Happy Memorial Day Weekend

Hey there!

Unfortunately, with my bad luck, my computer got a virus and is currently near death until I can reinstall Windows, so for now I am writing this post on my phone.

Today was a mommy daughter day! We went for a walk in the rain this morning, got mani/pedis, and ran a couple errands together. It’s nice to spend free time with my mom because I look up to her for advice and things.

I just wanted to say Happy Memorial Day weekend! I guess now its officially summer, my favorite season. Do y’all have any special plans? I don’t, other than I would like to cookout on our patio and have a fire in the fire-pit. Roasted marshmallows anyone? S’mores? Nothing says summer like this:

Summer Vegetable Garden

I planted a vegetable garden. It’s not anything spectacular or labor intensive, just a few summer plants that tend to grow well without much upkeep. I have grown a garden in our back yard the past two summers and it worked out pretty well. This year I planted tomatoes, many varieties of peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers,  mint, parsley, and basil. The only thing I’m worried about is watching out for the resident bunny we have living in our backyard. He is so cute and comes out all the time to nibble on some clover or our pansies. Hopefully he won’t discover my new garden as his next feast!

 

Before Planting…

 

And After…

 

My Favorite Freezer-Friendly Pancakes

Last breakfast recipe for now, I promise.

I am obsessed with this recipe from 100 Days of Real Food for Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes. I always add chocolate chips when I make them. They freeze really well and taste great reheated, so I usually make a big batch and store the extras in the freezer.

Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¾ cups milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 100% pure maple syrup for serving

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) together in a large mixing bowl.

2. Make a well in the center and add the honey, eggs, milk, and oil.

3. Mash the bananas and fold into the batter.

4. heat a pan or griddle to medium heat and cook pancakes.

5. Add chocolate chips to the batter while pancakes are cooking, if desired.

6. Serve with fresh banana slices and maple syrup.

7. Store the rest wrapped individually in parchment paper or aluminum foil and freeze.

The mashed bananas are what make the pancakes naturally sweet and the more ripe, the better

adding wet ingredients to dry

mixed batter ready for the pan

not the most beautifully round pancake, but it works

Chocolaty!

 

yummy

Ready for the freezer!

Make-Ahead Egg Sandwiches

I have been making breakfast recipes this week that I can store or freeze for a quick on-the-go healthy breakfast when I start work. Today I made healthier versions of Egg McMuffin sandwiches that you can freeze and just reheat in the microwave on a hectic morning. I used egg whites instead of whole eggs and 100% whole wheat english muffins. I had to use american cheese slices today because that was all we had in the fridge, but usually I would use cheddar cheese slices because I feel like that is less processed and tastes better, in my opinion. I topped them off with a slice of ham instead of bacon. I calculated that it is about 235 calories for one sandwich. Not bad at all! Here is the Recipe:

Make-Ahead Egg Sandwiches

Recipe adapted from The Yummy Life

Ingredients:

6 whole wheat english muffins

18 Tablespoons egg whites

6 slices cheddar cheese

6 slices ham

salt

pepper

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

2. Toast all english muffins either in a toaster or under a broiler.

3. Spray 6 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray.

 

4. Measure 3 tablespoons of egg whites into each ramekin and season with salt and pepper.

5. Bake the egg whites in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

6. Build 6 sandwiches by layering the egg white, cheese, and ham onto english muffin.

7. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze.

To eat, just reheat sandwich and enjoy!

Homemade Granola

At home I miss the yogurt and granola that was offered at the cafeteria at school. Now that I am home, I can cook again- YAY! So I decided to make my own healthy granola to eat with plain Greek yogurt. The recipe I used has all-natural ingredients and tastes great!

Adapted from Today’s Mama

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
• 1/2 cup raw pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first set of ingredients in a large bowl. Then add the oats, almonds, and pecans. Mix well and spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes to prevent burning. Once baked and cooled, mix in cranberries or other dried fruit of your choice and chocolate chips. Store in a closed container.

Of course there are lots of possibilities of nuts, dried fruits, and other mix-ins to make this recipe your own. I just used what we had on hand in the pantry, but other options would be: chopped walnuts, dried cherries, banana chips, raisins, shredded coconut, or substituting maple syrup for the orange juice.

WIAW: Breakfast Edition

homemade stuffed french toast with whipped cream on top

french toast, eggs, and sautéed spinach and mushrooms from Whole Foods

yogurt, granola, strawberries

 

egg and veggies scramble with peanut butter on a whole wheat english muffin

I love breakfast! It is my favorite meal of the day and I could eat breakfast foods at any time of day, for every meal. As a bonus, I don’t feel guilty consuming the most calories at breakfast!

End of Freshman Year

Finals are over and graded, beach week is complete, and now I am home to work for the summer. Looking back at the purpose of this blog and where I started at the beginning of my first year of college, I have made progress. I accomplished my goal to reverse the “freshman 15” losing around 12 lbs and I managed to find healthy options at college while remaining active to manage stress. I notice a difference in the way some of my old clothes fit and I can run faster more easily. Yet, I still would like to move forward. I still have issues with overeating and eating too many sweets.

My next goal is to be at 120 lbs. by my 20th birthday in July, and part of that accomplishment will hopefully come with my new half marathon training. I really can’t believe that I will no longer be a teenager in a couple months. I feel even more pressure as I grow older to have a boyfriend, and I think it would help if I lost about 10 more pounds. Now I know that that sounds pretty bad and shallow and some may say “but its not all about looks or how skinny a girl is that gets boy’s attention!” and I get that, but at the same time I have to be realistic. Guys do notice a girl based on looks at first glance, and I would have more confidence in myself if I get to what I feel is a more healthy weight for my body type. Its not a bad thing to want to eat healthy and exercise is it!?

Half Marathon Training Plan Link

Today was Tuesday of week 1, so I went on a 3.22 mile run this afternoon. It felt good, but I am definitely out of shape. I am pretty happy with my time, averaging about 9.5 minutes a mile. I’m not really going for speed, more the endurance and distance.