Quick 'n Easy

The sunshine we have had the past two weeks has really helped my garden!  The spinach is shooting up like crazy and the tomatoes are starting to come in. I decided to make a favorite quick and easy dinner tonight to use up some of that fresh spinach!
 

First I cut up red, green, and yellow bell peppers, along with broccoli.  Then I cut up a chicken sausage from Trader Joes and threw some spinach in the mix. I  added one tablespoon of olive oil into a bowl with the goodies and mixed. 

After the grill heated up, I put the mix on my grill pan and let it cook for 5 minutes, stirred, then grilled for another 5 minutes. Voila! A delicious, nutritious, and EASY dinner. Yum!

 For fun, here is another quick and easy lunch or dinner!  Buffalo chicken salad made with Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce and enjoyed with Bolthouse Farms Ranch Yogurt Dressing on the side.  Love making this and throwing in a mix of favorite produce!








Also, shout out to my sister Katie for sharing with me a cool way to grow celery.  Cut the round end off of a stalk of celery and put it in a bowl of water standing up.  It will slowly grow a new stalk of celery!  Very thrifty and love this idea because I eat a lot of celery! Thanks Katie! 

In upcoming holiday spirit, here is the picture that changed my life.  Taken on the 4th of July, 2009.

 

And the award goes to...

I talk about food more than the average person.  I often find myself wanting to give amazing foods a high five or a loud cheer, maybe even do a victory lap for the surge it gives to my taste buds.  Looney is in my blogger name (and comes from my maiden name) however I have decided to give certain foods my own virtual awards instead of making a fool of myself with random public cheers.

Best granola:
Love Grown Foods-Husband/wife team from Colorado that know how to do gluten free granola right.  I like to order the 6 bag package from Amazon since grocery store don't carry it.  I have occasionally had luck finding it at TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

Best guacamole:
My homemade guac can't be beat...at least in my world.  There are two restaurants I have been impressed with for their guacamole though...Rojo at West End in St. Louis Park and Ruby Tuesdays.  I was very shocked to find that Ruby Tuesdays has a very generous and delicious serving of guacamole.  Be aware of the garlic content though-it's enough to scare away vampires! 

Best carbonation:
La Croix, any flavor!  Lime and Peach-Pear are my favorites but they are all really good!  I like to trick myself into thinking I am having pop from the fuzzy bubbles and the sparking water is so refreshing.  Which brings me to my next award...

Best Caribou drink:
I first tried the Sparking Peach Black Tea (lite version) about two months ago and loved it.  It is a very light and sparking drink with just a hint of caffeine.  I tend to drink it too fast though and it doesn't last long enough for me.  Super delicious especially when you want something cool to drink with caffeine but no dairy. 

Appreciate the Day

Well it was another crazy but rewarding day!  After chasing a first grader a half mile in a field during recess, I got the itch to put in a good run today after school since the weather was absolutely gorgeous!  I do not have windows in my classroom so when I went outside at lunch, I realized what I was missing out on....sunshine!  My husband Tom was excited for a run too so we got dressed and as I was tying up my shoes on the staircase, I noticed the UPS truck pull up.  My new shoes!!!  It just had to be!  I seriously dashed down the steps flew out the door and met him in the driveway.  He started laughing and asked if I was waiting for the package.  Funny thing was, they weren't supposed to arrive from Amazon until tomorrow but I got LUCKY!  I thanked the nice man and ran back inside to try them on.  I knew they would fit well since I just ordered an updated version of my favorite Asics running shoes.  I got a great deal on Amazon with free and fast shipping.  So out the door we went for our favorite three mile loop.  My dear husband even decided to throw in some sprint intervals.  What a gem;)

The other fantastic delivery from the UPS man came last week....6 bags of Love Grown Granola.  Love Grown is a husband/wife team from Colorado who make gluten free delicious granola.  Since my favorite meal these days is a yogurt bowl (plain nonfat greek yogurt, honey, berries, and granola), I decided to make a big order.  I first heard about this granola on the blog Sweet Tooth Sweet Life, and actually found a bag at the Home Goods store near my home. They sell it for $4 a bag so I would buy some whenever I found it since they are regularly $5/bag.  When my friend Sarah came to visit from Denver a couple months ago, I asked her to bring me a couple bags since they are sold at the grocery stores in Colorado.  When I ran out again, I found a great deal on Amazon and decided to stock up.  Tom loves making the yogurt bowls now too and has officially switched over to liking the Greek Yogurt.  We have also found that buying the yogurt in bulk (big tubs) instead of individual sizes was more economic (thanks for the tip Maggie K!). I love every flavor!  www.lovegrownfoods.com

I took this picture last week so I can document my progress with keeping up the P90X, yoga, and running.  I feel comfortable sharing this photo on my blog because this is my journal and a way for me to hold myself accountable and look back on my journey.  Hopefully I make time to update this more regularly because it is a goal of mine to get better at it and also buy a great camera that allows me to take better pictures, especially of food!

