagine, I did not jump out of bed this morning, ready to tackle the day and write an awe-inspiring MM for you......actually, I don't know that that's ever happened. But let's pretend it has. :-)

I just wanted to share a story today.

I got up one morning, a few weeks ago, and went outside on our back porch (mainly to make sure that princess-weener was going to the bathroom, she's been snubbing the doggy door since the back injury) As I was standing there, watching her sniff the dirt, we both started hear a noise. I had no idea what it was, I couldn't place it, but it was coming from the green belt that's behind our house. Weener started to do her ever-so-threatening "woof woof" but seemed to think the dirt needed most of her attention. Then I saw it. It was a woman running on the trail. As she ran by, I couldn't help but notice a few things: she was a bigger lady- not trying to be mean, but she wasn't what we'd call "average" size. I also noticed that she was really workin, I could see her concentration and determination. And last, I noticed that it was 7:15am, and she was out there doing it. Not super speedy, and for who knows what distance, but she was doing it. I wanted to yell over the fence "YOU GO, GIRL!" But, I didn't. Instead, I reminded myself that I could have been out there, too...

I still think about her, and I find myself looking for her when I take the dogs out in the morning

HappyMonday!

Chicken Salad

Just wanted to share a recipe I have been enjoying this week. It started with a suggested web-site to help me with ideas for the Brown Bag Challenge from my friend Jaclyn.

On Cooking Light I found this Creamy Chicken Salad recipe. It looked pretty tasty, I knew I had just about all the ingredients in my fridge, and that I could eat it throughout the week!

Here's my adaptation:

1.5-ish cups of shredded chicken

1 cup light Miracle Whip

1 tbs white wine vinegar

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tbs yellow mustard

A handful of sliced almonds

1 chopped medium apple

a handful of grapes, sliced

I combined all the wet ingredients first and then mixed in the chicken, almonds and fruit. Super simple, cheap and easy! Plus it's got protein & fiber! Play with the mix-ins, add sliced carrots, chopped boiled egg, shredded cheese, celery, onion, peppers, anything!

So yummy in the tummy

Brown Bag Challenge vs School Lunches

I see a lot of kids in the lunchroom every day. I see a lot of kids who bring their lunch from home every day.

I was definitely in that group of kids growing up, buying school lunch almost never happened. In fact, I can only remember 2 times in my elementary years that I got to buy a school lunch and 0 times in my middle school years that I bought school lunch.

The premise of BB Challenge is to bring your own lunch from home, right? Because lunches brought from home are healthier.....right? After what I have seen in the last 3 weeks, I may have to disagree. Not that I am rooting for the school lunch team, I still don't fully support what they put on the trays, but the choices that some parents make when packing these kids lunches sometimes really appall me.

(I have had many nutrition conversations with my cafeteria manager, but please understand that we all have a boss. It's not like she has her pick from HEB every day, she can only do what she can do)

There is one child specifically that I want to share with you. I won't share names or specific details, so we'll just call the child "D".

D's lunch today consisted of many things, mostly prepackaged. D had a capri-sun, butter crackers with the cheese spread attached, four (4!) Granola thins with "chocolate flavoring", a bag of cookies, and a ham and cheese sandwich on wheat bread.

The sandwich, however, had one bite out of it and then ended up on the seat next to D and then, I'm sure, in the trash.

Everything was eaten, the cookies were first.

(D's father is a chef, should I mention that? A chef!! What's with the packaged crap!?)

Now, of course I should stop and mention that we do have kids that rely on school to provide 2 of 3 meals for them, 5 days a week. and of course there are children out there that don't get the amount of calories in a day as D is getting in this one meal. that, however, is an entirely different post.

Today's school lunch menu reads:
Turkey & Cheese Melt (on wheat bun)

crunchy veggie dippers (celery & carrots)

fresh fruit (specifically, pears)

Milk (low-fat 1%, skim, or chocolate)

OR

Soft or crunchy taco

taco fixins (shredded cheese/lettuce)

seasoned pinto beans

fruited gelatin (pears in jello)

Milk (low-fat 1%, skim, or chocolate)

Now, comparing D's lunch with what the school was offering, which would have been a healthier choice, I wonder??

This is my lunch. nothing spectacular today- turkey and cheese sandwich, carrots, homemade trail mix and under the sandwich are some asparagus spears. I had a plum for my mid-morning snack.

If you'd like a glimpse into what school lunches look like around the world, check this out. There are a few shots just from the USA- the second one is what the lunches at my school look most like.

Motivation Monday on Tuesday

I had every intention of doing MM yesterday, when it was Monday. I had gone for a run with my older sister and then watched as her Maid of Honor finished a triathlon. I had planned on writing about the incredible amount of support that was shown during the triathlon; there were so many people not only participating in it, but just there to cheer on and help out.

