Mornin’ – TFIG TGIF!
I had a very busy evening last night that included finishing up some cookies for a wedding shower this weekend (loved how they turned out – I will show you on Monday because I think the bride might be reading!) then attended my brother’s last Immersion service at his church.
He has led a worship service on Thursday nights, called Immersion, for people in their 20s for the last four years or so, and the program came to a close last night. It was sad, but also a celebration!
At any rate, I made time for a quick – literally 5 minute – BBQ dinner in between all the madness!
First I boiled some Jennie-O Turkey Brats with a sliced onion and two Corona’s ( 
) until they were cooked through. A couple minutes on a hot, flat-top skillet and they were golden brown. Honestly – I cannot taste the difference between a turkey brat and a real one. The only thing missing is the grease and that, I can surely do without. 
I steamed a bag of fresh broccoli in the microwave,
and warmed some Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans on the stovetop.
It’s a tough job, but some one’s got to do it! 
Ben went the more manly route and created a Beanwurst (beans + bratwurst) and a Bratup (bratwurst + ketchup) for his dinner!
I mean!!! Oh, men.
I woke up to dark, grey skies, but my Mom and I decided to go for our morning walk anyways. We made it back just before the thunder started rumbling, the lightening started flashing and the rain started coming down in SHEETS! We had ourselves an honest to God thunderstorm that’s still raging!
Breakfast reflected the mood, as I had a warm and comforting Egg & Cheese Bagel.
Well, bagel thin, if you want to get technical. 
I just scrambled up some egg whites and hot sauce, then placed them on top of a toasted bagel thin and a slice of cheddar cheese.
LOVE!
Served with a Cultural Revolution Peach Yogurt.
The jury’s still out on this yogurt. My blueberry yogwas soooo tangy and sour, I couldn’t decide if I loved it, or hated it. And I wish it had more protein. I think my final decision will be made with this baby. I’ll let ya’ know!
Today’s lunch is a luxurious three course meal!
Zee appetizer – Cottage Cheese & Cantaloupe.
I just scoop out the melon with a spoon – it is SO much more fun and easy to make it this way. Then you don’t have to fuss with cutting it all up, etc!
I will be filling said ‘loupe with this creamy, cottage cheese. I find that people either love or hate cc – where do you stand? I could eat it every single day!
Zee entree – Spinach Salad.
That’s some torn baby spinach, carrot chips and sliced almonds.
I finally got my greens! 
Zee dessert – Pink Lady Apple!
Basically, when I estimated the calories in my lunch, the ENTIRE thing clocked in for less calories than this sucker – a McDonalds Quarter Pounder with Cheese. SUCKER!!!!!!!! Ahem, excuse me. That just fires me up! In a good way!
In other news, I am almost in a state of panic because I have zero things to do this weekend. How did this happen?! What will I do with myself?!
No matter what, I must make a trip to my local Tropical Sno stand. Do you have one of those where you live? It’s basically a little hut/stand that sells sno cone type desserts, except instead of crunchy ice, it’s basically creamy, melty snow. BOMB!
Have wonderful day guys!
~~~~~
Do you count calories? Why or why not?
I hate cottage cheese, unless it is whipped! I just can’t stand the texture, blech!
I don’t count calories. The only times I have is when I’ve competed in fitness shows, and even then I didn’t count calories, but more protein, carbs, and fat. I don’t like counting – it makes me crazy. I prefer eating what I want, when I want.
it looks to me like you use your slice of cheese as a hole covering in your bagel so your eggs dont fall through! i do the same thing haha! and please tell me youre going to be sitting at your desk scopping your huge cantelope out at work hahaha so funny. i do not count calories. i know the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, so chances are, the cals fit for my lifestyle. i let my body decide. oh, and a p.s. about cottage cheese. when i was abroad in south africa, they had something called smooth cottage cheese, which was essentially cream cheese consistency, with way less fat/cals/etc. i wish i could find it here!
I am not a cottage cheese fan either, like Jessica I hate the texture.
I don’t count calories, I eat what I want but do make sure to get fruit, veggies and other key things in during the day along with some room for treats.
I love cottage cheese! It’s one thing I do miss being vegan
As for coutning calories – no way! I have a calorie awareness but I don’t count cos I used to get very obsessive about it. I’m so much happier not counting
Turkey brats ROCK! They are so legit! I cannot even stomach the porky-beefy-goodness-knows-what-else versions. YUCK.
I love the IDEA of cc in cantaloupe…but every time I try cc, I can’t bring myself to enjoying it. Totally okay with it whipped up though; so it must just be a texture thing??
I don’t count cals, but I do “rough estimate”…I have spent enough years in the nutrition field to know what 100, 200, 300, 1000 calories meals look like
TGIF! Enjoy your well deserved tropical sno!
