Beat the Heat

Who knew when I moved NORTH that I would be living in 120 degree weather?? Not this girl. I woke up with quite the appetite and was craving oatmeal. Really? When there’s a heat wave outside?? I had to talk myself out of it by promising oats in a different version.

Plain Greek Yogurt with fresh blueberries and Chocolate Almond Butter Granola. I had to make more because I’m now officially obsessed with it. Look how chunky it is, it’s just plain perfect.

I walked to the gym (because I’m crazy) and begged them to give me a free pass (because I’m unemployed and can’t afford $100 a month on a gym membership) so I could take a class. They did. I have a charming smile.

See?

I took a new to me class at said gym. It was a Les Mills class (like body pump, body combat etc) called CX30. Ever heard of it?? CX30 is a 30 minute class that targets your core. You do 6 sets – 2 on the ground, 2 standing and 2 more on the ground. I really liked it and hope to one day (soon) be able to join that gym so I can be a frequent CX30 class taker.

After class I got in a quick 15 minutes of cardio and headed home in the heatwave. I was ready for lunch so I whipped up another no oven necessary meal. A quick salad:

Romaine Lettuce, leftover black bean burger, corn, cottage cheese, cucumber and a slice of avocado.

I need to pack because I leave for vacation tomorrow and I haven’t even pulled out my suitcase! Such the procrastinator. Truth is, I work better under pressure! 🙂

Tonight I have a date at Smith and Wollensky’s to spend some QT with this QT before I leave

But first, for favorite Friday I thought I’d do my favorite ways to beat the heat!!

1.) Make a HEALTHY smoothie – Preferably one that tastes like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

2. Make s’mores ice cream

3. If I’m too lazy to make my own ice cream – I’ll head to my favorite fro-yo shop.

That’s a small. Don’t judge me.

4. Go bowling

5. Get a pedicure/manicure – Being pampered and staying inside seems like a win/win situation

6. Read Blogs (DUH) – A hilarious one I saw Cara post today on her facebook page about picking your battles. SO TRUE.

7. Read about the 50 fattiest Foods in the States

New Jersey is known for the Fat Darrell. What is your state known for?

8. Pick a fun craft off the Martha Stewart Website. Yes, I said fun.

9. Head to the beach/pool and get your tan on

10. Last but not least – Read a book in the comfort of your Air Conditioned home. Right now I’m working on this one

Let’s hope my ADD doesn’t kick in and I can finish it 🙂

I’m off to get ready for dinner and maybe attempt packing. See ya tomorrow!

QUESTIONS: Whats your favorite way to beat the heat??

Easter Weekend

Ohh, what a weekend. Where should I begin? How about with food?? 😉

Friday night  when my boyfriend finalllllly arrived we sat down and made pulled pork sandwiches. I have 2 things to say about this. 1.) This is the easiest recipe ever. 2.) Have you ever had bone suckin sauce? You must go buy this RIGHT NOW.

Obsessed. This was my first time making pulled pork even though I order it every time I eat out if it’s on the menu. Who knew it was so easy to make?

Pulled Pork

• 1 sliced onion
• 3 lbs pork shoulder
• 1 can of vegetable broth

Place it all in the crock pot on Low for 9 hours. Remove pork and shred (remove fat). Place back in the crock pot. Serve on Whole Wheat Buns. Clearly I like BBQ sauce,so my sandwich is drenched in it… But whatever you choose to do with yours, PLEASE use the bone suckin sauce. You won’t regret it.

Since I made 3 pounds there were plenty of leftovers… We could’ve easily made these sandwiches again. But I have a.d.d. and a new  pan

so it must be put to good use. Cuban panini’s sounded like a good plan to me 🙂

and they were. Whole wheat bread, honey mustard, leftover pulled pork, deli turkey, Muenster cheese and of course pickles! Sorry about the bad picture

Saturday was rainy so we dyed some easter eggs in the morning.

Don’t mind the clorox bottle… My boyfriend’s a little messy.

Since it was raining we needed a comforting, warm breakfast. So we had a “healthier” version of my Overnight French Toast Casserole.

The “healthier” version included whole wheat bread, egg whites, unsweetened almond milk, earth balance “butter” and sugar-free maple syrup. Still JUST as good as the regular version, so save the calories if you can 🙂

The sun magically appeared and we headed to Camden Yards to try to scalp tickets to the Baltimore vs Yankees game. My boyfriend is a HUGE baseball (yankees) fan so being the great girlfriend I am 😉 I agreed to give up my dreams of trying out the new Vegan restaurant to have blue moons and hot dogs.

Best part about it? We got FREE tickets 20 rows behind home plate!

Worst part about it?? My car was towed…To the tune of almost $400!!!!! Baltimore city is THE worst.

So annoying.

That left us a good 4 hours of sleep before Church the next day.. Somehow we managed to look presentable.

It turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day so after taking a million pictures outside we headed to my mom’s for Easter linner.

The Easter Bunny had dropped off a basket for me – Sprinkles cupcake mix (dark chocolate), pretty cupcake liners, sugar-free peeps, jelly beans, lindt chocolates, a notepad, hand made note cards and of course REESE’S EGGS! I politely asked the Easter Bunny to go easy on the Eggs this year because I knew I would eat all of them. So there were 2… I approved.

Aren’t these notecards GORGEOUS? Every detail is hand-made… I’m saving them for a something special!

NOW, for the food. We easily ate ourselves into a food coma… But, that was the plan.

Honey Baked Ham

Spinach Salad w/ feta, dried cranberries & sunflower seeds

Grilled Corn salad with cheese, tomatoes and avocados

Homemade mac & cheese

Grandma's Mashed Potatoes

Unpictured: Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, and rolls.

My plate went like this:

Carb Loader

My boyfriend and I were in charge of dessert and I’d like to think we succeeded.

Strawberries & Cream Cake

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Eggs

Crumb Cake from Carlos Bakery in Hoboken

My plate:

I had to try everything 😉

It really was an AMAZING weekend (minus the car being towed) with surprisingly beautiful weather. I went to bed at 745 pm to catch up on sleep from the night before in hopes of feeling normal today. It didn’t work. BUT, I am hoping to be back on track by tomorrow. I have a little confession…

I’ve been eating horribly, not going to the gym and I’m really starting to feel gross. So, tomorrow I need to get back on track… I need to get to the gym, I need to pack healthy food and I need to get out of this funk!! Give me some motivation 🙂

Let’s make this week a good one!!

Questions: What do you do for motivation? Send me some!! 🙂 What’s your favorite memory from the weekend?