Monthly Archives: September 2013

Holy Hotness

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, Recipes, , , ,

Forget the Fall-flavored coffees I’ve been talking about. It is still Summer for sure!

photo(55)HOLY HOTNESS! And fyi, it said 101 degrees about 2 minutes before I caught this pic. NOT okay. This made for a grumpy girl on my way home from work today.

photo(51)Counting down the days until the cooler temps are supposed to return to the mid-80’s. 4 days and counting…

Lunch

Lunch today came together relatively quickly and painlessly! I wasn’t starving so this actually gave me time to prepare a salad and sit down to eat it while I pondered what else I would have to finish off my midday meal. (I’m usually so ravenous that I start inhaling everything in sight. But not today!)

photo(49)The salad was a tasty and colorful one! I topped fresh romaine lettuce with carrots, mushrooms, snap peas, and 2 peppers. A little Catalina dressing on top made this mixture extra yummy! The salad was pretty filling, so I opted to do an easy and quick sandwich for the rest of my lunch.

I topped a whole wheat Bagelthin with 1/4 cup cottage cheese and a couple slices of honey ham and a touch of mustard. Yum!

photo(48)This savory mixture never gets old. Being lactose-intolerant keeps me from eating cheese filled sandwiches on most days, but cottage cheese (in small amounts) luckily does not make me sick! It’s creamy goodness is a large staple in my eating habits lately.

photo(47)Of course, a little of the cottage cheese oozes out, so you have to be willing to lick your plate clean. It’s well worth it though, I promise!

And with that, I was full so I headed out with Mac on his midday walk. At this point in the day, it was about 1 PM and 90 degrees. I know my coworkers love when I come back to the office smelling of fresh sweat! 😛  Holy hotness, indeed!

Dinner

Dinner started as soon as I arrived from Jazzercise tonight. I was feeling extra lightheaded and could tell my blood sugar was a little low. So I grabbed some banana cream pie yogurt (yum!) and added a tablespoon or 2 of Fiber One cereal. The crunch was awesome and a touch of carbs is just what I needed!

After a quick shower, I was digging through the fridge and found a bag of broccoli slaw that was getting ready to go bad. So I decided to throw it in a skillet to saute it – Pinterest style! Or at least I adapted it from something I saw on Pinterest…Enjoy!

Sauteed Broccoli Slaw

You will need…

  • One 12-oz. package broccoli slaw.
  • 1-2 sweet peppers, sliced/chopped
  • 1/3 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 ts minced garlic
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 1 TB Lite soy sauce
  • Garlic salt to taste

To begin, I heated the olive oil in the skillet. I then added the minced garlic and let it simmer for 1 minute. Add peppers and mushrooms, stir and let simmer for around 2 minutes.

photo(54)Next, add the broccoli slaw. Stir this all together and let it cook for around 4-5 minutes on medium heat and stir occasionally. Note: Your skillet will feel very full, but it will become more manageable the longer it cooks.

photo(53)As the slaw starts to reduce a bit, add the soy sauce and sprinkle with garlic salt. Once the slaw starts to get softer and acts a bit like pasta, it should be ready to serve! Cook a little longer if you want a softer consistency – just keep stirring to avoid scorching!

photo(52)This was easy and filling!  Plus it makes a huge pan of low-calorie veggies that can be altered to your tastes. With the garlic and soy sauce, this version smelled and tasted like something you might get from a Hibachi grill restaurant. Experiment with adding different types of veggies or spices to adapt it for you meal.

Have a great night everyone!

Jazzercise Fail – Candy Corn Win

Daily Life!, Jazzercise, Workouts, , ,

Welp, it was one of those mornings that any aerobic or workout instructor has probably dealt with on many occasions. And it’s not fun.

I awoke bright and early at 5 AM in a great mood. I was excited to teach Jazzercise! Monday mornings aren’t what most people call ‘fun’. So I try to keep myself extra positive and optimistic during my Monday AM classes for the sake of my sleepy students. Well today, I had none. Yup, not one single student showed up for my 5:40 AM class. Sad day! I’ve had this happen before, but it really cuts deep when it happens at 5 AM. But since I was already awake and in my exercise attire, I headed off to my gym where I could still squeeze in about 35-40 minutes of cardio before heading home to shower. I didn’t want my early morning to be a complete waste!

Workout

I’ll admit, I was a bit a of a grumpy gus when I got to the gym. So I didn’t start with anything too vigorous. I began walking on the treadmill and ended up doing a quick 10 minute incline walking interval. It got my heart rate up!

