A Lovely Lunch Surprise!

This morning, I woke up and did my workout at the apartment.  At first, I had planned on heading to the gym and just getting ready there, but since Brian is leaving for two weeks today (and it is our three year anniversary!) I thought that it would be nice if we ate breakfast together and spent a little time together this morning.

Workout

The workout was quick, but effective.  Because I knew I had limited time, I used supersetting to maximize my time.  To superset is to complete one exercise then immediately follow it with another exercise without having a rest inbetween.  The two exercises work best if they don’t target the same muscle group.  It is a great time-saver and adds a little extra challenge to a workout because of a shortened rest period.

Breakfast
My plans to make a weeks worth of baked oatmeal turned out perfectly!  They were all ready to go this morning, and they tasted delicious.

Blueberry Baked Oats

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups oats
• 1/3 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
• 5 egg whites
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 packets of stevia in the raw
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp natural peanut butter
• 1 cup blueberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease ramekins or large muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix until thoroughly combined.  Pour into 5 ramekins or muffin tins.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate for use at a later date, or eat warm from the oven!

Nutrition:

Calories:  248   Fat:  8.2g   Carbs:  40.4g   Protein:   11.9g

Because these little cakes are so filling and dense, I usually eat half before I workout and then half after 🙂

Lunch

Yesterday, when Brian and I got home from our midday date, there was a little surprise waiting for me in the fridge.  Brian’s mom had made me a salad with tuna and egg whites for lunch.  She even packaged up some almonds for a snack!  What a nice treat!

The salad was delicious and filling!  Thanks Kate 😉

Things of Possible Interest:

• Delicious Giveaway of Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter:  Fitting It All In
• 4 Yoga Poses to Help with Your IT Band Issues:  Fitsugar
• Where the Healthiest Eaters Live:  Huffington Post 

Buckwheat Pancakes with Easley Orchestra Red Blueberry Sauce

I started out this morning with another bowl of baked oatmeal.  Today, I added some peaches in the mix to make it a little bit like a peach cobbler.

Delicious, and easy to eat in the car.  That’s all I ask for.

Wine Recipes

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned on the blog that I was working on a “special project.”  I was pretty vague about what I was doing, but I can finally talk about it!

About a month ago, the Brand Manager of Easley Winery, a local Indianapolis winery, contacted me via facebook saying that he stumbled across my blog as he searched the internet for pictures of the winery.  Last summer, Brian and I visited the winery and had a delicious and fun experience, I blogged about our tasting adventure and that is how he found my Treble in the Kitchen site.

On their site, they have a “Cooking Made Easley” section that showcases simple and delicious recipes that feature the Easley wines in the ingredient list, and he asked my to contribute!  Of course I was more than willing to start experimenting in the kitchen, and the end result of all my concoctions were delicious.

When brainstorming what to make, the first thing that popped into my head was a blueberry red wine sauce.  For me, when I think blueberries I think pancakes.  Growing up, blueberry pancakes were made as our big Saturday breakfast, and I looked forward to them every single time.  I decided to put a little twist on traditional blueberry pancakes by utilizing a nutty buckwheat flour that is high in fiber, minerals, all 8 amino acids, and is rich in flavonoids (which are super strong antioxidants!).  The end result had even Brian asking for more.

Buckwheat Pancakes with Easley Orchestra Red Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients:

Pancakes:

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp granulated cane sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup unsweetened original almond milk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter

Easley Orchestra Red Blueberry Sauce:

• ¾ cup Easley’s Orchestra Red Wine
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ – 2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:

For the Pancakes:

Heat a skillet on the stove at medium high heat.  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and nutmeg.  Once combined, add in the vanilla, egg, almond milk, and butter.  Stir until smooth and thoroughly combined.  Test the heat of the skillet by dropping small drops of water onto the skillet.  If it sizzles, it is the perfect temperature. Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Place ¼ cup of batter onto the skillet.  Allow the batter to cook until the edges are dry (about 2 minutes checking frequently so it doesn’t overcook), then flip the pancake and cook about 1-2 minutes more on the other side.

Yields: 3 servings of two pancakes

Nutrition per Serving:  Calories—198.2  Fat—4g  Carbohydrates—37.2g  Protein—7.4g

Orchestra Red Blueberry Sauce:

Place the wine and sugar in a saucepan over medium high heat.  Once the sugar is dissolved, add in the blueberries.  Bring to a boil.  One boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until ready to serve.

Yields:  10 servings of 4 Tbsp

Nutrition:  Calories—65.6  Fat–.1g  Carbohydrates—17.6g  Protein–.1g

Time For Cake

Hello and Happy Tuesday!

 

This morning, I woke up not really wanting to “think” about my workout so I just did two rounds of the Jeanette Jenkins 10 Minute Booty Bootcamp video from fitsugar.com.  I then found an ab pyramid workout from ToneItUp.com, but I thought “why not make up my own!?”….I guess I changed my mind about not wanting to think about my workout.  Here is what I came up with.

 

Ab Pyramid

• 10 side lift and lowers on each side (prop yourself on your elbow, stack your feet, and raise and lower your hips)
• 20 bent knee leg raise and lower
• 30 crunches
• 40 bicycle crunches
• 50 clam crunches
• 40 bicycle crunches
• 30 crunches
• 20 bent knee leg raise and lower
• 10 side lift and lowers on each side

It made for a nice simple, speedy little workout.  Just what I needed after a long and late night at work last night and an early morning today!

Breakfast

For breakfast I had a smoothie!  Since I hadn’t had one for breakfast in about a week, this smoothie tasted extra good.  For some reason whenever I go without something for a while, it always tastes better 😉

Today, the smoothie included bananas, blueberries and spinach all topped with granola.

Wedding Cake!

This is going to be a busy day for me.  Right after work, Brian is picking me up so that we can go meet with a potential wedding cake designer.  That means we get cake samples.  I am looking forward to it, because this should definitely be something fun for Brian and I to do together.  And who know….this designer may be the one!!!

Here are some cake designs I love:

source

source

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The first one is my favorite, but I love the square, elegant, classic looks of all of them!

I wonder what flavors the cake lady has to offer??

What does your dream wedding cake look like??

Friday Happiness and Headin’ Home Again

Today is just a beautiful Friday outside!  Work went by suuupper fast, and by the time I got home I was hungry…not famished.  Looks like it is a great day so far.

I made myself a blueberry smoothie and actually drank it through a straw rather than eating it out of a bowl like ice cream.  I also had celery sticks and hummus, and a couple of nut handfuls that went undocumented.

Now, it is time to pack for Fort Wayne once again…gotta looove packing 😉 This weekend is my best friend from high school Chelsea’s bachelorette party!  I have never been to one and I am so excited.

Don’t forget about the giveaway!  You only have til midnight 🙂