I worked out when I woke up this morning!

The alarm went off at 5:15, I was out the door walking with my Mom at 5:30, and running my little heart out by 5:55. Working out in the humidity of the am = sweating profusely while trying to get ready. Luckily, Ben snuck the AC down to 75 (75!!!) last night, so it wasn’t as bad as Monday.

Besides, by the time I was ready to make breakfast, there was actually a cool breeze outside so I flung open the back door of my kitchen and let it fill the house. All the while preparing an ace bowl of Strawberry Banana Oats!

In the mix:

• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 banana (1/2 sliced in while cooking, 1/2 on top)
• vanilla extract
• strawberries
• crunchy roasted flaxseed almond butter

Whenever I don’t make pre-made breakfasts like overnight oats or baked oatmeal, I like to layout the ingredients and items it will take to make breakfast, the night before. It makes the mornings soooo much easier!

I was worried that I wouldn’t like warm strawberries in here (I HATE mushy strawberries!) but they were actually so sweet & delicious, and gave a little strawberry flavor to the oats! 

Eggcellent combo today.

I brought some leftover Chana Masala for lunch and have a feeling it will be even better than it was last night! Love those dishes that get better and better everyday they sit.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I slightly burned the tomato paste as I was caramelizing it, since I was doing about 15 other things while making dinner, but I think I actually like it that way. There were little chewy bits of tomato paste running through the dish that were just fab.

See those little black specs? Burnt tomato paste. As Forrest Gump would say – it happens.

Do you prefer brown or white rice? I love the shape and specialness of white basmati or jasmine rice, but for everyday use I prefer medium grain brown rice!

Cannot wait!

Oh I also packed a pretty Pink Lady Apple. Super pink, actually!

Random Thursday Musings…

As I was watching reruns of The Hills flipping channels last night, I saw a commercial for the new Real World…set in New Orleans! I actually said “NOOOOO!!” out loud. I love that place!

Looking back over the past couple of days (a perk of having a blog!) I’ve noticed that I’ve been seriously lacking in the VEG department. Sure, I’ve been snacking on carrot chips, etc while cooking, but other than that – my normal, weekly kitchen sink salads are nowhere to be found! This must be remedied tonight… Do you make it a point to keep track of your daily fruit/veg intake?

I am happy to report that not only am I not experiencing day later syndrome this week, I’m actually experiencing day earlier syndrome, As in, I keep thinking that it’s a day earlier than it really is. Sweet! TGIAF!

Do me a favor and check out my friend Brian’s blog - Blue Sky High. It’s follows his, and his gorgeous wife’s, epic adventures while living in Northern California. Prepare to turn green… (with envy)

Have a great day!

~~~~~

What can you not WAIT for this summer?

I’m looking forward to a girl’s trip to Dallas and the sweet corn festival in Adel, IA!