This morning started out very quickly, I slept until almost 8:30(I had to stay up and finish New Moon!) I then quickly got dressed for my run and then we took Leo to the groomers! We dropped him off for the day and then headed to a park nearby.

I snacked on this Kashi bar for a mini-breakkie.

It stinks not having something like a Garmin around because the trail on the park was really hard to follow and I never knew exactly how far I was going. I decided to use time as my witness.

I definitely did ~5 miles. Four miles takes me about 55 minutes, and I ran a total of 1 hr. 15 minutes with a long warm-up and cool-down. I may have done a little more then five but I’m not sure.

It wasn’t the easiest run, my legs felt SO heavy the whole time. It was also warm!! Not too bad with the breeze but still warmer then I have been running in. Still, I completed five miles!! YAY!!

I forgot to take a picture post five, but I will on my next five miler, Wednesday.

We spotted a Jamba Juice right by the park and decided before we even got the park that post-run fuel would find us there! My mom walked and jogged a bit and I ran! We met up at the car after and headed over. I worked at Jamba Juice summer of my Sophomore year, it’s my absolutely favorite smoothie store and sadly there’s none in Orlando. Boo! I took advantage and was happy to see they had…

OATMEAL!!!! Perfect.

They use organic steel-cut oats, cook it in soymilk and you can pick a fruit topping and it comes with brown sugar CRUMBLES! These were crumbled straight from heaven. Seriously, you know I am just getting used to liking oatmeal and I ate this so quick! The crumbles were like crunchy candy bits in my oatmeal and of course I cannot have oats without some banana. YUM!

I had a “Sunrise Strawberry” on the side. My fave smoothie here, I try and recreate this all the time at home. I had this every shift at work. It’s bananas, strawberries, non-fat yogurt and soymilk. That’s it! It’s very yogurty and yummy.

Perfect post five-mile meal! I am so tempted to get this combo on the way home tomorrow for lunch. I think I will!

Beautiful.

After we ran home, showered and got ready in record speed we got Bo and brought him to the vet. Bo is our golden retriever/chow. We used to be best buds, but then I moved away to college.

He doesn’t usually where shirts, but he has some rough areas he’s been scratching which is why he ended up at the vets in the first place.

Don’t let the smile fool you..

He was scared and spent most the time hiding behind our legs, his usual hiding place.

We picked up my grandma and headed to my favorite place, Whole Foods! I love the Ft.Lauderdale Whole Foods, so big! There’s only one big WF in Orlando, the one near me is tiny!

I hit the hot bar up sooo quick.

Spring mix salad with carrot and chickpeas drizzled with some Annie’s Goddess dressing, teriyaki tofu/rice mix, a little couscous, two baked plaintains, and a roasted corn, squash and peppers mix.

Yum..my favorite lunch spot!

Washed down with a yummy Izze.

We picked up handsome Leo at the groomers then spent some time with my grandfather who is sick. He looks a lot better then he did at Christmas. PTL! I just hope he gets to watch the Daytona race in a couple of weeks, he loves cars and racing.

I decided to stay here tonight instead of driving home. I have had a headache on and off all day and I was exhausted.

This meant, another wonderful home cooked meal!(thanks mom!)

A sausage/beef/turkey burger, yes ALL three, on a whole wheat bun. So yummy! A swiss chard, chopped tomatoes, garlic, shallots sauteed in some EVOO and salt & pepper mix, and mashed potatoes! Mmmm..so comforting and yummy. Love. My mom has blogger approved plates.

We went to run an errand and stopped for a decadent dessert. I LOVE Dairy Queen!!

I got a small blizzard with butterfinger pieces, be still my heart!

Truly decadent, a wonderful treat!

It’s been a wonderful day of eats. My stomach is happy! I am now going to ice my knees a little late since they are bugging me. :-\ I can tell I definitely did five miles. This is another weekly PDR for me! YAY!! I ran eleven miles this past week. Makes me happy.

