We are in Colorado!

We are so excited to be here! The weather is ideal- we got 7 inches of snow last night and it is super sunny with clear skies today!

Since it is a weekday we are doing Vail today. It will be insanely busy this weekend. I can’t believe this is my first time out West to snowboard!

We have a little kitchenette in our room and stocked it with some good snacks I will show you later. The whole group picked one breakfast so that we only had to buy one set of ingredients- whole wheat English muffins, peanut butter, and bananas. I had half of an English muffin with peanut butter and 1/4 banana.

Gina and I picked up a box of Mighty Leaf tea in vanilla bean and it is one of the best vanilla teas I have ever had. I had a big mug of it. I am also focusing in drinking a lot of water so I continue to feel good at this elevation.

Since I ate a light breakfast I packed a snack in my pocket for later! 😉

Happy Friday!

-Sent from my iPhone en route to Vail!!

Planes & Whole Foods

When I travel on planes I am always more hungry. I can’t decide if it is boredom or actual hunger, but I always eat more when traveling. I saved my snack to have on the plane for this very reason. Am I alone in this?

On our flight from Philadelphia to Denver I had a small container of pistachios I had purchased in the airport as well as a Luna Protein Bar in the chocolate peanut butter flavor. I really like these bars although I wouldn’t call them protein bars necessarily- they don’t contain that much protein. I also had some sparkling water, one of my favorite beverages.

Dottie, from Food Cents, lives in Colorado and sent me some tips for our trip. One tip she gave us was the address for a Whole Foods right off of Route 70, right on out way to Beaver Creek. That tip saved us! We hopped in our rental and headed straight there to eat dinner and grab some groceries for our room.

We all made big salads from the salad bar. Mine had mixed greens, romaine lettuce, artichoke hearts, roasted chicken, a few peas, dried cherries, shredded carrots, 2 delicious tortilla chips and some balsamic dressing.

This was delicious and perfectly satisfying. A lot of time in these situations we end up eating junk that doesn’t even taste good. I am happy we had a nice healthy dinner.

As soon as we got back in the car I shared one of my mini muffins with Gina (see yesterday’s post for details). I then had my own whole one!!

I now feel great- not full and not hungry either. This is the ideal way I’d like to feel after every meal.

This morning I woke up early but not early enough and had to choose between doing my hair and having it look nice tonight and tomorrow or going for my run. I chose my hair, how vain! I actually happy though because my legs are super sore from my strength workout and run yesterday.

PB is driving and Jake, Gina’s husband, is the navigator. That means Gina and I can nap in the back. Buona notte!

-Sent from my iPhone

Clean out the Fridge!

I bought my own condo in Rhode Island in April of 2006. (I don’t miss it at all and love PB’s condo in Philly, but sometimes I really miss living with my cousin. It was fun to help each other picking out outfits, and somehow it isn’t the same with PhillyBoy). When I first moved there, I often bought way too many fruits and vegetables and they would go bad before I could eat them all. Through time and trial and error, I learned to find the balance between buying too much fresh produce and buying too little. Inevitably, there comes a day near the end of the week where we are out of all the fresh goodies I love: different types of lettuce, apples or pears, citrus fruits, berries, cucumbers, carrots and more. Today was one of those days!

Even without some of my favorite foods, I was able to put together a great lunch. It feels great to know we are going on a trip and won’t need to throw away any food before going. For my early lunch I had a Flat Out wrap with 1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/4 oz mozzarella cheese (just a dash) and 1/4 avocado. On the side I had leftover spinach from last night.

Someone asked me what happens to our dinner leftovers.. Can you take a wild guess? PHILLYBOY! He often takes leftovers to work with him for lunch, or eats a small portion after work as a snack. I work from home- I have a full kitchen at my disposal. There is no need for me to eat precious leftovers that would make the easiest packed lunch for my husband! I know he would do the same if the roles were reversed. 🙂 However, if we have leftovers of this, you bet I make a double batch and save some for myself!!!

It has been really fun sharing my meals with you this week, and I am curious to see how it goes tomorrow in Colorado. What are your thoughts? Do you miss my usual recipe posts and restaurant reviews? Do you prefer seeing my daily eats? I’d love some feedback.

Day 4:

Breakfast  

Day 3:

Breakfast   
Lunch
Dinner

Day 2:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner- recipe for Baked Breaded Eggplant

Day 1:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.

Peanut Butter Banana Coconut Oatmeal

If you think you hate oatmeal, it is probably because you have never tried it with banana in it. Adding banana to your oats makes them fluffy and sweet, and I can’t eat oats any other way anymore. I learned about bananas in oats from Kath and Chelsea, and I can never go back to instant oats or banana-less oats!

This morning I saw we had one banana left on the counter, and since we are leaving for Colorado tonight, it had to be eaten. Enter: OATS!

Here is how I make mine…

Peanut Butter Banana Coconut Oatmeal
Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/4 cup dry rolled oats
1.25 cups water
dash cinnamon
dash sea salt
3/4 banana, split into 1/2 banana and 1/4 banana
1 tbs peanut butter
5 g shredded sweetened coconut

Directions:
Heat water on high in a small pot. Slice half a banana in small pieces and add to the water. Also add a dash of cinnamon and sea salt. Stir. When the mixture comes to a boil, lower to medium heat and add the oats. Stir well every couple of minutes until the oats have absorbed all the water and the banana has slightly dissolved. Pour into a bowl and top with 1/4 banana, sliced, 1 tbs peanut butter, and 5 g shredded coconut. I mix it all up, and enjoy!

**Note: the Quaker Oats canister suggests much less liquid than I use, but I have found that the recommended amount leaves the oats a little too chewy for my liking. Also, I always use water and have never tried them with milk!

Day 3:

Breakfast   
Lunch
Dinner

Day 2:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner- recipe for Baked Breaded Eggplant

Day 1:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

And a LOVEly Weekend.