Today has been a great day.  I felt in control of my eating, didn't eat any gluten and therefore did not have a stomach ache.  Most importantly, I had a clear head and positive attitude all day.  Those things are all so important when working with kids all day and keeping my anxiety at bay.  The past month has been so hard because my grandpa is very sick and currently at home in Hospice Care.  He is on my mind constantly and everyone has been praying for him and hoping for peace and comfort.  The last picture I will share is one I took on Saturday when we were down in Waseca visiting him.  My godson Cavanaugh had his First Communion that day and my grandpa was so bummed that he would miss it.  My sweet sister-in-law got him dressed in his suit (his dad's suit when he had his First Communion) and drove him over so that my grandpa could see him that day all dressed up.  It brought tears to everyone's eyes to see grandpa so happy.  Cav also looked so proud and excited to see grandpa.  I feel truly blessed to have gotten to spend the day with my amazing family.  

                                                   

Spring is here!

The weather is officially beautiful in Minnesota and it has ignited new motivation and optimism in me:)  It is a Saturday morning and I am drinking my coffee before I go to Yoga class at 9.  A good friend teaches at a gym about 2 miles from my home and I love making Yoga fit in my schedule.  Three years ago, Yoga was waaaay too intimidating to me.  I thought it was for dancer-types or super fit people.  Last June, I tried it for the first time (heat version!) and fell in love.  It gives me the best stretch and flexibility and is a welcomed break from cardio and weights.  It also relaxes my anxiety and relieves stress.  I love it!  

Tom and I have been talking about composting for a couple of months and how I really want to recycle all of the fruit and veggie waste I put into the garbage.  Last year, he built me a garden and I had a lot of fun experimenting with tomatoes and zucchini but this year I am going for a full service veggie garden of bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, beans, peas, and onions!  These are the vegetables I eat the most so I figured having them in my own backyard would be easier on the bank account and taste better since they are grown organically! I can't wait to get started!  Hoping the ground unfreezes soon and the frost stays away for good!  For now, I have my plants started in the house.  This composting thing will be a great adventure! 

A couple of weeks ago, Tom brought home a huge 60-gallon compost!  We are going to keep it in the backyard, and I will take all of my veggie scraps and eggshells out there every time I cook!  It is amazing how much I throw away since I eat eggs very regularly and am constantly chopping up veggies.  Can you tell I am very anxious for summer to begin so I can devote my time to gardening, composting, and eating!:)

The other great Spring news is that I was accepted into University of St. Thomas Education Masters Program that begins at the end of August.  I am SO pumped because the program is through the Murray Institute and it is tuition-free.  That is incredible news on this girl's teacher budget:)  I feel very ready to go back to school and feel this is the right time in my life to further my education and become a better teacher while doing it.

I hope this beautiful weather continues and everyone else is finding a reason to celebrate the day.

One year ago yesterday I married my best friend on a gorgeous and warm fall day in southern Minnesota.  Everything about the wedding day turned out how I imagined it.  We celebrated most of the weekend, visiting an apple orchard and winery on Saturday and going out for a nice dinner last night.  My husband Tom surprised me in my classroom at school by bringing me flowers.  He even brought chocolate chip cookies for the kids!  It was the sweetest gesture!  Over dinner, he surprised me with a Beleek clock that is being shipped from Ireland.  Apparently, the new tradition for first year anniversaries is to give a clock.  While this may have seemed strange to most couples, Tom saw it as the perfect opportunity to make our first anniversary special by using the clock as a reminder that someday we will visit Ireland:)  Beleek China is very special to my family since we are very Irish.  It was the perfect gift and I am so excited to see it when it arrives!

December 2011 vs. July 2009

Favorite Blogs and Recipes

What has helped me a great deal on my weight loss journey has been reading other blogs.  The first one I ever visited was Keeping Up With Katie, which was shown to me by my now husband who had read about it in a Yahoo article.  I love reading Katie's posts because she lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers and is so relatable.  She has great ideas of food and exercise and never pretends being healthy is easy.  Through her, I found my other favorite blogger, Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers.  Julie blogs 3 times a day and I find her to be interesting and funny.  She lives in Florida and often has seafood which I am not a fan of, however I share her love of peanut butter.  Another blogger, Andie, is just downright inspirational.

My favorite spot to check out recipes is How Sweet It Is.  My most successful dinners have come from this site!  I have included some favorite recipes below!

Awesome pasta dish you can try with beef or chicken! Click here!

Pizza!  I add spinach to make it even better! Click here!

Amazing pancakes!

I am currently trying to eat these foods regularly because they have longer staying power so I won't graze for snacks immediately after eating....spinach, greek yogurt, roasted vegetables (spinach, peppers, zucchini are faves),  and oatmeal.  By the way, adding spinach leaves to a blueberry smoothie is an amazing combo!

I may be a tad bit obsessed with food.  Food and coffee:)