I am off to start a new book and sip on some tea.

Goodnight!

Katy

I was up bright and early to babysit a little before heading home today.

I fueled up with some warm cinnamon heart to heart, plain Oikos, banana and dark honey. As well as a mug of coffee. Mmm.

When I got home I prepared a to-go lunch so I could get on the road. Enter: whole wheat wraps.

I wrapped up a large handful of spinach, a string cheese, a spicy black bean burger, a blue corn chip for crunch, and some ketchup!

Mmmm..messy though. I wrapped it in parchment paper and snipped one end for easy tear-away access. I also snacked on some unpictured roasted chickpeas and pirate’s booty. I had to tie the bag off to keep from unnecessary snacking out of boredom(*coughcough* see video below).

We decided a relaxed night in was called for so we ordered pizza and drank some wine. We ordered a brick oven pizza with half-eggplant half-meatball.

Guess you can guess what slices I had?

I had 1 1/2 eggplant slices and two helpings of salad with avocado, tomatoes and a vinaigrette.

Dessert was raspberry sherbet I found in my mom’s freezer. Mmm..a small, perfect amount!

Sorry for the brief post, I am exhausted and I have FIVE miles to run tomorrow! Praying the rain holds off until after I get done. Can’t wait!

Without further ado..my first vlog!

Ha, on THAT note..

Goooodnight!

Katy

Mmm..pita pizzas are so wonderful!

I made mine with a whole wheat pita, some tomato sauce, a sprinkle of blue cheese and a little bit of reduced fat provolone. Topped with some frozen organic broccoli florets I cooked up and a couple drips of truffle oil I got in Italy which added an earth decadence.

Three large peeled carrots and it was a colorful, yummy lunch!

I also brewed some iced pomegranate green tea. I brewed two tea bags in about 1/4 cup of boiling water and then added some cool water and ice with a squirt of agave! Light and refreshing.

After I digested, I headed out for my four miler. LOVED IT!! It wasn’t easy but I loved it. I am falling in love with running. I am becoming a runner!

I refueled with an Oikos yogurt and some warm cinnamon H2H. Yum! Perfect fuel.

I also iced my knees and shins, although I do feel a little pain in my right knee and left shin. Any tips on good stretches?

When Adam got home we headed out.

We first headed to the bucks of stars for a little reading time. I enjoyed a grande nonfat iced vanilla latte. I think this is my new fave!

Dinner was scrumptious as it always is. I covered my plate with salad and corn, and took a scoop of our broccoli, cheese and chicken casserole.

Also, a biscuit with a little butter and honey. So good. Oh my gosh.

Dessert was a cookie, a peppermint kiss and a cup of milk.

Adam and I drove separately so I could go hang out with some friends of mine for my friend, Jamie’s, birthday today!

Happy birthday Jamie! She heads back to Italy on Sunday until July. I am praying I see her in Italy before I see her in Orlando.

I got home pretty late and let myself sleep in a little longer to get my eight hours in. As much as I wanted to get up early, I know rest is necessary for recovery after running and working out so I try to be careful and get plenty of rest!

I was really in a pickle this morning with breakfast, I didn’t have any pickles. I didn’t have much at all.

I made a smoothie with some frozen peaches, mangoes, strawberries, milk, flax and a little plain Oikos.

Two egg whites, some whole grain crackers and hummus.

Can we say random??

All together now..

I think every time I have a lame meal I should follow it with a picture of this guy.

I am off to go refill the fridge after I eat a snack so I don’t buy out the grocery store.

I got some great questions from you guys when I announced I am going to be setting up the FAQ question on my new site which should be debuting soon, hopefully by February 1st. I would still love to answer more questions. To help with that you can head over here to my Formspring page to ask me questions anonymously and I will gather a bunch and answer them on the page. Thanks!

Also, I will be announcing the giveaway winner in my next post! Be sure to check and see if you won some delicious Oikos.

Katy

I need one of these.

