So, it turns out there is something to be said for this whole “What I Ate Wedneday” concept. I had a great time posting all of my eats from last Wednesday and, you all seemed to love it. So, here I am again!
The weather here in the Hudson Valley has been beautiful the past few days, so this edition of WIAW is all about the summer! After all, it is just around the corner! I’ve been making an effort to get outdoors for my meals, and of course, we’ve taken advantage of something I could never even dream of doing back in NYC: grilling out! (Okay, the BF grills and I prep everything, watch him and take pictures).
But, let’s begin our WIAW with one of my favorite breakfasts…
The Return of Overnight Oats in a Jar
I’m fairly certain that oatmeal is a staple in the healthy living bloggers community. Kath even has an entire section of her blog devoted to it! Last year, my favorite healthy living bloggers inspired me to try Overnight Oats in a Jar, and I was hooked from the beginning. I love the way the oats, the milk and all of the toppings combine overnight for a creamy, delectable combination. It’s also pretty difficult to mess up, which I appreciate.
My best friend Emily (and largest blog supporter), on the other hand, was not so impressed the first time she tried it. I guess OOIAJ is not for everyone!
For the longest time, I have wanted to purchase mason jars, because I think they are the cutest, most adorable way to serve anything and everything. Seriously, you can put anything in a mason jar, and all of sudden it’s very hip and trendy. So, my first adventure with mason jars was with OOIAJ.
Can’t think of a better way to break in my mason jar!
I created a pumpkin OIIAJ on Monday night with the following ingredients I found in my fridge/pantry:
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup fat free greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup pumpkin
- 1/4 cup dates
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- cinnamon and sugar
Then, I stirred it all together, sealed the jar and awaited my OOIAJ deliciousness.
I can’t wait to open you up- you’re pretty!
This was by far one of the best combos I’ve ever created. This morning, I opened the jar to find that the figs and pumpkin added an extra kick and the greek yogurt created a super-thick consistency. I ate it, while drinking my morning coffee, and it filled me up for a quick trip to the gym.
OOIAJ, coffee and blogs: ready for the gym!
Switching up my Workouts
Since I ran in a couple of 5Ks this weekend, I’ve been taking it easy on the running front. I sweat out 40 minutes on the stairmaster and then got to work on a functional training workout. Why is it that the stairmaster leaves me sweatier than any other workout, including a ten mile run?
Hot, sweaty mess. Sometimes Healthy.
One of my fitness goals this year is to do more functional training workouts, where I’m only using my body and a couple of weights. I love the portability of these workouts and the fact that it’s easy to vary them on a day-to-day basis.
Today, I adapted a workout that I first saw on Iowa Girl Eats’ Friday Favorites (LOVE those posts). It’s a pretty basic countdown workout, but I spiced it up with my 8 minute arms routine.
It was the perfect “exclamation point” on my sweaty workout. I would definitely recommend this full body workout for when you’re stuck at home or on the road. It works everything (arms, butt, thighs, abs, etc.), and the short bursts of cardio keep you on your toes!
That Time of Year Again
Due to the nice weather, and because my job involves writing all day every day, I decided to work at a local Starbucks for a bit this morning/afternoon. It was already 80 degrees out, and as I was about to order my iced coffee, I remembered: It’s that time of year again!
Time for one of the most refreshing summer drinks: Starbuck’s Passion Fruit Iced Tea. The sweetness and fruitiness of the tea never fails to put a little pep in my step. Who needs caffeine? (Okay, clearly I do, since I had already drank my morning coffee).
What more does a girl need on a hot summer day?
The “Morning Bun” also caught my eye, so I nibbled on that as I drank my tea and dug into some work.
Feeling Green
Nice weather also makes me crave fruits and veggies (perhaps it’s my inner-bikini mind), so the rest of my snacks and lunch today were packed with lots of them.
For lunch, as usual, I had a giant salad. The mix included leftovers from Sunday’s crockpot dinner, sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers and cheddar cheese…topped with BBQ sauce and salsa. Perfectly random. Perfectly Sometimes Healthy.
It tasted 5 times better than it looks…one day I shall make a pretty salad.
I’m always in awe of those bloggers that make perfect-looking salads every single day. How do they do it? My salads usually ook like a giant mess, but they taste delicious. I think another one of my healthy-living goals will be to make pretty salads 😉
Late in the afternoon, I put together a plate of snap peas, sun dried tomatoes and creamy pineapple salsa (added greek yogurt to the salsa). I noshed away as I finished up worked for the day and planned our first bbq of the season!
More greens please!
BBQ + Mason Jars
My main goal for dinner was to use the grill AND mason jars as much as possible. So, here’s what we did.
Blackberry Basil Limeade
Another cool thing about living outside of a city is having a GARDEN. Okay, it’s not that big, and I don’t do anything for said garden but watch the flowers and eat the delicious fresh herbs. However, the BF does a great job of managing our little garden.
I pulled some fresh basil, oregano and rosemary from the garden (we also have cilantro, which is incredible). I had it in my head that I was going to make a drink with basil, so I did a bit of creative of thinking about what types of drinks I’d seen with basil in them.
Part of our small but mighty garden, these herbs pack a punch!
