Cinnamon Almond Granola

Hey everyone! First, I want to thank all of you for stopping by. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. I hope you're enjoying it and please let me know if you ever have any suggestions.

Today marked the 5 year anniversary of our wedding. 5 years ago today, all of our family and friends gathered together to help us celebrate this wonderful day. Here are a couple of pictures from that day...

So I've been wanting to try a granola recipe. I trying very hard to be more mindful of the foods that I'm putting into my body. I'm trying to cut back on the amount of processed foods that I consume. I know there are a variety of different granolas out there, but I din't like all of the additives that are often found in them. So I looked through a bunch of different blogs and came upon one that sounded good to me. I made this granola this morning and added it to my blueberry and yogurt parfait this morning. This was really good! I'm so glad I made it and plan to make many more in the future. Here's the recipe:

CINNAMON ALMOND GRANOLA
adapted from Lauren's Latest
Servings: 20
Points+: 3

2 c. quick cooking oats
2 1/2 c. multigrain hot cereal
1/2 c. sliced toasted almonds
1 c. unsweetened coconut
1/4 c. light butter
1/3. c. light maple syrup
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats and multigrain cereal with the almonds and coconut. Stir until well blended and set aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, melt the butter in the microwave. Stir in maple syrup and cinnamon. Microwave mixture another 30 seconds or so to be sure all the butter is melted and incorporated with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Stir in vanilla.

Pour the mixture over bowl of cereals and nuts. Stir stir well to coat the cereals and spread out on a large cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

EXERCISE
While I'm still working on my plank hold every day, I'm also keeping up with the structured workouts. Last night, I did Level 1 of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30. Today, I was very happy to get in a 3.5 mile run. The weather was absolutely beautiful with very little humidity. It was a great day for a run! My pace was a little bit slower than it has been, but I was still pretty happy with the run. My HRM said I burned 491 calories. And THAT, I'm VERY happy with!

So long for today...

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was shining bright in the sky all day and it wasn't too hot, but was still warm. The humidty was almost non-exsistent, too. All and all, it was really a perfect weather day. I will take more please! I had a pretty busy day again today. Luckily, I had a meeting in Charleston that I had to go to and I didn't end up being cooped up in the office all day. The last time I went to one of these meetings, they had an amazing spread for breakfast. They had breakfast wraps with different kinds of fillings, scones, cinnamon rolls and fruit cups. As good as everything was last time, I went in today telling myself that I would have some fruit and stop after that. So I went into the meeting. I found my seat and then approached the breakfast table. I had already eaten my blueberry greek yogurt parfait on the way down, so I definitely didn't need any breakfast. I had put a banana in my purse and had my new Tervis water bottle filled with fruit water and my chai tea latte. I was totally prepared. So how did I do? By the time the meeting was over, in addition to the breakfast I had eaten on the way, I had also eaten my banana and one fruit cup. I had finished my latte and I was almost done with my bottle of water. SUCCESS! Pretty proud of myself for today. Those wraps looked so good. Plus, everyone was talking about how delicious the cinnamon rolls were. But my willpower was strong today! Today was a major non-scale victory!

Dinner tonight was Mini Chicken Pot Pies. They were pretty good. I'm really liking the muffin recipes that I have found for dinners. I love how they are the perfect portions so you don't have to worry about eating too much. I made some mac and cheese for TC and Addison and re-heated some green beans for myself. Yum! While I was typing this recipe up for my post, I realized that I didn't add the cheese to it. I had done most of the prep last night and finished it when I came home from work and just forgot to add the cheese in. They were good tonight, but I'm sure the cheese would have added a little something extra to it. I also think a sauce would make these a lot better too. Nothing complicated, but something a little creamy. Here's the recipe:

MINI CHICKEN POT PIES
adapted from Betty Crocker
Servings: 6
Points+: 6

Chicken Mixture:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bit sized pieces
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 c. frozen peas & carrots
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. parsley
1 c. 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese

Baking Mixture:
1/2 c. Bisquick Heart Smart Baking Mix
1/2 c. Egg Beaters
1/2 c. 2% milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In medium skillet sprayed with cooking spray, add onion and chicken broth. Heat until simmering. Add chicken, vegetables, salt, pepper & parsley. Heat until hot, stirring occasionally until almost all liquid is absorbed. Cool 5 minutes, then stir in cheese.