Meet “Clocky”:

The description on Amazon.com:

“Have trouble getting up in the morning? Let the MoMA Design Store Clocky Alarm Clock ensure you get up when you need to be on time for work, school or any other appointment. Clocky gives you one chance to get out of bed. OK to snooze once, after that Clocky jumps off your nightstand, wheels away around your room looking for a place to hide, beeping all the while. You have no recourse but to get up to silence his alarm.”

I may kick him after a while though. I saw this at the Museum of Modern Art store and thought it was pretty cute, although may scare the crap out of me when it jumps off my night stand! Or Leo, who sleeps right below my nightstand. Poor Leo, he wouldn’t see Clocky coming.

Once I awoke I had another repeat:

I know this makes for boring bloggie mornings but my stomach enjoys it just so darn much, forgive me?

Lunch was dee-lish!

I need to go grocery shopping soon but luckily found some good stuff for lunch.

Two large carrots, a large sweet potato, a cooked up all-natural hot dog and some organic frozen broccoli florets I sauteed with some EVOO, salt & pepper!

Mmmmm!

I’m off to do some more job hunting! Wish me luck, I need it!

Don’t forgot you have until TOMORROW to enter the giveaway! Good luck!!

Katy

The hunger also hit me hard. Adam was so sweet and offered to make me lunch! He also took pictures of it for me.

I had some of this delicious V8 Butternut Squash soup. So delicious!

Along with a grilled cheese using whole wheat bread and reduced fat provolone!

I then passed out on the couch. I woke up a couple of times to find that he had put Friends(my favorite show ever) on for me before he went to get work done at a coffee shop. I slept for three hours!

I woke up already ready for something else. I knew with my increased exercise, lack of sleep, and the cold weather I was really risking a cold(I can already feel one slowly brewing..eek.) I decided to pull out the big guns with a green smoothie.

I blended;

-Handful of spinach

-Peaches

-Mangoes

-Plain yogurt

-Nonfat Milk

-Amazing Meal

Take that sickness, in your face! Or..please go away?

Anyways, Adam stopped at Publix on his way home and made me a delicious meal!

Mashed sweet potatoes, organic chicken(thanks babe!!) with a blue cheese, spinach, onion, and mustard topping as well as a lot of fresh green beans! Yum!

I ate with a little cranberry H2O.

I slept for about nine much-needed hours and woke up ready to eat a delicious breakfast.

I know this looks boring but I LOVE cereal!

I mixed some Post banana nut cereal with some Kashi warm cinnamon heart to heart. They were SO delicious together! I also broke up this large banana into the mix. Yum!

Lunch was a whole wheat pita toasted and then stuffed with Sabras roasted red pepper hummus, fresh broccoli, carrots, spring mix, one slice of reduced fat provolone and balsamic. Yummm!

.

With sweet potato circles on the side. I find that when they are just cut in circles, they crisp a little better.

These are so delicious. I just mixed a little EVOO with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and a little kosher salt and mixed all of the sweet potato circles in the mix. Then baked at 400 for about 45 minutes. I would try 375 next time, but they were yummy!

After I digested I head out for my two miles on the plan for today. I tried to bring Leo with me, but he made it about a quarter of a mile and then had enough, I brought him back to the apartment and finished the rest of my run. It went really well, I felt great!

When I got home I made a light green monster? Although I did not have anymore spinach. Grocery run tomorrow! It’s amazing how fast our fridge empties.

-Peaches

-Mangoes

-Fat-Free Milk

-Amazing grass

-One large banana

-Flax

We were seriously lacking groceries so we broke this out for dinner. Adam bought it last week because we had a coupon.

I checked the stats and while nutritionally it seemed not too bad, the ingredients list left me disappointed. High fructose corn syrup? Seriously? We agreed we wouldn’t be buying this again!

Our appetizer was half of this bag of edamame steamed, and then sprinkled with kosher salt.

