Can I Get A Side Of Fries With That?

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Of course you can…but check out my new Foodbuzz ad first.  Look, it’s over there →

Spinach & cheese omelet with butternut squash fries...and ketchup

The goal this morning was to be at the gym by 6 AM for some treadmill walking or mindless bike spinning.  I find even when I don’t have morning clients, I love to exercise early.  If the workout gets done first thing, I am so productive throughout the rest of my day.  So, that being said, I rolled out of bed around 6:45 AM and made a huge pot of coffee.  The debate then began: breakfast or gym?  Hunger won, and I put some butternut squash fries in the oven while catching up on email.

Can you believe this whole plate clocked in at under 500 calories?!?  Seemed like a glorious amount of food to me.  I used egg whites, spinach, and the last of my Vegan Gourmet Cheddar cheese for the omelet and baked an entire squash. The stats: 467 calories, 11 grams of fat (21%), 72 grams of carbs (57%), and 29 grams of protein (23%).  This brekkie was a bit higher in carbs, and contained NO almond butter.  I know, what was I thinking?  My plate was beyond delicious, but I’m embarrassed to say I still felt hungry after eating all this food.  So, I poured myself a 2nd mug of coffee.  Not good since my mugs are 16 ounces.  I should have just gone for a spoonful of the good stuff, aka almond butter.

Out of all the breakfasts I’ve had over the past few weeks, nothing has left me more satisfied than a 3/4 cup serving of oat bran with at least 2 TBSP of almond butter…nothing.  Oat bran, we’ll be meeting again soon.

Pudding of the day:

Look how freaking creamy!

Stove-top chocolate Jello-O pudding with cool whip was one of my all-time favorites desserts as a kid.  This is my grown-up healthy version, and it did not disappoint! I followed Chocolate Covered Vegan’s recipe for chocolate mousse here, but added 1/2 cup cooked barley and 2 packets of Stevia. Instead of cool whip, I added a dollop of peanut butter.  This was so satisfying after my salad at lunch, but next time, I will add more cocoa.  I eyeballed it and think I only used about half a TBSP.  Still yum, just needed more chocolate lovin!  Once again, thank you Katie!

Now, for the most exciting part of my day…yes, even more exciting than chocolate mousse if that is possible…

A surprise in my mailbox.

Sweet and thoughtful Polly, whom y’all know I love, sent me what has to be one of the greatest inventions ever – a nut butter mixer!  Polly, I have never seen one of these, and I am so excited to use it as I’m always splashing almond butter oil all over my kitchen counter whenever I open a new jar.  Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant, and you know it will get a lot of use in our house!  Polly, thank you so much for thinking of me, and I love your handwriting.

Just so you know, I did get in an hour of stationary bike riding and some push-ups today.  Also held plank for 2.5 minutes – a new record.  Yay – go core!  I can feel my hamstring healing – please keep sending good thoughts its way!

OK, gotta go watch Lost.

Oh, but before I go I wanted to give a special shout out to Mr. Zesty Cook for all of his technical support.  Heather Eats Almond Butter would be quite pathetic looking without him.  Thanks Zesty!  If you haven’t done so, please stop by his blog for some amazing AND beautiful recipes!

Tagged as: Barley, Breakfast, Butternut Squash, Exercise