In medium bowl, combine baking mixture ingredients and stir until well combined. Spoon 1 scant tablespoon baking mixture into each muffin cup. Top with 1/4 c. chicken mixture. Spoon another tablespoon of the baking mixture over top of each cup of chicken mixture.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

EXERCISE
So last night, I started a "Plank Proof" challenge. Another blogger is challenging others to see how long the can hold a plank position and progress to longer holds. I'm all about strengthening my core, so I'm on this challenge like white on rice! I started last night with a time of 2 minutes 08 seconds. I will post my results every week for you. I can't wait to see how I improve over time! Tonight, in addition to working on my plank hold, I'm doing some yoga. I haven't decided yet if I'm doing BL or JM yet, but I'm looking forward to the stretch. That is for sure!

So long for today...

Queso Chicken Pasta

Did it rain today where you were? Boy did it ever rain here! Thunder and lightning, the whole nine yards! I think it might still be raining now...But I'm glad. It's nice of Mother Nature to take care of watering my garden for me today. It wasn't looking so hot after a week without any rain or watering, so I'm really hoping the natural rain water will give it a boost. If not, I might have to do something drastic, although I'm not sure what that would have to be, so I guess it's just better if it doesn't come to that!

Dinner tonight was a recipe that I've had pinned for a while now. I also have it on my "To Blog" list. I'm glad I finally got the chance to make it because it was pretty good! TC made a few comments about it, too. So he's either realizing how much I appreciate the positive comments about the new foods that I'm making, or he really did like it. Either one would be good for me. Here's the recipe:

QUESO CHICKEN PASTA
adapted from Evil Shenanigans
Servings: 6
Points+: 9

8 oz pasta, I used rotini
1 c. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced - I didn't use this
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. coriander - I didn't use this either
1 T. flour
1 1/3 c. milk, 2% or higher
1 t. salt
3 T. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
6 oz. 2% colby-jack cheese, divided
1/2 c. diced tomatoes with chiles, drained
2 c. cooked chicken, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, but reduce the cooking time by two minutes.

Heat a medium skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat. Once heated, add the onion, garlic and peppers, if using. Cook until all the vegetable are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander (if usiing) and salt and cook for an additional two minutes, or until you can really smell the spices.

Add the flour and cook for three minutes, stirring constantly, until all the flour has been incorporated into the mixture. Gradually whisk in the milk and stir until smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow it to thicken.

Turn off the heat and add the cream cheese and 4 oz. of the shredded cheese and whisk until melted. Stir in the diced tomatoes.

Pour the pasta into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Stir in the shredded chicken and sauce. Top with the remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pasta is bubbly and the cheese has melted. Let stand five minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

EXERCISE
I'm keeping up with my structured workouts still. I did JM Ripped in 30 - Level 1 tonight. I have to admit that I was pretty sore today after getting back into my strength training again. It's so sad that it doesn't take much time for the body to atrophy a little bit. I guess I should have been doing some pushups or something while I was gone, but that didn't even cross my mind. I guess you live and you learn!

So long for today...

Slow Cooker Ham & Bean Soup

Alright. So today was a better day than yesterday. I was pretty busy today, so that really helped it to go by quicker. I'm hoping the rest of my week goes by just as quickly as the last two have. I think Addison is finally getting over all of the celebrating for her birthday. She was a little sad today when I told her that she wouldn't have another one for almost a year. The next trip we're planning right now is another one to Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend. We still have to figure out a lot of the details for it, but the big things are figured out.

For dinner tonight, I made a variation on Ham & Bean Soup. This is a meal that we ate a good bit growing up. My mom always kept it simple by only adding ham and beans. I decided to try a something a bit different and tried to add some different flavors. It was pretty good. TC even went back for seconds. That tells me that he definitely liked it. Here's the recipe:

SLOW COOKER HAM & BEAN SOUP
Servings: 6
Points+: 6

2 15-oz. cans Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb. ham steak, cubed
1/2 large onion, diced
1 spine celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
3 c. water
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper

Combine all ingredients and cook in slow cooker on low for 4 - 6 hours. If you prefer, you can blend one can of the beans before cooking in order to make the soup a little bit creamier. I also like to add a little bit of horseradish to mine for a little extra kick when I eat it. But it's what ever you prefer.

EXERCISE:
So I'm still trying to find my rhythm with my working out. For some reason, it got pretty out of whack while I was gone. I'm not really sure how since I still worked out every day. I'm blaming it on the lack of strength worktouts, but who really knows why. I've decided that I need to get the rhythm back and to do this, I'm going to stay pretty structured with my workouts for a little while. I'm going back to my roots and sticking with Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 DVD. I will also run on the weekends and include a couple of days of Yoga. But mainly, I will be doing her circuit training during the week. I'm planning to do it like she recommends with one differnt workout per week and progress each week. Hopefully this will help me to get back into the swing of things.