I added the rest of our fresh broccoli into the pan to add a little freshness and bulk it up some.

This was my bowl.

After I ate, I headed out for girl’s night at my former roommate and best friend, Mandy’s house. Mandy loves chocolate and I was having a serious sweet craving. I texted Mandy to see if I needed to eat dessert before and this is pretty much how it went:

Me- Is there going to be chocolate tonight??

Mandy- It’s Mandy!!

In a very, duh Katy kind of fashion. I can always count on her to provide the chocolate!

We baked up a box of Ghiradelli boxed brownies, oh yeah..the good stuff!

With a nice cold glass of milk! Mmmm..I also had another small piece.

I am now home about to crawl and bed and continue on with “New Moon”. I am more then half-way done and can’t wait to finish! I have already seen the movie so I can’t wait to get to Eclipse. I also have so many other books I cannot wait to read!

Oh and one important note..I forgot to mention that the Oikos giveaway  is open to U.S. residents ONLY! I am SO sorry to my international friends! I just realized I forgot to put that. If you have yet to enter, head on over to the giveaway! I am extending it until Wednesday to give you extra time to enter!

Have a great night!

Katy

So yesterday was a crazy day!

I had a hard time getting started with my day since I had so much on the schedule and had to definitely change plans or else I was going to be super stressed!

I had to say no to the blogger luncheon since I wouldn’t have been able to stay for long at all if I had gone! My mom was going to be in town and I was going to see her in Tampa but since the roads were going to be icy(crazy) she didn’t want us driving on slick roads. I chose to see her for just a little and we decided not to head to Tampa! Phew!

I walked to the gym in the sleet to run four miles, which quickly turned into 2.25 miles due to legs feeling sore, and time. It was better then nothing to me.

Then, I had lunch with my mom, my step-dad Dave and their friends. Ironically enough, we ended up at the same place as the blogger luncheon was but a different location!

We met at the Peach Valley Cafe’ in Heathrow which is North of Orlando.

It was a very quick lunch but still great to see my mom and Dave!

I ordered the veggie wrap and a side of fruit.

The spinach wrap was filled with more spinach, marinated portobello mushrooms, sprouts, avocado, tomatoes, carrots and a sun-dried tomato spread.

It was a little bland, I added a little salt and pepper to the top of both wrap until I reached the sun-dried tomato spread which added a nice saltiness to the wrap.

I ate everything but the coleslaw, I am not a big coleslaw fan!

I rushed home to quickly put my dress on and then headed to the wedding early to help hand out programs. It was so fun to see friends I haven’t seen in a while and to watch two amazing friends of ours get married.

Amanda is a really good friend of mine who was also my bible study leader all four years of my college career. She is such an amazing person and Keith is an incredible guy, he and my husband were actually roommates. She was even my bridesmaid and he was one of our groomsman. Today was their day!

After the ceremony we drove to the reception, it was a beautiful set-up!

Dinner started with a salad and ranch dressing.

I was so excited to see brown bread! But it was rye and not the honey wheat at Outback, still good! I ate half of this roll.

Dinner was squash, roasted potatoes, broccoli and chicken in a white gravy.

Then..dancing ensued!

For the father-daughter dance they started with a very emotional, slow song and then it turned into “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” that her whole family joined them for. I was told when she was little, Amanda and her family would dance to this song. It was so sweet that they danced to it on their wedding day!

Once the cake was cute we were served! They actually only had one real layer of cake on their actual wedding cake and that went to the bridal party. This chocolate cake was SO GOOD!! Super rich and decadent, I even left a few bites!

It was such a beautiful wedding, and I had the best time celebrating with Adam and my closest friends.

Another funny story is that Amanda has ALWAYS wanted it to snow in Florida, she had literally prayed for it her whole life. At church, her prayer request would be for snow. It snowed on her wedding day! How amazing is that? Sure it was at 4 a.m., but it definitely snowed! Too bad it meant for FREEZING picture taking.

