WIAW: Twenty-FRUIT Hours

Posted on November 27, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hello, dolls!

I’m so glad you guys got a kick out of yesterday’s post! Believe it or not, I sat down and typed the whole thing up in about an hour…which is unheard of for me! I love making you guys laugh, but I’ll admit that sometimes it takes a LOT of editing. You don’t even want to know how long it took me to type up this post! 😉

But all writing handicaps aside, today is Wednesday and we ALL know what Wednesdays are for, let’s hop to it with our weekly celebration of all things food…

Or in the case of this past Sunday, all things FRUIT! 

Oats with Persimmon Goo

BREAKFAST – 7:30am 

After waking up in the early morning hours of the man-friend’s quaint but incredibly drafty 5o’s-style home, I knew I needed some warmth! While I sipped on not one, but TWO mugs of this tea (gifted to me by the tea queen herself and seriously tastes like a mug of maple syrup…in a good way!), I was inspired to mix up a new bowl of oats! I topped them with PERSIMMON goo and a sprinkle of chia! And ok, maybe I took this picture yesterday when I made it again…I’m still working on the right ratios, but I hope to have a recipe coming your way soon!

Two words: FRENCH Toast! 😀

Mandarin Oranges

SNACK – 10:30am

While admiring my hunk getting all manly on some renovations at his house, I snacked on some super sweet non-aerodynamic MANDARINS. And then I gave him a screw…hey, get yo minds out of the gutter…ren-o-vations, remember!? 😉

Chimes Ginger Chew

SNACK? – 1:oopm

A few hours later, I was on the road back to Clarksville. I made a quick stop by GNC to pick up some of my beloved Quest bars and then ran into a bit of traffic A NEVER-ENDING ROAD OF FRUSTRATION! I popped a MANGO ginger chew and hoped that the detour I chose to take would have me home in about 30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Quest Bar

LUNCH PART A – 2:00PM

STILL on the road an hour later, I was about to start gnawing on my friggin’ steering wheel! Yet again, saved by the Quest bar! And after a quick run into the grocery store just before getting home…

Banana

LUNCH PART B – 3:00pm

Never has a BANANA tasted so good! Let this post serve as my reminder to get to work on that underground tunnel between our houses…seriously, TWO HOURS to get home?!?! Yah!

Gummy Vitamins

DESSERT – 3:00pm

Just before crashing into bed for my little pre-night shift (I just typed shit! Lol) nap, I popped a few nuggets of chewy vitamin-y sweetness…oh yes, the gummy vitamins are BACK! Why oh why did I ever stop buying these?

Chocolate-Glazed Kabocha Donut

SNACK – 7:30pm

After a marvelous slightly drug-induced slumber (more on that later), I woke up, got ready for work and fixed a little sumthin-sumthin to have with my mug of (unpictured) half-caff coffee for the road…mmmm! And let me just say that kabocha squash should TOTALLY be considered a fruit!

Oh Chocolate-Glazed KABOCHA Donut, you complete me!

Pomegranate Goat Cheese Salad

DINNER – 11:00pm

With a little inspiration from Jenn and the Christmas-colored salad I enjoyed last week, I mixed up a winner winner chicken [salad] dinner! Mixed greens topped with half a steamed chicken breast, zucchini, cucumber, goat cheese, walnuts, and POMEGRANATE arils…seeds?…bubbles of juicy deliciousness? 😉

Peanut Butter Mug Cake

SNACK – 3:30am

And inspired by Amanda, I whipped up a little mug cake of my own that night! Served à la mode with a scoop of BLUEBERRY Protein Ice Cream, a few coconut chips, and a mug of (again unpictured) half-caff coffee, it was sweet perfection that kept me satisfied for the rest of my shift!

Recipe coming SOON!

