Party Weekend!

An excuse for a party is always fun, especially if it is for your own birthday!  My parents and two brothers (and family friend, Frances!) came up from the Springs, and joined my dearest friends who are living in Denver!  This small house packed plenty of people. Me and the brothers at the party:

Since Saturdays are my days off any sort of diet plan, it was easy to enjoy the day of good eatin' and boozin', but I have to tell you, I felt pretty awful by the end of the night, and I feel like I didn't eat much of anything 'bad'!  I started my morning before work with pumpkin pancakes as a birthday treat, packing in a full 20 grams of protein from greek yogurt and egg.  I was filled for a while!  At the party, caprese salad, cheese, wine, and chicken with ginger were all great.  The beer, chips, and brownies were the wreckers...but soooo tasty!

Today,  I got back on the wagon (after more pancakes for breakfast, oops!) with this WONDERFUL lentil soup I made up.  Lemony AND spicy, who would have thought!  Here it is:

Spicy Lemon Lentil Soup

1 cup lentils, cooked in 2 1/2 cups water
2 cups sauteed kale
1 serrano pepper
1 red pepper
1/2 habanero pepper
1 tsp bouillon paste (may need more, or just swap water for veggie/chicken stock)
1 can kidney beans
1 tsp lemon flavored olive oil (1 fresh squeezed lemon will work!)
lemon pepper (spice combo from Savory Spice Shop)

Saute kale and peppers in a pan with olive oil.  Cook lentils, then add to a big pot.  Add veggies, kidney beans, and bouillon with water (at least three cups**).  Add lemon (oil/juice/pepper).   Let it simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, then serve!
** I did not add enough water, hence the stew look...

Also, this doesn't LOOK tasty, but nothing with lentils looks good to me.  The flavor is so worth it!

SO many layers of flavor.  The spice + lemon was a great combo and it was very clean and light beyond that.  I am pretty good at adding everything in my fridge, but I think the simplicity of the ingredients made it uncomplicated so that the spice and lemon was not understated.  If I had yellow onion, that would be my only amendment.  Try it out!  Would be great with some warm sourdough bread :)

Later, I tried out my new teapot and Earl Grey Lavender tea, a birthday gift from dear friends Sarah and Chris.  Thanks you two!

New Micro Muffin Recipe!

I accidentally came up with a new spin on my favorite breakfast recipe!

Due to my new diet plans, I decided to find a new way to make the pumpkin puree and egg stick together to form the dense muffin consistency.  I came up with flax seed and a dash of vanilla protein powder.  The result wasn't the same, but it was more of a pumpkin custard-delish!  Enjoy the new flourless pumpkin recipe:

Pumpkin Breakfast Custard

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 T flax, ground
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 T vanilla protein powder (feel free to omit if you don't want that flavoring...I liked the sweet vanilla!)

Add in a big mug, stir, and pop in the microwave for 3 minutes on high.  Top with almond butter!

I went to Colorado Springs (hometown, baby!) to help my family unpack their house.   On the road, I came across this Sprinter that was LOPSIDED!!!  I had to take a pic (while driving, I know...) because I couldn't believe my eyes...this is looking at it straight on, and you can see the front right wheel is TO THE LEFT of the back right wheel.  That is just not right!

After the unpacking process, lunch was a salad with bell pepper, deli turkey breast, covered in salsa.

And for a special treat, my mom and I went over to Monument to enjoy tea and treats at the Wisdom Tea House.  I ordered their 'egg bake' which included roasted poblano peppers, some cheese, and lemon peel!  It was absolutely delicious with the lemon!   I almost devoured it before I took this pic:

And that brown 'hunk' of food next to it is their Pumpkin muffin that Mom ordered and I tasted it :)

The Wisdom Tea House lets you pick the teacup you want to use.  Here is my pretty pink cup of a creamy black tea:

For dinner, I ate a salad with hard-boiled egg, spinach, peppers, avocado, and a big dollop of cottage cheese.  Dressed with balsamic, lemon olive oil, and lemon pepper from Savory Spices!  I love eating salads and avocados all the time ;)  SO tasty and I feel amazing.


Have a happy Friday!

Shrimp, Spice, and Everything Nice!

I was SOOO excited to find that I had finished my peanut butter jar yesterday because that meant I could make my favorite Overnight Oats!  I tweaked the recipe since I was out of cottage cheese and used greek yogurt instead.  I was pleasantly surprised to find there was no sour taste from the yogurt and it was REAL thick and creamy, using only about 1/4 cup yogurt (or less!).  Perhaps the flavor depends on the brand of yogurt?  I used plain low-fat chobani.  Anyway, best batch yet!

Today, I bought more peanut butter to replace my last jar, and realized I bought Honey Roasted peanut butter!!! UGH!  I am a firm believer that added sugar in the diet is a detriment to everyone's health and is a main contributer in health and heart issues.  Having extra sugar in my PB stinks, but I decided I will use it in my homemade granola and take out most of the sugar in the recipe.  Normally, I use a store brand of natural PB, which only uses nuts and oil.  

After a tough boot camp and spin class combo today, I was hungry!  I always drink some protein after my hard workouts, and then I made myself a serving of shrimp and left-over delicata squash from last night's dindin!  Yum!  I chose to sprinkle the shrimp in my favorite spice blend from Savory Spice Shop, Red Cloud Peak seasoning.  I swear by more expensive and creative blends in spices!  It makes EVERYTHING taste so much better, and this one was shrimp-tastic!

** (cherry tomatoes on the side not shown)

Tomorrow I hope to talk about one of my favorite fitness authors, Timothy Ferriss.  His book 4 Hour Body, is a great HUGE book on everything you need to know to be fit and healthy with the least amount of effort or money spent.  To be continued...

Happy Tuesday!