Congratulations Keith and Amanda!!

The reception went until about 10 and we headed to a friends house and hung out there for another couple of hours, a lot of our friends are heading back home or back to Italy(missions work) so we soaked up as much time as we could with them! That just meant I wasn’t getting much sleep before waking up for the marathon! But it was still worth it.

I will recap our day at the Disney marathon tomorrow morning, I am BEAT!

Katy

I packed a portable breakfast to eat as we headed out to get Ryan.

Ginger green tea and an Oikos with berries. I brought the Larabar, but didn’t eat it. They had samples at the expo!

I had never been to Disney’s Wide World of Sports, so I was really excited to check it out.

Their were lots of people!

Ashley picked up her information, and was filmed!

After this he took a picture of us three, don’t know where that’ll end up but it was fun!

After picking up her bib number we moved onto the expo. This was my second expo ever and I enjoy the energy from the all of the runners!

I also love samples..

..and we sampled. I had a bite of an oatmeal raisin clif bar. I am not a fan of raisin in baked goods actually, but I loved this!

I also sampled an unpictured Clif shot blocks, SO much tastier then GOO!!! I know what I will be packing during my half!

Ashley picked up her goody bag and then we walked around. It was pretty packed!

We quickly found the Larabar table, we were pretty hungry so we munched. I broke into this beauty.

One of my new favorite flavors, tastes just like a peanut butter cookie! Mmmm!

We headed to the giant Whole Foods in Orlando(LOVE) for lunch..

I had a gift card so I spent more then normal on lunch.

For example:

My favorite..Kombucha!!

I wish I had more money to feed my expensive Kombucha habit. Sadly, I do not.

LUNCH!

I went crazy. I had some couscous with dried cranberries, some shitake mushroom tofu, roasted squash and zucchini, tempeh smothered with onions, a spinach and blue cheese salad with walnuts and three yucca con queso balls. Everything was amazing, the tofu though didn’t taste a lot like mushrooms and was cold. I did have a huge hunk of tempeh for the first time that wasn’t in chili form. I was scared of straight tempeh before, but I tried it and I really like it! I like the texture of it and how hearty it is. I will have to cook some up soon. My favorite were the yummy fried yucca balls, SO GOOD!!! I wish I got a huge box of those. Though, my stomach would hate me probably.

I had so much fun with the girls, but I was about to pass out. It was time to head home!

Once home, I ran some errands and then settled into a hot epsom bath which just soothes to the soul! I then gave Leo a bath, which does not..poor guy hates baths.

For dinner, I think I was sympathy carb loading for you all who are racing this weekend!

Pasta with leftover spaghetti sauce I pumped with some broccoli, I also added some fresh herbs from our “garden”(rosemary, oregano, thyme, and basil).

Topped with some fresh mozzy, YUM! Plus another couple pieces of bread. I just love crusty french bread.

Dessert was pretty decadent as well.

I added fruit, makes it totally healthy. I had two Ghiradelli white chocolate squares and a dark chocolate caramel.

Yummm.

We headed out to hang out with some friends who were in town since my good friends Keith & Amanda is getting married tomorrow! It was fun to hang out for a bit, but we were exhausted and headed home.

I had a snack before bed.

Mmm.

Well, now I am off to brave the SLEET(in Orlando…..) and run. Only kidding, I am running on the dreadmill. I have four miles on the plan today. Apparently even walking to our apartment gym is going to be painful. I don’t know how you guys ran a half today!! Congrats Katy!

I am off to tackle a busy day:

-Hopefully go to the blogger lunch or go see my mom in Sanford although I don’t have much time for either :-\

-I am handing out the programs at my friend’s wedding today, so I have to be there by 2:45!

-Then immediately after the wedding we are heading to Tampa to celebrate a very close family friend’s birthday.

-Then, after returning home late tonight, I am waking up early again to meet up with Ryan and head to the marathon to cheer our amazing friends on and celebrate afterwards!

