What I Ate Wednesday #29

Guys... in three days, December is here.
You know what that means?
(Well, aside from the fact that it's already freakin DECEMBER!!...)

ABC FAMILY'S 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS STARTS!

But, even when it's (sadly) over on television...

It won't be for me!  (Thank you, mommy!)

Okay, now I think it's time to list some eats from recently, yes? (That's probably why you're all here anyways! Sorry for the blabbin'!!)

Post-Thanksgiving eats:

11/23/12 - Breakfast: healthy double chocolate protein egg white oatmeal with all natural gluten-free/nut-free chocolate granola + 100% whole grain cereal + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + loads of White Chocolate Wonderful/Biscoff spread, topped with cinnamon roll protein cream + 100% clean chocolate sauce + an extra dash of unsweetened almond milk.

11/23/12 - Dessert/Snack: clean chocolate almond brownie microwave cake topped with peanut butter + cinnamon roll protein cream/frosting + banana slices + Christmas sprinkles! + strawberry sauce + chocolate granola, on top of small chopped apples + whole grain cereal + a bit of light Cool Whip (I’m addicted) + homemade gingerbread almond milk "ice cream".

11/24/12 - Breakfast: holy cow were these amazing! And SO healthy, too!

100% clean snickerdoodle (inspired by Chocolate Covered Katie!) protein pancakes layered with Biscoff spread + chocolate protein cream + banana slices + pumpkin flax granola, all topped with cinnamon sugar (cinnamon + PureVia) + light maple syrup + gingerbread sauce.

{Recipe is coming soon for those curious!}

11/24/12 - Dinner: can you say POWERMEAL?!

I decided to make my family a super delicious and healthy homemade dinner!

Mini lean beef (93/7) hamburgers/Salisbury steaks in sautéed mushrooms (in a mushroom/onion cream) with Skinny Taste's INCREDIBLE baked eggplant sticks/”fries” (spicy-fied!), and mashed cauliflower “potatoes”. I had my “fries” with a side of marinara, my "burgers" on top of some fresh spinach, and a microwaved sweet potato with diced garlic & onion tomatoes + plain Greek yogurt + feta!

This was delicious x100000000. I'll probably make it all over again soon!

11/24/12 - Snack: popcorn. And loads of it! Hehe.

I had some air-popped mixed with some of this.

11/25/12 - Breakfast: post-workout OIAJ!

Super thick & fluffy pumpkin protein/egg white oatmeal with a bit of natural chocolate granola + healthy cereal (and a sprinkle of caramel Cheerios) + banana slices + slivered almonds + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + a bit of Dark Chocolate Dreams + clean chocolate sauce + an extra dash of unsweetened almond milk, inside a nearly-empty White Chocolate Wonderful jar.

11/25/12 - Dessert/Snack: healthy gingerbread microwave cake layered with Biscoff spread & peanut butter + cinnamon roll protein cream, on top of small chopped apples + healthy cereals + homemade almond milk "ice cream", all topped with clean chocolate sauce & healthy strawberry sauce.

11/26/12 - Breakfast: strawberry "cream pie" egg white/protein oatmeal with some healthy cereals + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + Biscoff spread + prepared vanilla pudding + slivered almonds + shredded coconut + clean chocolate sauce (added after the picture... It made it look ugly, haha) + an extra dash of unsweetened almond milk.

11/26/12 - ...Dinner? Snack?: my snack-ish dinner thing for my first day at work... Haha. It held me over, though, which is good! I love hard-boiled eggs. My first day working at Rite Aid was Monday, and all I had to do was watch horrible CBT videos (there is a total of 18 freaking videos, 10-40 minutes EACH!!!! HELL!). But, since I get paid for watching them, it technically counts as my first day! Haha.

And, normally, I’d use the opportunity of missing dinner time to restrict and skip dinner overall, but that's not me anymore.

Proud.

P.S. I finally got a name tag and it makes me feel so official!!

Third time job's a charm, I guess!

11/27/12 - Breakfast: "Phish Food"-inspired (By Ben & Jerry's!) protein egg white oatmeal!

Chocolate protein oats with caramel Cheerios + mini marshmallows + chocolate Goldfish + a bit of Biscoff & regular PB (I can never eat oatmeal without PB! Haha) + caramel Greek yogurt + an extra splash of unsweetened almond milk! SO delicious!

