What I Ate Wednesday #21 - I Love Fall!

Fall.
The weather, the food, the holidays, the sweaters, the colors... just about everything is quite perfect about it. One of the only things I truly love about living in New Jersey, is the change of seasons. (And that's it, really...) I don't think I'd ever be able to live somewhere where the weather was one way all year round. That'd be lame.

Btw, can you believe we're already into our last week of September?! I'll admit, this month, of all months thus far (this year), has gone pretty slow... But, still! IT'S ALMOST HOLIDAY TIME! 

Anywaaaaaays! This past week has been full of another batch of new meals, which is actually quite surprising for me! I'm proud. Very proud. I'm glad I'm getting (sort of) out of my super routine-y habit of eating the same things all. the. time. I've also been changing up some of my workouts, which is quite the A+ on my part!

9/20/12 - Breakfast: surprise OIAJ are the best way to start the day!

We had this jar of natural peanut butter for quite awhile, and my mom had finally finished most of it off in my sister's sandwich for lunch that she prepared that morning... And I couldn't let the jar just sit and go to waste!

Cinnamon apple spice infused egg white oatmeal with oatmeal raisin granola + apple slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon & Stevia + a leftover pumpkin muffin... All inside a nearly-empty natural peanut butter jar! This = delicious. I love OIAJ more than I love a lot of things. (And just oatmeal period...)

9/21/12 - Breakfast: I decided to try out sweet potato oatmeal for the first time... And I absolutely loved it! This was sweet potato & pumpkin egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax & oatmeal raisin granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + the last of my pumpkin cupcakes.

Scrumptious!

9/22/12 - Breakfast: my first day of fall breakfast had to be fall-themed, of course.

Baked pumpkin spice-chocolate swirl egg white oatmeal with oatmeal raisin & pumpkin flax granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + Biscoff spread + a sprinkle of cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice + a drizzle of maple syrup. I baked this and ate it inside one of our fall dishes! Hehe. It looks like so much food, but I promise it was one serving and not six! Hahahaha...

9/22/12 - Tea time!/"Snack": found this pumpkin spice chai tea at a Pepperidge Farm thrift store, and I automatically had to get it!

The taste is VERY strong, though, so I had to add some almond milk, Stevia & cinnamon to be able to drink it all. But, nonetheless, it was so warm and comforting. So lovely for the upcoming weather!

9/22/12 - Dinner: made dinner for my family -- baked chicken wrapped in bacon with Guy Fieri marinade & minced garlic! Put mine over a biiiiig salad! 

Protein, I love you. (And, bacon, I love you almost more than I love chicken. But not quite. Sorry...)

9/23/12 - Breakfast: sweet potato pie oatmeal was in store for my post-workout breakfast on Sunday!

9/23/12 - Snack: I decided to get experimenting with baking again... And these muffins/muffin tops (since they didn't rise very well) came out even better than last week's muffins/cupcakes. They're seriously so incredibly delicious and moist... even over 24 hours after they were baked! It's amazing how something that's only 34 calories (I miscalculated and thought it was 37... not that it's much of a difference/not that it even matters the least bit) is SO delicious and HEALTHY! I think I'm gonna turn these into a bread recipe soon... 

9/24/12 - Breakfast: cocoa banana protein egg white oatmeal with some Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + a leftover, still SUPER moist & delicious banana pumpkin oatmeal muffin (crumbled up) + White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter.

One of my favorite combinations ever: chocolate, peanut butter, and banana. Literally perfection in it's simplest of forms.

9/25/12 - Breakfast: this was SO good. Strawberries + chocolate = always a good combination.

Strawberry shortcake egg white oatmeal with granola + some Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares (hehe... always!) + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + a leftover (STILL moist & delicious) banana pumpkin oatmeal muffin + Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter. Mmmm, so good.

9/26/12 - Breakfast: I love being off from school and being able to workout early and eat a yummy post-workout breakfast!

I was so determined to have OIAJ for my post-workout breakfast this morning, that I made my dad and little sister sandwiches for lunch tomorrow with this peanut butte... And I also gave my little sister half a sandwich with some, too... Hahahahahaha. I know I'm pathetic, but I truly don’t care! Hehe.

Pumpkin spice infused egg white oatmeal with some granola (plain & pumpkin flax) + a few Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares + apple cubes + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + a leftover (... still perfect) banana pumpkin oatmeal muffin, all inside a nearly-empty (with around 1 tbsp of PB left... That's right, disordered thoughts! I have no regrets! ) Omega-3 peanut butter jar! SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

Aside from the food, this past week has definitely had it's up and it's downs. But, one of the MAJOR ups, is that people (a lot of them!) are voting me for "most changed" for our senior classes' superlatives! That might not mean much to some people, but it means the absolute world to me. (It also gives me a giant boost of motivation!) It means the world because people are noticing how much work I put into changing myself... When I lost weight (I was nearly obese, btw. I didn't lose weight just to fit society's definition of "skinny".), I gained confidence, which was something I never had before. I also became more outgoing and just happier all-around. I'm so happy people are noticing that.