Beginner

Today I required a mini power breaky. Almond butter on Squirrelly toast with supah ripe banana and honey.

With coffee of course.

OK fine.  It doesn’t look much different than most breakfasts but I was excited to call it a power breakfast for…wait for it…my trip to the gym!

It was back to almost beginner status for me but I will take what I can get.  20 minute treadmill walk followed by one set of lower body strength training and very basic core work.  I admit I was mildly terrified that my back would revolt on my first day…but I’m happy to report that so far I’m alrighty!

Leftovers for lunch. Yesterday’s chicken salad rolled up in a couple of wraps with greens.  I love chicken salad!

Followed by a handful of mini mandarins…

Afternoon pick me up…egg nog misto…

And egg nog cookies!  Good thing it’s a relatively small box and these aren’t horrendous on the nutrition scale because they are REALLY GOOD.

After work I had a bunch of household chores to take care of so I was happy for another round of leftovers for dinner.  Broccolini, rutabega, and Honey Soy Chicken.

Laundry complete. Vacuuming complete. Recycling out.  And I just popped my December 2nd advent chocolate…

Now it’s time for some Christmas cards and A Christmas Story…

And maybe a few more of those egg nog cookies. nom. ;)

“You’ll shoot your eye out!”

Anticipation

November 30th. Yoikes.

Already a month since Halloween.  Already two weeks since my birthday.  Already down to only 25 days til Xmas.  Holy shiz.

In anticipation of Christmas month I dug into the Christmas Blend and egg nog…

And it seemed only fitting to make a comfy, cozy breakfast.  This empty PB jar has been hanging out waiting for a batch of OIAJ.

In the mix: water, UVAB, oats, flax meal, 1/2 banana, random PB scrapings and cinnamon.  Mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top.

The hot oats totally warped the plastic jar (there’s no BPA in there I hope!!) but almost melted the remaining PB goodness right into the mix.  Nom.

Lunch was a repeat of Monday.  Greek-ish salad with spanakopita and hummus.

Flattened banana rollups for afternoon snackie…

For dinner I pulled out an old recipe for Honey Soy Chicken.  I’m sure I’ve featured it on the blog before but to heck if I can find it!

Super duper easy. 

• 1/4 cup veggie oil
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• fresh pepper
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders

• Whisk the marinade ingredients together thoroughly and pour over chicken to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
• When ready to cook, heat a non-stick skillet over med-high heat and add chicken still dripping with marinade to pan.  Discard remaining marinade.
• Cook approx 3 minutes per side then remove pan from heat.  Cover with a large lid if waiting on your side dishes, until ready to serve.

I simply baked off a batch of rutabaga fries and steamed some broccolini to go along with my chicken.

Rested the chicken on top of the broccolini so the sauce would run through.  Deeelish!

After dinner I tucked in for another cozy night on the sofa, trying to decide between watching Glee or Rudolph (Glee won, Rudolph will be on again I’m sure), eating more Christmas fair fudge (chocolate pumpkin!) and taking care of my sore neck. 

I think I need more egg nog.

Paying the Piper

Don’t worry, I haven’t only been partying, sipping cocktails, and filling my face.  Well, mostly.  But it’s what I do!  Um, apparently. :)

For my actual birthday I got pretty much back to normal…until the cupcake feast anyway.  I woke up feeling like I might have a cold coming on so treated myself…

Ha! I know it’s not really a treat when you drink 5,789 lattes a month.

Look! Fruit! PB toast and banana…

I even got a few groceries to get through the short week at home. Crack hummus is in the house!

Rolled up with turkey and tomatoes…

Itty bitty mini Mandarin oranges…

Followed up sushi it was a pretty balanced day…until I dove into the cupcakes.  So sue me. :)

On my way to bed Monday night I knew I was for sure getting a cold.  Munched on Vitamin C, took a melatonin, and tried to sleep it off…but alas it was there when I woke up.

I fought hard by avoiding coffee and drinking juice and spicy orange tea instead…

And turned Monday’s wrap idea into a quesadilla of sorts…

A fistful of minis…

By the time evening fell I’d been sneezing all day and had just moved the box of tissues from the bathroom to sit on my desk.  Dinner couldn’t be anything other than soup.  Since a bowl of hot ‘n sour didn’t magically appear, Campbell’s hit the spot.

Bedtime never looked so good.  First time in months I went to bed at 10pm. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Today I’m showing this cold who’s the boss!

Happy Boxing Day!

I may have just ordered myself a Boxing Day prezzie online!  :)  Stay tuned. 

Our family doesn’t actually do much of anything on Christmas Day.  A few years ago we realized that the stress caused by trying to rearrange and figure out how to see everyone wasn’t worth it just to have turkey on a specific day…so instead we have our family gathering/gift opening on Christmas Eve (we’ve done this since I was about 12) and our turkey dinner on Boxing Day.  This makes a relaxing Christmas Day for my Mom and I, and leaves it so my uncle isn’t feeling conflicted between his own family and his inlaws.  Win for everyone!

So Xmas Eve I made up a table full of our traditional family eats.  I call them “retro snacks”.  :)

 

It was a small, slightly dramatic gathering this year.  I only took one freaking photo outside of the food.  How bad is that?!!  Ugh, and Mom and I both looked so nice too!  haha, oh well.

My Grandpa got a new blanket so my aunt wrapped him up and I thought it looked like a Snuggie! 

As far as eats go, I’ll admit I pretty much just snacked my face off the whole night.  But I did load up on veggies first!!  haha, of course then we finished off the chips and dip after the family left.  :)  Balance?  I suppose.  ya right!

Oh…and the Xmas loot!!  Aside from this Starbucks gift pack from my uncle and his family…

Everything else is from my Mom…

 

She knows me well!  :)

And to think I still have my Christmas fun with FH when I get home and my Secret Santa gift too!!

And now I’m off to help Mom prepare the veggies and side dishes for dinner tonight.  The glorious smell of roasting turkey and Mom’s famous stuffing is calling me!  :)