So long for today...

Roasted Butternut Squash

Whew! First day back to work after vacation. I'm so glad that today is over with! Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful to have a job, but I'm trying to figure out a way that I can have an early retirement. Say, 21 years early! I'll let you know what I come up with. It's going to be a busy week again. I have a couple of meetings I have to go to, plus I'm working this Friday. Let's just say, I will be glad when this whole week is over with!

So I was going to make a butternt squash orzo side dish to go with a recent dinner. I even roasted the onions and garlic along with the squash. You see, I had bought this butternut squash a while back and it's been sitting on my counter staring at me ever since. I've tried the whole butter nut squash fries. But those just ended up a mushy mess in the trash. So when I took this out of the oven, I was totally prepared to put everything in the blender with some chicken stock and add it to some cooked orzo pasta. Instead, I decided to try the roasted squash to see how it tasted by itself. Let me tell you, it was pretty good. So I decided to just have the roasted squash as a side by itself. Here's the recipe:

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Servings: 2
Points+: 0

1 whole butternut squash
olive oil spray
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and membrane. Place on baking sheet cut side up. Spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes.

EXERCISE:
So I'm proud to report that I exercised everday while on the cruise. I ran 2 days, did yoga 2 days, did the elliptical one day and took a spinning class one day. Even though I kept my body moving, my muscles just haven't felt right. Even after I did Yoga Meltdown last night, they still didn't feel right. So tonight, I did the Last Chance Workout DVD from the Biggest Loser. It wasn't extremely hard, but I did manage to burn 350 calories in 30 minutes. What is even more important to me, is that my muscles feel so good right now. I guess they just needed some strength work beyond the yoga. I might see how I feel tomorrow and do even more strength. We'll have to wait and see.

So long for today...

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Three years ago today, the greatest blessing I have was given to me. It was that day that Addison was born. She was and still is such a sweet child. We had her birthday party with friends and family yesterday. Today, she decided that she wanted to go to the beach. Since it was her special day, we were happy to oblige! We all had a great time and she definitely wore herself out while we were there!

When I was growing up, my mom used to make ice cream cone cupcakes for us at school every year for our birthday. I decided to carry on the tradition and make them for Addison's class at daycare for tomorrow. They're really not hard to make, and they're so cute. Plus, I'm hoping that the ice cream cone might help them from being to messy for the teachers. Here's the recipe:

ICE CREAM CONE CUPCAKES
adapted from Pillsbury
Servings: 24
Points+: 5

1 boxed cake mix
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 container frosting
Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill ice cream cones 2/3 of the way full with cake batter. Place filled ice cream cones in a 9 x 13 inch cake pan to bake. Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Allow to cool completely. Frost each ice cream cone with frosting and immediately sprinkle sprinkles over top. Enjoy!

EXERCISE:
Since today was Addison's birthday, I didn't want to take the time out to go for a run. I really wanted to enjoy every moment with her that I could. She napped on the way home from the beach, so I didn't get to go while she was napping. So I decided to just stick with my Sunday evening yoga. It was back at it with Jillian's Yoga Meltdown. Even though I enjoyed the yoga on the ship, it was nice to back to the familiarity of Yoga Meltdown!

So long for today...

Strawberry Yogurt Breakfast Parfait

As a child, I loved Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Who am I kidding? I still do? But it doesn't scream healthy. Imagine my excitement when I discovered an Organic cereal that tastes just like Cinnamon Toast Crunch! It's by Cascadian Farms and is called, funny enough, Cinnamon Crunch. Have you ever seen this?:

I highly recommend it if you haven't.

I started eating Greek yogurt for breakfast a couple of months ago. But I always like to add more to it to make it a little filling. I add fruit and I always like to have some kind of crunch as well...enter the Cinnamon Crunch cereal.

When I eat this for breakfast, it sticks with me straight through lunch. What is even better is the whole thing is healthy. Plus, it's absolutely delicious! Sometimes, I will make it with blueberries, but we'll save that for another post. Here's the recipe:

STRAWBERRY YOGURT BREAKFAST PARFAIT
Servings: 1
Points+: 4

1/2 c. FF Plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c. Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Crunch Cereal
4 strawberries, sliced
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
2 packets Splenda

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Ok, so it's not the prettiest thing, but you should still try it. Feel free to change up the cereal or fruit, or you could even use some flavored yogurt if you need to. I'm telling you, this really could be the breakfast of champions!

So long for today...