Sauteed Veggies Cheese & YolkpornBREAKFAST – 7:30am

After a rather SWEET day of eats, I was craving nothing but savory by the time I got home but I was soooooooooo sleepy! Luckily it only took about 5 minutes to saute up a pan of mushrooms, onions, spinach, and TOMATOES, top it with cheese, and an almost over-cooked egg…I still managed to squeak out a little yolkporn for ya though! 😉

And then, twenty-four FRUIT hours after my morning bowl of oats,
it was off to bed!

wiaw serve up an extra cup of fruitAnd now that you’ve seen my day of eats that just happens to showcase every color of the rainbow (I’m more than slightly amused by this), you should head on over to Peas & Crayons and check out all the other What I Ate Wednesday link ups!

How many servings of fruit did you eat yesterday?

What’s your FAVORITE fruit?

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7 Ways To Burn More Calories This Holiday Season

Posted on November 26, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

I’ve officially been back in the gym for TWO WEEKS!

Although it’s a pretty much daily thing for me to complain about DOMS, I’ve been seeing SO much progress with my knee! As of last Friday, I can now sit Indian-style almost completely pain-free…talk about a motivation boost! And I surprised the heck out of myself yesterday when I woke up to SNOW, but got right up, threw on my workout clothes and hit the gym anyway!

Gym Selfie 2

Since I know a lot of people out there (myself included) can sometimes lose their motivation to workout during the holidays, I’ve put together a little list of things that will help you burn more calories than you ever thought possible…

Most without even hitting the gym!

Shorts

1. Sha-sha-sha-sha-shake it, baby!

Whenever you run errands around town, throw on your workout clothes!
Or more specifically, throw on your SUMMER workout clothes…shorts, tanks, the more skin you’re showing the better! Not only will it motivate you to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible without being seen by anyone you know, but you will likely shiver off up to one calorie a minute!

*Bonus points if you hum the Mission Impossible theme while shopping.

Gym Selfie 3

2. Embrace the early-onset Alzheimers!

Before heading out, it’s always a good idea to forget every.single.thing you plan on taking with you…your keys, your wallet, your child…just make sure you are in such a hurry that you only remember ONE thing at a time.

*Bonus points if you have to go UP STAIRS to retrieve forgotten items.

Legs

3. Be a Santa Schwarzenegger! 

With holiday shopping upon us, we’ve all heard the tip of parking in the back of the lot and walking further to the stores, but I’ll do ya one even better…make it a POINT to spoil your loved ones this year with gifts of heavy proportions…Johnny needs a 42 inch television, Susie could really use that commercial-grade stand mixer, and little Tim, well, he’s been eyeing that kayak all year! Once you’ve selected these items, forget the cart and CARRY those bitches to your car!

*Bonus points if you forget where you parked!

Gym Selfie

4. Roll with OUT the punches!

For those of you with back problems, there is an alternative. Go shopping on Black Friday. Center yourself in the middle of the electronics department and proceed to pick fights with anyone who even LOOKS at the latest iPad. Make sure to profile the pageant moms whenever possible.

*Bonus points if you wear a tu-tu and wield a plastic light saber. 

5. Do the domesticated dash!

If you’d rather not surround yourself with the chaos that is holiday shopping, stay at home and do some baking…and cooking AND cleaning all at the same time! The more activities you can pack in at once the better. Oh and it would probably be a good idea to invite your mother-in-law over because we all know a workout is better with a little aggression motherly motivation!

*Bonus points if you vacuum WHILE microwaving oatmeal.

TV Gym

6. Find some {eye} candy!

If you DO happen to have a gym membership and can drag yourself out in the subarctic temperatures (ie, anything below 70°F), be sure to make the most out of the entertainment available. Hop on an elliptical and people watch, cruise Instagram, or drool over James Denton for a solid 33 minutes.

*Bonus points if you moan audibly and/or slip off the machine every 10 minutes.

Gym Selfie Weights

7. Weight a minute!

Whether it be with a group of friends, your favorite blog, or just yourself, find the funny whenever possible. Remember that while this season can be stressful, you can’t take life (or yourself) so serious all the time!