Into my mason jars went some sliced cucumbers, 1/2 fresh squeezed lime, 1/4 tbsp basil and the surprise ingredient: frozen blackberries! Didn’t have ice cubes on hand, so I figured these would do the trick, with the added benefit of some fruity flavor. I also added a bit of sugar to sweeten it up.
Something tells me this is going to be gooood.
The end result was a light, yet sweet and refreshing beverage. I’ll definitely be making this again all summer (perhaps adding a bit of vodka every now and then ;-))
Mmmm…cool, crisp, refreshing.
Turkey Burgers
We had some low fat turkey meat in the freezer, so turkey burgers was the obvious way to go. Once again, I reverted to my girl from Iowa Girl Eats for a turkey burger recipe, which I adapted slightly, based on what we had on-hand.
In the mix: 1.3 pounds turkey meat, 6 strips chopped turkey bacon, 3/4 cup panko brad crumbs, 1/4 cup bbq sauce, 1/2 cup lowfat cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup grated parmesan.
Time to get dirty!
I poured it all in a big mixing bowl and dug in with no fear. I used to hate the feeling of raw meat, but the more I cook, the more familiar I have become with the slimy feeling. So proud of myself.
I shaped the turkey into six medium-sized patties and covered ’em up as I prepped the rest of the meal.
Perfect patties!
Grilled Romaine Salad
When I was at Sarah’s bachelorette party a few weeks ago, we had one of the best meals I’ve eaten in a while. Everything from the salad to the bacon chocolate chip cookie that we had for dessert was unique in a very memorable way. It was the first time I’ve ever eaten a grilled romaine salad, and I vowed to have it again as soon as possible.
So, when I announced our plans to BBQ, I told my BF to be prepared to grill up some lettuce! (He looked at me strangely like he does about 10 times a day). I chopped off a couple inches of the romaine from the top and bottom and handed ’em over to the grill master.
Before the lettuce grilled, I brushed the with a homemade dressing. I continued my basil love affair and created a salad dressing from the juice of one lemon, some olive oil and fresh thyme and basil. Put it in a mason jar. Shocking, I know.
Easy homemade dressing: lemon, olive oil, herbs and of course, a mason jar.
I had instructed my BF to grill the lettuce until it was slightly browned, and it took about 5 minutes.
Lettuce on a grill. So crazy.
From there, I chopped it up and added some chopped sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and parmesan. Topped with a bit more of the dressing, and this salad was almost a home run.
Almost a pretty salad!
Next time I may add some blue cheese. Something tells me blue cheese would really take this salad over the top.
After the salad was complete, the BF added our turkey burgers and some corn on the cob to the grill.
And then, he did my favorite thing ever. He toasted the buns. A burger is not a burger without a toasted bun. And that’s a Sometimes Healthy Fact.
The key to my heart is toasted buns!
All together, I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off summer. The BBQ Bacon Cheese Turkey Burgers were flavorful and delicious. I love a good salad, but the Grilled Romaine Salad took it to another level.
And we washed it all down with a Blackberry Basil Limemade!
It doesn’t get much better than this!
But really, the mason jars were the star of the meal ;-).
Popcorn Time
The meal was hearty, but, in this house, we always save room for dessert. We’re reliable like that. Before I met the BF, I had never eaten any popcorn at home that wasn’t microwaved.
He introduced me to Mr. Popcorn Maker…and I haven’t eaten a bag of microwave popcorn since.
I love watching it all cascade down. I’m amazed every time.
I was in the mood for sweet n’ salty, so I added some chocolate chips, raisins, shredded coconut and, of course, S’mores Goldfish. I topped it off with some cinnamon, sugar and salt and poured it into a cute little portion-controlled brown bag.
Popcorn + goldfish = what a perfect combo.
Then, I proceeded to eat the entire bucket, saving none for my hungry BF when he got home from softball. Oops – The Sometimes Healthy stomach cannot be controlled sometimes.
I went to bed feeling very full and satisfied and ended the day in the best way possible: cuddle time with my favorite puppy.
Can you think of a better way to end the day?
So, there you have it. My second WIAW (plus a bonus workout!). I think I’m enjoying this weekly ritual!
Your Turn!
Fave functional training workout? Please feel free to share a link, and I’ll pin to my workout board.
Ever grilled anything weird like romaine lettuce?
What’s your favorite summer drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
So I went to comment on the your oats, and then the lemonade, and then burgers.. until I just finally realized it all looks incredible!! 🙂
..also, thanks for the workout! It looks awesome!
I’m so glad you liked them! It was one of those days where everything turned out like I planned (which rarely happens!) Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I am LOVING the look and sound of that popcorn creation you had goin’ there. WOW…I need to make me of that ASAP!
Yes! I wanted to melt some caramel on top, but I was too lazy to take the extra step. Would have been delicious though 🙂
My mom always gets the morning bun and LOVES it 🙂
Those burgers look fabulous!
This made me hungry! Looks delicious!
Looks like you ate quite well this day!
I have the same issue and haven’t quite perfected the “pretty” salad, though sometimes I get close.
I just found your blog and really like it. It seems like we have some stuff in common too. I’m going to follow with Bloglovin’ and hope you’ll check my blog out too 🙂
xoxo Jackie
somethingaboutthatthing.blogspot.com/
That all looks simply amazing. Such a fun trick for the lettuce! I love any type of lemonade and a good sangria hits the spot 🙂 Oh I also LOVE Trader Joe’s green tea.
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