Needless to say, their won’t be a night post tonight. Busy busy busy day!

I am SO excited for the wedding!! Happy wedding day, Keith and Amanda!!!!

Katy

Make sure you enter the Oikos giveaway! You have until Tuesday.

For a mid-morning snack, I had some of this delicious Stonyfield yogurt!

I then had a little yoga time! I did a warm-up on one segment of Exercise TV then I did the AM yoga which was 12 minutes.

I got about 20 minutes of morning yoga in and it felt SO great! I am the person that thinks “20 minutes only? not even worth it!” but this really energized me for the rest of the day and helped stretch my sore muscles. This lady was SUPER perky.

For lunch I wasn’t sure what to have, I didn’t have dressing for salad(we need more balsamic) and I didn’t want another sammie.

Enter: SOUP! Perfect on a coooold day…..in..Florida! HA, I am NOT complaining. I love love love this weather and since 300 days(AT LEAST) out of 365 are super hot and sticky I am relishing this. I can’t wait to (hopefully) one day move a little more north.

Okay, back to the soup!

We found a coupon in the paper for some Select Harvest soup.

I heated up the soup, put some string cheese on the top and toasted some whole wheat pita on the side.

I also had a sweet potato and carrots. It was an orange tinged lunch..I see that. I eat so many sweet potatoes but they are inexpensive, easy and SOOOO good!!!

Just in case you were wondering, I microwave 98% of my sweet potatoes. So quick and easy! Just puncture holes with a fork or knife(be careful!) stick it on a microwave safe plate and micro starting with four minutes and if it’s a bigger potato, nuke it for five! Sometimes you have to play with it. Some days(like today) it’s perfectly soft and yummy, other days I have to keep microwaving it because it’s a little al dente.

I didn’t take food pics tonight since it was all sort of crazy once I arrived to my former roomie, Mandy’s place. I carpooled with Mandy and my other friend Natalie to the party.

For dinner I had a chik-fil-a grilled chicken sammie(270 calories, not bad at all and great when you are in a rush!) I also ordered a medium fruit salad which has apple, strawberries, and mandarin oranges. Yummy!

It was a fun night that involved lingerie, inappropriate (but hilarious) bachelorette party games, and a blow-up doll named Peter Pecker. It was frightening, feel free to use your imagination on that one.

Then we hit a local bar for some dancing. So fun. Throughout 5 1/2 hours of bachelorette fun I had two drinks and a shot that was more the size of half a shot and wasn’t strong. I did not need to drink more then that which is great because I was able to drive home to sleep in my own bed and not wake up feeling like death in the morning.

I am off to bed friends! It’s late..or early? I am going to beg Ashley to take me to ‘bucks in the morning, for sure.

Oh and look out tomorrow for a TASTY GIVEAWAY!

Goodnight!

Katy

Anyways..

It’s 6 hours ahead in Italy so I got up around 8 and ate a quick breakfast.

Warm cinnamon Kashi H2H with bananas and fat-free milk, mmmm! I love this new flavor of H2H!

After we talked for about an hour I watched some Regis and Kelly and found by 10 I was starving again.

I had a piece of whole wheat toast and a little smart balance(I swear, it was a smaller amount then it looks!).

I also had a handful of strawberries.

My stomach was satisfied. Yay!

I took Leo for a walk and realized as much as I LOVE this weather(it felt mid-20′s when I walked him and no, I am not joking) it was WAY to cold for me to run. I’m still a Florida girl after all.

I waited and noon came around so I made lunch since I was hungry and knew my 3-mile run would take 30-45 minutes.

I decided on a delicious sammie for lunch.

In between two toasted slices of whole-wheat bread I had a handful of spinach, a few slices of thinly sliced turkey, hummus, a little balsamic and blue cheese crumbles.

Along with a nectarine. Mmmm I love nectarines! This sammie was super good, I just wish I had more balsamic, I love the sing it adds along with the blue cheese!