*Bonus points you can get someone to walk like an Egyptian with you.

Do you take an obnoxious number of selfies at the gym?

What workouts are you loving lately?

Posted in Tips & Tricks, Workouts | Tagged , , , | 48 Comments

Sharing is Caring!

Posted on November 25, 2013 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys and happy Monday!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Mine was spent having dinner with friends, cuddling with the man-friend under a warm blanket watching this and that (both of which we really liked), and spending most of the day Saturday at my parents house…indulging in comfort food, cable television, and some good laughs!

Nuts Candle

Just in case you’ve ever wondered where I get my sense of humor! 😉

After leaving my parents house on Saturday night, the man-friend and I got back and I was BEYOND starving. In lieu of abusing me with citrus fruit, the man-friend set to work on a chicken fried rice dish, but as good as that sounds NOW, I just wasn’t feeling salty and savory. So I pulled out a near-empty peanut butter jar I’d hidden in the back of his pantry I found in his pantry, threw in a cold roasted sweet potato, some Greek yogurt, and fig jam and called it dinner. It was exactly what I wanted and well, exactly what Jay Jay wanted too!

Jay Jay the Peanut Butter Lover

Sharing is caring!

Which brings me to the point of this post: I’ve stumbled over some really great things on the interwebs lately and since my weekend can pretty much be summed up in two paragraphs, instead of a recap post, I thought I’d share some of my favorite links!

Enjoy! 😀

Links that got me thinking:

The Good Life Challenge from Jamie Mendell – Ok, so there really wasn’t much thinking involved with signing up for Jamie’s FREE holiday challenge…weekly challenges designed to help get you through the stress of the holidays (including the fear of gaining weight) with TONS of prizes! Since this is my first holiday season with intuitive eating and I’ve still be struggling some with bingeing, I definitely wanted some support/motivation over the next month and what better way to hold myself accountable AND possibly win some cool prizes?! It started yesterday and will be going on until the new year, BUT you can still sign up!!

Love & Learning to Love: Baring it All from Snack Therapy – A beautifully honest post about loving your body that literally brought me to tears.

Five Ways to Deal with Anxiety from Mrs. Murphy’s Laws of Fitness – A few things to think about to keep our stressors from getting the best of us.

Don’t Feel Sorry via Fitting It All In – Since I’ve been struggling at times to accept the weight I’ve recently gained, this was the PERFECT post for me!

Be Strong Enough to Walk Away via Health Nut Julie – A gentle reminder that some people are just NOT meant to be in our lives.

10 Words You’ve Probably Been Misusing via Hello Giggles – Ado vs Adieu…gah, GUILTY!

Links that got me laughing:

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – Madison shared this one with me…Just wait till you get to the part about her dog! 😆

Nature Talk with Charlotte G via Commitness to Fitness – I swear, Charlotte CEASES to amaze me with her hilarity!

26 Dangerous Symptoms of Being Addicted to Puns – I can’t pick a favorite…they’re all so punny!

Links that got me drooling made my eyes bug out:

34 Insanely Easy Two-Ingredient Recipes – Greek yogurt PIZZA CRUST, ice cream BREAD, egg nog MUFFINS?!…and yeah, clearly I’m carb-obsessed! 😉

Dip Recipe Creations – An ENTIRE site dedicated to one of the things I love the most!

Herbed Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese and Cranberry Sauce from Hungry Girl Por Vida – Calee linked these in her latest WIAW post and I mean, how could you go wrong with this combo?

Vanilla Cardamom Quinoa Pudding from Coffee & Quinoa – What’s better than rich and creamy rice pudding? Pudding with a protein PUNCH!

Chili Roasted Tofu with Minted Pomegranate Relish from The Sprouted Kitchen- Seriously, does this even NEED an explanation?! 😯

What did you do this weekend?

Any good links you’d like to share?

Posted in Link Love | Tagged , , | 35 Comments