11/27/12 - Dessert/Snack: microwave clean/healthy fluffy pumpkin-nut mug cake stuffed with peanut butter + chocolate protein cream + banana slices, on top of small chopped apples + healthy cereals + homemade chocolate protein almond milk "ice cream", alllll topped with healthy chocolate & strawberry sauce! Oh, and just a litttttle plop of Fluff... Delicious is (or was?) a complete understatement.

11/28/12 - Breakfast: definitely one of those “looks gross but tastes incredible” bowls, haha.

Fluffy chocolate protein egg white oatmeal with healthy cereal + banana slices + slivered almonds + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon roll protein cream + an extra dash of unsweetened almond milk, all inside a nearly-empty super creamy peanut butter jar. SO delicious.

Workout {Picture} of the Week:

(Can I make that a thing for now? It's a thing.)

The rest of my workouts can be found here!

P.S. Look forward to seeing my brand new theme coming soon! 

The Best Cinnamon Pumpkin Pancakes

So, tonight, I made breakfast-for-dinner for my family. Which, on its own, makes for a fabulous dinner any day!
But, while I made them plain & chocolate pancakes (from box mix) with a side of cheesy eggs, this is what I made myself:

Cinnamon pumpkin spice pancakes with a beautiful egg white scramble.

Now, I've made pumpkin pancakes lots of times before tonight... But, they've always seemed to come out either super small, or super thin... almond under-cooked. (Not that they were bad necessarily, they just weren't as enjoyable as an actual pancake should be!)

I don't really know what I did differently tonight... But I'm glad I did it!

Low Calorie, Super Healthy Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Ingredients (serves 1):

DRY:

2 tbsp dry oats (I used old fashioned)

1.5 tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

small dash of salt

a few generous dashes of cinnamon

dash of pumpkin pie spice

a generous dash of nutmeg

1 packet of Stevia

sprinkle of brown sugar

WET:

2 generous tbsp pure canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)

1 egg white

splash of almond milk (about 1-2 tbsp total, just eye-ball it)

1 tbsp plain Greek yogurt (optional, but I'd definitely add in a spoonful of some type of yogurt!)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, any which way and any order you please.

Heat your skillet or pan to a medium to high heat.

Spray or grease it so the pancakes don't stick. (Do NOT forget to do this step! They might stick horribly if you do!)

Once mixed through thoroughly, add in a spoonful of your pancake mix. Let cook until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip. Make sure to not flip too early, or too quick, so your pancakes stay in one beautiful piece!

Once done, serve with whatever toppings you want, and enjoy your plate-of-fall!  I must say, immediately topped with Biscoff spread (so it melts), banana slices, granola, maple syrup and cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice made for a sinfully healthy and delicious meal!

P.S. If you're worried about calories, the pancakes themselves should equal out to about 110 calories more or less, with both healthy carbs and proteins!

Enjoy!

What I Ate Wednesday #20 - Goal Accomplished!

I bet you're all wondering why this week's WIAW title has "goal accomplished!" in the title...
Well, that's because I accomplished my goal of changing up some of my meals! I even experimented a lot, which was also something I really wanted to do!

9/12/12 - Dinner: made breakfast for dinner for my family!    I made them chocolate chip pancakes with cheesy eggs, then made myself "brownie" batter protein pancakes topped with Biscoff spread & White Chocolate Wonderful, banana & strawberry slices, pumpkin flax granola, a drizzle of maple syrup & cinnamon, and an egg white (with some yolk)! Oh, and some DELICIOUS cinnamon apple spice tea with almond milk & extra cinnamon on the side!

This was incredible... I can't wait to make breakfast for dinner again this week! 

9/13/12 - Breakfast: used a full serving of oatmeal for breakfast again! Yay!

Chocolate protein egg white oats with pumpkin flax granola + a few Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares (as usual!) + banana slices + a spoonful or two of plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + Biscoff spread.

9/13/12 - Lunch: literally one of the best sandwiches I've had in my entire life.

I'm honestly really proud of myself for this quick and delicious lunch. I've been SO wanting and craving this sandwich, but the... calorie content... has stopped me from having it. But, I realize how dumb that is, and how I really need to recover from my old habits... So, I challenged myself and had exactly what I wanted!

Warm pumpkin spice bread with Biscoff spread & White Chocolate Wonderful, banana slices, cinnamon and plain Greek yogurt, with an odd side of exactly what I was craving -- some grilled chicken & apple slices!

If you've never purchased Pepperidge Farm's limited edition pumpkin spice bread... Go get it. Now.