I am now off to bundle up and prepare for my three miler today! I was going to do four, but I want to slowly increase my mileage to train smart. Last week I only had about six miles since I didn’t get my 4 miler in. I may postpone my 5-miler Saturday and just run 4 again. Since I am unable to run straight through the four miles anyway, and my body felt fine I think that will be okay. Just making sure to listen to my body and stay injury free!

I also will whittle my middle when I get back!

I will see you all later tonight, my small group is back together again and I can’t wait for some of Joyce’s yummy food!

Katy

I got right to brewing some coffee and putting together a delicious breakfast.

Stonyfield contacted me and asked if they could send me some coupons to try their Oikos line of greek yogurts! I LOVE greek yogurt, and I haven’t tried all of their Oikos flavors yet so I jumped at the chance!

I tried the vanilla this morning for breakfast. Considering I had my breakfast dreamed up since yesterday I was super excited to finally put it together.

First I put some Oikos in my big red bowl.

Added a chopped up nectarine.

Added some chopped up strawberries and some warm cinnamon heart to heart. Mmmmmmmm!

I tried just the Oikos first and it was really delicious. Just a subtle flavor added to it, not overpowering at all. I really loved it and the texture was different then other greek yogurts I have had. Very yummy especially with berries and cinnamon cereal. This breakfast fueled me through my morning and workout!

So did this coffee.

All together.

I can’t workout right after I eat so I ate around 8:30, watched Regis & Kelly, got ready and headed out by 10:30.

Grabbed one of my magazines I have yet to read:

I then headed to the gym.

My Workout:

-30 minutes on the elliptical

3 sets and 15 reps of the following(all machines):

-Lat pull down

-Chest Presses

-Horizontal Chest Presses

-Sitting row

Total Time: 45 Minutes

______________________________________________________________

Whittle My Middle

When I got home I started the Whittle My Middle challenge thanks to Angela! I am a few days late, but I want to do it and last month I let starting late stop me from doing it all. Not this time! I followed her workouts and here’s how it looked:

Front Plank- 60 seconds

Side plank- 30 seconds each side

Torso Twists- 25 Reps

Plank ups(w/out leg ups): 10 reps

Boat Pose: 3 sets 10 reps Bicycle- 40 Reps

This was SO hard!! I know that’s the point but ouch. I could barely do side planks. I have such a hard time with those. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be able to do them.

I took before pictures, but I won’t be showing those until I take the afters!

______________________________________________________________

To reward myself for a productive morning, I made a productive lunch:

First was this side dish(recipe at the end) :

This was SO yummy, like a grown-up broccoli and cheese so good and good for you!

Along with a huge sweet potato and the leftover slice of pizza. I ate 3/4 of the potato cause it was quite large but this was such a yummy lunch!

Grown-Up Broccoli & Cheese

One serving.

Ingredients:

-1/4 of an onion cut and broken into strips

-Cup of fresh spinach

-1/2 cup of broccoli

-Large clove of garlic, minced.

-Crumbly blue cheese

-Salt

-Pepper

Directions:

Have your pan on medium-high heat.

-First let the garlic brown in a little EVOO (be careful not to burn the garlic or it will get bitter).

-Next, once the garlic starts to brown add the onion strips along with some salt.

-The onions will take a bit to caramelize but keep moving them in the pan.

(it took about 15 minutes for the onions to get cooked down enough)

-Once the onions are caramelized and soft a bit, add the broccoli.

-Add a little more EVOO and salt and pepper as the broccoli cooks.

-Once the broccoli is heated through add the spinach and stir together.

-Toss the spinach with the onion and broccoli mix so it cooks down with the onions and broccoli.

-Once cooked down serve onto a plate and sprinkle with a small amount of blue cheese or any crumbly cheese.

Done!!

Super yummy, the onions get so sweet and the blue cheese works so well with the sweetness of the onions and the spinach is infused with the garlic and onion sweetness.

Nom nom nom!

Katy