10 minute incline walking interval

  • Minutes 0-1, Incline 4, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 1-2, Incline 5, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 2-3, Incline 6, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 3-4, Incline 8, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 4-5, Incline 10, Speed  4.3
  • Minutes 5-6, Incline 12, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 6-7, Incline 10, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 7-8, Incline 9, Speed  4.0
  • Minutes 8-10, Incline 7, Speed  4.0

Once I hit the incline of 12, I had to slow it back down to 4.0. I thought my tiny legs were going to come out from underneath of me!

After this 10 minute interval, I jumped on the Elliptical where I finished out my morning workout. Nothing too fancy – just some steady-state cardio to make me feel a little productive. All in all, not a great workout, not a terrible workout. But I think any workout is a win, right?

Breakfast

I hurried home and showered before I had to rush off to work to start another week. I had a little extra time to make food but just wasn’t feelin’ it. So I did my typical grab-n-go breakfast before heading to work a little early.photo(45)The best part was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Luna bar. I’ve had my fair share of healthy protein bars claiming to taste like cookie dough, but this one takes the cake! haha pun intended. I was super delicious and has 12g of protein to keep me full.

photo(46)I loved every last bite! And speaking of LOVING things, the Candy Corn coffee I bought yesterday at Target was a complete win!

photo(46)And it couldn’t have come at a better time when I was grumpy this morning after having a weirdo workout. It smelled like a butterscotchy-creamy heaven in my kitchen! I added a little of my Pumpkin Pie creamer, and it was a pure cup of goodness to start my day. Candy corn win! It’s the little things that can put a little bit of positivity back into our day 🙂

Hope you’re having a great Monday! I’m looking ahead to lunch with a hungry tummy. Leftover chili? It’s probably the best choice!

Successful Sunday

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, , , ,

It’s been another successful Sunday here at the Harkey Household! Hope it’s been a good one for you, and you got in some last minute relaxation before the workweek starts again 🙂

Long Run

This morning I popped out of bed and was in the mood to run! I felt like I could run a half-marathon. But since my longest runs so far are only 3.5 miles, I decided to shoot for 4 miles instead. I set out with a positive attitude and got the 4 miles done in 35 minutes! The last mile was painful, and I wanted to give up. Luckily, I didn’t let my negative thoughts win. It felt amazing to get home before 8 AM and feel so accomplished!

I quickly grabbed some coffee and cereal and sat down to stretch while I read through my Sunday paper, aka the Ads and COUPONS!

photo(49)This is a permanent ritual on Sunday mornings for me. I had lots of new coupons today which put me instantly in the mood to shop. Plus, there was delicious Pumpkin Spice creamer in that coffee. The cozy smell of pumpkin pie can make anyone a little happier. 🙂 So I knew I’d have a great day today. I quickly changed into some clean workout clothes and headed off to teach Jazzercise.

Target Finds

Earlier this week, I talked about wanting to find some delicious pumpkin flavored coffee, so I had already planned a trip to Target for this afternoon. My girlfriend posted pictures of her pumpkin-flavored finds from Target a few days ago, so I knew the trip would pay off. I took quite the haul…

photo(47)I was so excited to find pumpkin-flavored everything in the grocery section! Plus, the cute Dunkin Donuts mug was FREE when I purchased 2 bags of their pumpkin coffee. Wins all around! Although, I think I’m most excited to try this coffee tomorrow morning:

photo(46)I love me some candy corn during Halloween time, so I was thrilled to grab this up to try! I’ll report back tomorrow. I have no idea what this will taste like, but I bet I wake up to a wonderful smelling house at least.

Mac’s favorite find at Target today? Some new chicken flavored bones… (Ignore my long witch nails – I just finished trimming and painting them this evening!)

photo(48)Check out that happy wagging tail in action. He has already ‘buried’ this bone around the house in about 10 different locations. Happy boy!

Dinner

Dinner tonight looked difficult but was super easy thanks to a dry soup mix I bought today. I was cravin’ chili!

photo(45)I grabbed up this Bear Creek “Darn Good” Chili mix and knew I would spice it up with some ground turkey I had thawing for our meal tonight. The chili immediately smelled amazing when I mixed it into the boiling water.

Cookin' chili!
Cookin’ chili!

I had to let it simmer for 25 minutes. Then I mixed in the browned ground turkey and let it simmer together about 10 more minutes. It was amazing! And had the slightest hint of cinnamon. Oddly delicious!

photo(43) photo(42)Yummm! And after dinner, we were in slight chili comas, so I leashed up Mac for a quick walk before it got any darker.

photo(50)So, all in all, it was a fun and successful Sunday! I feel refreshed and ready for the workweek. Tomorrow kicks off bright and early at 5:40 AM with a Jazzercise class before work. Monday morning workouts definitely start the week off on the right foot. I love it!

Have a great night and get some good rest!