9/14/12 - Breakfast: pumpkin spice protein egg white oatmeal (a full serving again! AND with lots of pumpkin! ☺) with pumpkin flax granola + Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + Omega-3 creamy peanut butter & Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter.

9/15/12 - Breakfast: this was 'effin scrumptious.

Pumpkin spice & banana omelet with a mini "baked" sweet potato! All topped with banana slices + pumpkin flax granola + cinnamon & a dash of pumpkin pie spice + White Chocolate Wonderful & Biscoff spread + chocolate protein "sauce" + a few slivered almonds... Exactly what I wanted, full of nutrients & completely clean, filling, and a perfect rest day breakfast!

Another look at Saturday's morning beauty.

9/15/12 - Dinner: yep. This was dinner on Saturday!  Exactly what I've been wanting forever, too.

My McDonald's favorites -- chicken selects & grilled chicken and bacon ranch salad (with my own homemade plain Greek yogurt + ranch powder instead of their nasty greasy kind, haha).

'Eff you, disordered thoughts and habits! Moderation > deprivation... forever! 

9/16/12 - Breakfast: OVERFLOWIN’ OIAJ POST-WORKOUT? HECK YES!

Since I'm trying to stray away from my old habits (like you all know), I decided to use a normal serving of oats with pumpkin and egg whites mixed in... And it made so much that I couldn't fit it all in the jar. Haha. I ate some of the extra, but gave my dad some too (and he loved it!! Yay for getting him to eat healthy! Haha). I tried, though! I promise!! 

But, anyways, this is pumpkin spice protein egg white oatmeal with the best oatmeal raisin granola (180 calories per 1/2 cup... AND all natural? Yes please!!) & some pumpkin flax granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + some melted peanut buttahssss... All inside a nearly-empty and completely delicious Biscoff spread jar!

Freakin' perfect!

9/16/12 - Dinner:  (I couldn't quite finish every bit of this, but I got most of it down!)

Huuuuge salad (because the soup is SUPER low on calories) and lots of homemade chicken soup... In our old fall dishes! Hehe. The salad contained a fresh spinach, artisan lettuce and iceberg lettuce mixture, with corn, carrots, peas, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, some leftover baked chicken, yellow peppers, pickles, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese with a dressing of (a drizzle of) hot sauce and salsa + plain Greek yogurt. Deeeeeeee-licious!

One of the best parts of fall & winter: momma's homemade chicken soup! She even made me my own pot since I didn't want too many macaronis.  She's so lovely!

9/17/12 - Breakfast: I had another post-workout breakfast of OIAJ! The best.

Chocolate almond protein egg white oatmeal with oatmeal raisin & pumpkin flax granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + a few slivered almonds + melted Biscoff spread inside a nearly-empty White Chocolate Wonderful jar.

 (OIAJ are such a common occurrence for me because I'm lucky enough to have a family that loves peanut butter as much as I do!)

9/17/12 - Lunch: this lunch was way too pretty too not take a picture of!

I also had a small bowl of corn and peas on the side... I'm veggie-obsessed.

Baked chicken (and some lean turkey slices), microwaved "baked" sweet potato with salsa & plain Greek yogurt, pickle slices, tomatoes & broccoli & carrots! Plain Greek yogurt mixed with ranch powder for dippin' on the side, of course.

9/17/12 - Snack: in honor of National Cupcake Week, I decided to get bakin'! Andddd I made (from scratch/my own recipe!) healthified pumpkin spice cupcakes! Without their (healthy) frosting, they’re about 45 calories each, and they’re about 60-80 each with. They came out delicious, and both of my parents LOVED them!

I love experimenting, I love food, and I love successful recipes!

(Recipe should be comin' soon!)

9/17/12 - Snack: aside from my pumpkin muffin, this was my evening/nighttime snack, instead of  a gigantic bowl of popcorn and Chex Mix! As much as I love that combination, I've had it nearly every. single. night for months, and I definitely feel like I've been eating WAY too much of it. It's hindering some progress for sure, and I know for a fact I rely on it too much. (I also know it's a big reason to why I eat less throughout the day (to mentally "save calories" for nighttime). So, I decided to only have it a few days a week, or at least every other day! (... Yay for changing things up even more! )

This snack consists of a ginger gold apple, sliced with melted Biscoff spread and White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, and a pear sliced, with some steamed fresh broccoli and carrots with butter spray and seasoned & garlic salt!

9/18/12 - Breakfast: this... was freakin' Heaven. PERFECT start to my school week!