Space themed water stop

And then I found out that my parents were being evacuated due to the fires in Bastrop County.

To be totally honest, I felt completely helpless. Luckily my parents had enough warning that they could load up the cars with supplies and valuables, but I know that there were so many people that did not have that chance. Facebook started loading up with pictures, links and videos of the damage, and then came the posts on what to do to help. One post said that there was a collection of  water, Gatorade, oranges, bananas & prepackaged snacks going on for the Steiner Ranch firefighters and I knew that that was something I could do. So I got in the car, went to HEB, loaded up and headed out there.

The drive out there was very real. I saw where the Steiner Ranch neighborhood was blocked off, I saw the smoke, police cars, news crews, and SO MANY people at the church-turned-shelter. When I got to the drop-off spot, the parking lot was packed with people unloading their cars.I felt like I was doing such a little thing, and then I saw so many other people doing the same thing and that's when you realize there can really be a big impact. 

At the end of the day yesterday, I realized that there was one big theme. In both situations people came out to help other people- to support other people. Two completely different situations and scenarios, but the need was the same. 

Just when you start to think that there's so little good left in the world, right?

So here's your motivation: GO HELP. Go support.

Someone needs it. 

If you'd like to help the victims of the wildfires, please visit the Austin Disaster Relief Network. For a list of needs and collection sites, please visit THIS SITE.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something!

Cookies for Breakfast!

The title is no joke, my friend. I am now going to share with you cookies that you can, must and will eat for breakfast! And they're good for you! No eggs, no butter, no sugar but holy curse word are these things scrumptious!

Susan's "Holy curse word, these things are scrumptious!" Healthy Breakfast Cookie.

because something this good, needs that long of a title.

1 & 1/2 cups regular rolled oats

1 cup coconut flakes (sweetend or un, your call)

1/2 teasp salt

1 teasp cinnamon (or more, whatevs)

1/2 teasp of pumpkin spice

1/4 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup mixed nuts finley chopped (i used slivered almonds)

1 cup dried fruit (1/2 craisins, 1/2 dried apricots)

3 ripe bananas (that means black spots, ppl)

1/4 cup canola or veg. oil

1 teasp vanilla extract

Let's make some magic:

preheat the oven to 350* line baking sheets with parchment or foil- do not grease!

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, brown rice flour, nuts and coconut flakes. Stir in the cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Add dried fruit, making sure it doesn't clump.

In another bowl, combine bananas, oil and vanilla.

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir well until combined.

*NOTE- this will not look like normal cookie dough, no eggs, remember!?

Now you must make a choice, you can either spoon heap-fulls onto the baking sheet and bake for 20mins until they're golden brown and your house smells like Christmas-oatmeal, OR you can just spoon it into your mouth-- no eggs, it's totally safe!

Okay, you chose the baking route- wise choice. well, find something to do for 20 minutes.

Pinterest is always an excellent time-killer....

When they are done, remove them from the pan to a cooling rack- try to resist the urge to shove them immediately in your face, they are HOT.

When cooled, please, by all means, "hoover it" (movie reference!) And when you find yourself saying "Oh, My Lanta!" with cookie in your mouth....you're welcome. :-)

Shalan have a cookie??

Brown Bag Challenge- day 1

Today's the day! It's day one of the Food Network's Healthy Eats Brown Bag Challenge

The rules are, for every work day you must bring your lunch- no eating out! For me, that means no Thundercloud, no Sushi (bbooo), no run to HEB for a salad. The idea is that sack lunches have economical and healthful benefits. Plus, by bringing in your own lunch you control things like portion size and if you are the one cooking what you bring in you will always know exactly what your meal was made of! For me, even when I do choose to eat out for lunch I generally make good choices. So I chose to participate not so much for the health benefits, but for the challenge of extending my lunch recipes. I have copious amounts of dinner recipes, my breakfast list is making its way up there, too, but lunch is definitely in third place. 

Today's lunch isn't any fancy new recipe. Actually the yogurt and I got into a fight and my original idea for lunch ended up in the trash.... I was a little frustrated before I even left the house! (btw: the yogurt won the battle, but lost the war- I suffered a slice to the finger which has made for a good story for the kids)

Finally ready to go!

SO, here it is: the yogurt (with frozen blueberries, this was actually my mid-morning snack) the makings for a tuna sandwich, a big bowl of chopped mixed veggies w/black beans, my, water bottle & a sweet treat.

yes, there's a smurf on my desk. gift from a kid :-)

mixed veggies/beans consisted of: yellow & orange bell pepper, carrots, tomato,
 cucumber, green onion & drained black beans.

What did YOU have for lunch???