Sweet Endings

Happy happy weekend friends!!

My weekend is off to a good start! It actually began last night when I saw my first ever 3D movie with my dad and little step-sister. I know, I?m like a bazillion years behind the times. I normally don?t go to movies because they are so frickin? uncomfortable. But the theatres here are larger, thus nice cushy seats. Shrek was pretty entertaining ? the fat Puss in Boots stole my heart ;)

After the movie I finally watched Lost!!! Wow. So many hours of my life have gone into watching that show?

Moving on!

In case you have not yet noticed, I?m sort of off the oatmeal. I ate hot cereal every single day for a month while trying to clear out my pantry before moving. I haven?t really re-established my taste for it.

 
Yup, lately I?m all about the breakfasts I grew up on ? eggs, toast, pancakes, freezer waffles and? french toast!

Syrup is a must for many of these items. In these cases, I prefer table syrup over maple syrup. Both of which are quite sugary for the morning.

 
So I rely on sugar-free syrup. I am not a splenda addict, or Diet Coke guzzler, but I do love my sucralose syrup. We all have our weak spots, and at 10 calories a tablespoon, this stuff is mine.

 
Besides, the the light syrup allows for more egg-drenched bread to be consumed, and in my books, that?s good :)

Wait, did I say I watch my sugar in the morning? I take that back. I forgot about breakfast dessert.

 
Finding this in my mother?s fridge was like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

 
I have been on a huge milk chocolate kick lately, and I would say this stuff is la creme de la creme.

 
Hello lover.

My morning was spent puttering around. I didn?t get to the gym until noon, so I popped a couple giant medjools to keep my lunch hunger at bay.

 
I know a lot of people don?t do fats before working out, as it can cause digestive and abdominal distress during intense activity. That thankfully does not happen to me, and peanut butter is always my go-to snack before exercise.

My legs are still sore from the full-body workout I did on Wednesday. So I kept today to an upper-body workout. I haven?t been getting as sore upstairs as I used to, so I switched it up to high weights, low reps, extra sets. I went up at least a good 5 lbs for all my weights then completed 6 reps and 4 sets of each exercise. Because I was doing such heavy weights, I kept it to straight sets and rested for about a minute between each set. I also threw some cardio spurts in there to keep my heart rate up and keep it fun :)

20 minutes high intensity intervals on the treadmill

Length
Level


1 minute
8


2 minutes
10


1 minute
17


2 minutes
10


1 minute
17


1 minute 30 seconds
10


1 minute
17


1 minute
10


1 minute
17


30 seconds
10


1 minute
17


1 minute
10


1 minute
17


1 minute 30 seconds
10


1 minute
17


2 minutes
10

Strength:
Romanian deadlift to row 
Reverse fly
Incline dumbbell fly 
Reverse push up

Cardio:
5 minutes on the rowing machine

Strength:
Dumbbell shoulder press 
Cable pushdown 
Barbell curl 

Cardio:
10 minutes on stairmaster

 

I didn?t do any abs, but if you want some suggestions for ab moves, here are all the ones I got in yesterday?s comments:

Plank
Cable horizontal woodchop 
Decline bench sit-ups
Ab twists
Bicycle crunches 
Boat pose 
Feathered peacock pose
Kneeling cable crunch (twisting)

All awesome. I did decline bench sit-ups a couple weeks ago and it hurt to laugh for a few days!

Came home from the gym to yet another ginormous salad.

 
Highlights being massaged kale, leftover roast chicken, shredded cheddar and leftover cider vinegar/oil dressing.

For my fellow big salad eaters ? it is important to own the size of your salad. When people come up to you, googly eyed by the sheer enormity of your bowl, do not flinch. Be it boss, mother or step-brother (not that I?m speaking from experience here) do not be scared to say ?yeah, and I?m going to eat it ALL.? They are just amazed by how many veggies you can consume in one sitting, and do not know how to properly express this jealousy ;)

Mommy dearest whipped up her famous spaghetti sauce this evening using buffalo meat.

 
My mom and I plumped up our noodles with spaghetti squash. We also cooked a garlic bread for the kids, and I enjoyed a special cheese-free piece for myself :)

Such a fantastic dinner needed a fantastic dessert though. The household was slightly bitter that Rudy (aka the gut-weiler) ate a whole box of Lindt special dark chocolates today. Not to mention, tomorrow is Mark?s birthday. Dessert needed to be extra special.

 
I finally, finally, made Heather?s famous Maple Nut Oaties!

I followed her recipe and directions to a tee:

Ingredients:

1 cup toasted rolled oats.  I just toast them in the toaster oven set on 350° for a few minutes.  Watch them as they burn easily.
1/2 cup nut butter almond butter
1/2 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts sliced almonds
1/2 cup chocolate/carob chips or dried fruit (One really good combo is cashew butter with dried pineapple.  Yum!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted nut butter)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325°.
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Scoop cookie dough by TBSP (I actually use a melon ball scooper) onto parchment lined or greased cookie sheet.
Bake 10-12 minutes.
Let cool for a minute or so, and then I just pick them up and form into balls before placing on the cooling rack.

 
I was weary of toasting the oats in the toaster oven after The Great Fire.

 
Thankfully, my mother?s kitchen is still intact. I let the dough chill just as instructed, then enlisted the help of my little step-brother to form the oaties.

 
He didn?t care for getting his hands dirty. When I told him getting messy is the best part, he replied ?No, eating them is the best part.? Touché.

 
They smelled heavenly (ie maple-y) coming out of the oven. We all wanted to gobble them up right away, but good things come to those who wait.

I can totally see why these are famous on the interwebs. SO good! The best part though, is the stellar ingredients. I really can?t feel guilty for one of these guys when I know each is made out of few and quality ingredients. HEAB also claims they?re calorie dense, but I got 23 little balls, at 112 calories a pop. It?s all about the small serving sizes. I just dare you to stop at one ;)

 

Well friends, it is much past my bedtime (whatever that is these days). I just finished watching Sherlock Holmes with the fam and would definitely recommend it. That Robert Downey Jr. is just so damn charismatic. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day with a long run, a short hike and who knows what else! See ya then!! xoxo

 

Question of the Day: Is there one special treat you always request on your birthday? Or, a specific treat you really want to request this coming birthday? I?m different every year, and I think this coming birthday I?d really like to go out to an old-school diner for greasy fish n? chips and a giant slice of chocolate pie ;)