Out of a basically empty Marshmallow Fluff/Creme jar: pumpkin spice protein egg white oatmeal with oatmeal raisin & pumpkin flax granolas + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + one of my pumpkin cupcakes + melted Biscoff spread.

9/19/12 - Breakfast: first time doing tea-infused oatmeal... DEFINITELY doing again soon!

Chocolate peppermint protein egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + banana slices + plain Greek yogurt + melted White Chocolate Wonderful + a leftover healthy pumpkin cupcake + a sprinkle of cinnamon & Stevia! (Oh, and a sprinkle of a broken peppermint just for looks and to represent the peppermint in the oatmeal. Hehe.) All inside my new mason jar!

Click here for my weekly workoutz!

P.S. Sorry for going MIA for the week! I haven't worked (apparently Aeropostale doesn't get much business off-season...), but I've still been quite busy with workouts, school and homework, and just life in general! Not too much has happened, but I did go driving with my favorite teacher/my driving teacher again on Thursday! I did really good (well, he said I did, at least!), and I'm proud of myself because I've been too "scared" to drive lately, and I did it for almost two hours! It felt great. 

What I Ate Wednesday #19

This will be my first full week of senior year... STILL SO WEIRD!

But, anyways! It's Wednesday again, which means it's time for another weekly eats post!

It's been feeling A LOT like fall lately. I freakin' LOVE it!

9/6/12 - Breakfast: chocolate almond protein egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + a few pieces of chocolate cereal + banana slices + a bit of plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + some slivered almonds + a dollop of Biscoff cookie spread & White Chocolate Wonderful!

9/7/12 - Breakfast: this oatmeal is probably my new current favorite.

Pumpkin cookie protein egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + a few Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares + some banana slices + a bit of plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + some Biscoff spread & Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter... 

9/7/12 - Snack(?): I don't even like coffee, but after school, I made my mom take me to WaWa to get their pumpkin spice coffee... Haha. I didn't drink much of it (I TRIED to like it... I added my usual tea sweetening things, but I couldn't drink it...)

9/8/12 - Breakfast: delicious sweet omelet!

Pumpkin banana omelet with some pumpkin flax granola + a few Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares + banana slices + melted Biscoff spread inside, and a 100% whole wheat sandwich thin half with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter + pumpkin flax granola + cinnamon, and half with Biscoff spread + banana slices + cinnamon.

9/8/12 - Lunch: ALDI GOT SWEET POTATOES AGAIN! I missed my savory stuffed sweet potatoes!!

Loads and loads of vegetables (with plain Greek yogurt + ranch powder to dip) and a savory stuffed sweet potato.

9/9/12 - Breakfast: the best  post-workout healthy power breakfast ever!

Pumpkin protein cookie egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + cereals + baby banana slices! + a bit of plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + melted Biscoff spread... All inside a nearly empty Cinnamon Raisin Swirl jar! With pumpkin spice protein green tea on the side. Mmmmm.

9/10/12 - Breakfast: I finally got some all natural unsweetened cocoa powder this past weekend! Yay! 

Chocolate covered strawberry & banana protein egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + some cereals + banana slices & strawberries + a bit of plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + Biscoff spread.

9/11/12 - Breakfast: Pumpkin & apple pie/cookie protein egg white oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola + a few squares of Cinnamon Toast Crunch + apple slices + plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + Biscoff spread & a dollop of Dark Chocolate Dreams.

9/12/12 - Breakfast: long story short, I've been struggling a lot lately, and I've unfortunately been falling back into some old habits... But, this morning, I decided today was a day to try harder.

This is the first time I used a full serving of oatmeal in SO long... I've been using 1/4 cup more/less for awhile now, but that's not the serving size. 1/2 cup is. So, that's what I used.

I'm really proud of myself for this, despite the anxiety I got... But, it was DELICIOUS and FILLING, nonetheless! Vanilla pudding egg white oats with pumpkin flax granola + a few Cinnamon Toast Crunch squares + banana & strawberry slices + a bit of plain Greek yogurt + cinnamon + White Chocolate Wonderful!

Where are my workouts, you ask? Never fear... Here they are! 

My goal for the next few weeks is to change up my meals some more! As you can tell, the only meal I really ever change up, is breakfast... Making for pretty dang boring and repetitive WIAW posts! This will be my motivation to get experimental and get cookin'! I guess this means it's time to lurk some WIAWs for more inspiration...