Laugh a Little

Happy March! Did it come in like a lion for everyone?

I wasn’t so sure what to think – I woke up to a cold, drizzly morning – definitely more of an April Showers vibe than a lion vibe. I did, however, sleep like a baby. I hit the hay early and was raring to go by the time 5:45 rolled around. I think a freshly made bed helped – I was so cozy! Luckily, I’m not one to hate getting out of bed every morning, especially when I’m feeling that well-rested. What do I credit this to?

Oats and Coffee, of course!

Punkin-Apple Oats! I used to have oat bran all the time before I became a grain-head and started mixing nearly every grain under the sun just for one bowl! Oat bran made it back into my mix this morning. I forgot how much I love it!

In the grain mix this morning was oat bran, rolled barley flakes, rolled spelt flakes, wheat bran, brewed coffee & almondmilk, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger, goji berries, pumpkin, vanilla, and 1/2 an apple, diced.

On the Top was pumpkin-chia icing, crystallized ginger, flax, honey-apple butter, Cinnamon-Raisin PB, and 1/2 a diced apple sauteed with maple syrup, spoonful of pumpkin, and raisins.

I also forgot how filling oat bran is! I had to break halfway through to do my breakfast dishes, haha. I hate feeling too full.

Before leaving the house this morning, I made my dinner! I won’t give it away yet – but remember the last time I made dinner at breakfast time?

Are these shots looking all to familiar? I thought so too I’m not sick of having the same snacks – but I am open to ideas as to good snack ideas for work! I don’t have a whole lot of time to sit down and eat other than lunch and when I have my orange – but I’ve been thinking I want to start bringing yogurt. It’s funny because when I’m home, yogurt mixes are pretty much my go-to snack, not so much pretzels and munchies. At work, though, it’s easiest to just be able to grab a handful of pretzels or a bar and not be hindered too much. What’s your favorite snack? Do you find you differ in your go-to snacks whether you’re at work or at home?

For lunch was a crab & shrimp wrap (I will never be sick of wraps!) and sugar snap peas (hint: leftover from when I made dinner!)

For snackage was butter snaps, an orange, carrot sticks, and a Spooky S’mores Clif Z Bar. Because – I’m still a kid at heart. I’d been dying to try this flavor, and let me tell you: it certainly lived up to the expectations I had! Soooo good for when I’m not craving blueberry – my other fav! They are still on the sweeter side of bars (through no fault of Clif, however – they are geared toward kids) but I love that they’re not as filling as a full-blown Clif bar, Luna bar, or Larabar. They come in handy when you want a smaller snack rather than a more filling, protein packed bar.

And of course, ride-in snack was a banana and half a WW english muffin with honey-apple butter, PB, & granola. (another hint? the english muffin was leftover from dinner-making, too!)

On the ride in to work I heard something interesting: Children laugh an average of four hundred times a day, while adults only average laughing fifteen times a day.

Whaaaa?!?! That’s crazy talk. I certainly hope all of you laugh far more than that – I want you to live long and prosperous! haha. But really: laughter relaxes your whole body, boosts your immune system, releases endorphins, and helps protect your heart. I guess it’s a good thing that in situations where I could cry, I instead chose to laugh. (well, usually anyway.)

So go ahead, lighten up! Laugh a little. What did you laugh about today?

And in case you haven’t laughed your necessary four hundred times yet, I’ll help you reach your goal.

I didn't take this one. In case that wasn't...uh. Obvious.

*ahem* moobin’ on.

Work was rockin’ and rollin’ and I was outta there before I knew it! Love those kinds of days.

They’re made even better when you’re able to enter the house to the aroma of melty parmesan, egg, turkey, and pineapple!

awwwwwww yea – Asian Ginger-Lime Turkey Meatball Strata? I think so.

Okay. Maybe it seems weird, but just roll with me on this one. It was to. die.

For the bread base I used up the last piece and some random pieces of spelt bread, a leftover sandwich thin from last night, and half an english muffin. Crumbled over some turkey ginger-lime meatballs, carrots, spinach, red onion, sugar snap peas, fresh pineapple, some lime zest, and then the egg mixture which I added lime juice, salt, pepper, ground ginger, lime zest, honey, and almond milk to. Topped with a bit o’ freshly shredded parmesan and more salt and pepper, covered with aluminum foil and it got all delicious and stuff in the fridge while I dreamed about it and worked my booty off.

On my way home – when I had about 40 minutes to go – I called my mom and kindly asked her to pop it in the oven – covered at 350*. When I got home it smelled deeee-ricious the second I opened the door. It had a little bit to go yet – just to get the top browned – so I cooked up some burnt broc and the last of the sugar-snap peas for a side.

Topped with some sesame seeds (I read clean eating while I was eating breakfast – sesame seeds were discussed for being a good source of copper and a good source of magnesium and calcium) and a lil’ more of that divine freshly shredded parm and viola! Dinner was served. Served for tomorrow, too! Tomorrow is my late-night at school, so Tuesdays = reliance on leftovers or something super-quick.

Definitely came in handy tonight, too – for some reason, I was volunteered at the last possible second to put together a group write-up that’s due tomorrow? So I was able to whip it out between eating dinner and dessert.

And speaking of dessert?

You didn’t think I’d be able to resist the coconut butter craze, did you? My shipment from Live Superfoods was waiting for me – and even though I was pretty content after the strata – there was no possible way I was going to put off using this baby until morning. Heck, I didn’t even want to wait an hour or two to digest some more! So I went for a happy medium: half an almond butter & jam bran muffin. The other half is gone as soon as I finish up this post 🙂

The Verdict? ohmagaw. So. dang. good. At first I was a little concerned at how hard it was, but knew it needed to be microwaved before use. Worked a charm!

I just microwaved it until it was soft enough to sort-of spread, as I wanted to microwave the muffin anyway. When I tasted it slightly on the cool side I wasn’t so sure about the almost gritty texture. But when warmed all the way? It is just.like.frosting. Chocolate coconut frosting, that is the perfect sweetness. I am in love with how it’s not too sweet and chocolatey (we all know how I feel about that!) but is jusssst right.

And the company I bought it from – Live Superfoods? They’re super! Normally it would cost way more to ship this (I got three products – I won’t give away yet what they are, but you’ll see – each this size) and usually companies charge way more – at least $15. They had one low, flat rate! I also received it very fast, and they are the best price on these butters that I’ve found. They were also having a sale on all Artisana butters – and still are! So if you want 10% off, head over thurr.

But that is all from me – I’ve got blogs to catch up on, cacao bliss to eat, and a bed to crash in.

Ciao!

p.s. Live Life, Eat Right is having a Chobani Giveaway!

p.p.s. Don’t forget to enter my giveaway!