I generalize my calorie count – so not exact numbers, but close. I just like to know numbers, I guess! And, I eat cottage cheese almost daily – love it! Gotta love the Kalona yogurt – that’s my hometown!!!
I love weekends with no plans!! We don’t have a snow dessert place, though I’ve been to one before and LOVE it. I wish there was one though…
Cottage cheese: LOVE IT! I buy in huge tubs from Sams for $4. Although I love AE better, Sam’s club brand does the job and is like double quanity for only pennies more! Can’t beat that!
Calorie Counting: I wear a body bugg(like from the biggest loser) so I input my food daily so I know exactly what everything is made up of. I’ve had it for about a month and its so funny now as I will be like “no way am I eating that oh so delicious full fat (insert any delicious tasting food that isn’t the best for you) as it will take me (x) of minutes/hours on the treadmill to burn it off!” Can be annoying to peeps around me, oh well!
I don’t count calories but choose to focus on balanced foods instead:)
I love cottage cheese with cantaloupe, but also with fresh pears, and peaches….tried the Teriyaki Fried Rice last night, delish! Thanks for the recipe!
I love cottage cheese. I like to eat mine with peaches. mmmmm! I don’t count calories either, but I have before, I so I feel like I have a pretty good idea. I try to eat lots of veggies and fruits with lean meats and whole grains.
Oooooh cottage cheese makes me gaggy. I always try to like it–every year when summer hits and my friends/family start eating it a lot, I try it. I really want to like it. I have tried it with melon, with black pepper, with veggies dipped in… Can’t get into it! Makes me sad, but I think I’ve given up on it.
Pick up a Juice mag today–there’s a ton of ideas for things to do around DSM this weekend! Also, have you ever read this blog? :
http://dmperspective.com/
I just found it yesterday. Tons of cool ideas on DSM.
Kristin
Thanks for the kudos on my blog, Kristin – it’s always nice to hear when people enjoy reading. Feel free to comment as well.
I’ve just spent a few minutes paging through this blog as well. Good pictures of good food always put a smile on my face (and inspire me to eat better myself). Keep up the good work, Iowa Girl Eats!
I hate those yogurts. I ate 2 and tossed the rest. And the 2 that I tried I couldn’t even finish. Blech.
Good morning…. have you tried Chobana yogurts? They will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! So thick and creamy and no sour taste. I hate plain yogurt and this is soooo nice for greek yogurt.
I love some cottage cheese, but some brands are too runny.
I coun’t points, which is pretty much calories, it’s approx. 1 point per hundred calories, I estimate.
I count because I want to lose 10 pounds and because I don’t want to gain and I find that by watching my calories (tracking) I make much better choices.
Another thing I like to make sure is that I have all colors of the rainbow on my plate most of the time!
TFIG (LOL) TGIF!
I love cottage cheese, but only when it is thicker, I don’t like my cottage cheese too creamy or runny.
I admit it I do count calories. I am trying to shed a few lbs and I count to try and stay round a certain amount of calories. If I go over, not matter, it’s not the end of the world. But I am also in the process of learning more about food and what all I can eat to stay fueld up and what foods serve as empty calories (other than the obvious junk foods) and do nothing for me ( like your mcdonalds comparison).
The elite races of the Hy-Vee triathlon are on Sunday at Raccoon River Park. It’s always fun to watch world-class triathletes in your own back yard!
I’ve always loved cottage cheese! Especially on salad!
Cottage cheese is just as bad as water chestnuts in my book. Gross! I dont’ count calories because I could go a little nutso if I did. After having kids I watch what I eat, but I don’t mind going for the splurge. It’s all a fine balance–such is life!
I have tried to like cottage cheese like so many others on this thread.. Whipped? I might be down for. I will try it.
Yogurt… I LOVE BROWN COW..Vanilla. YUM.. Creamy and dreamy..
Happy Friday!
I love cottage cheese but rarely buy it. As for counting calories, I’ve done Weight Watchers and counted points however I go back and forth lately on the journaling. I try to focus on eating good, organic (as much as I can afford) foods with lots of fruits and vegetables, reading labels, no GM foods, etc. By the way, to the above poster, 1 WW point is roughly 50 calories, not 100; just don’t want you to derail your diet plans:)
The carrot chips look amazing on that spinach salad. Did you make them or buy them? I am a new reader so I am not familiar with them (just in case you’ve mentioned them before:). I’ll have to try it. I get in some ruts with my spinach salad so it’s nice to have a change. I am going to buy some kiwi this weekend and have a strawberry and kiwi salad next week. Love all the food pics!
Thank you Dream Mom!! I appreciate that! Big difference there.
Dawn
I have found carrot chips at grocery stores like Albertsons, but I live on West Coast. They are awesome!
I never count calories. I just make sure to get in all my serving of fruite and veggies each day. It probably would not be a good thing for me to see how many calories I consume in one day….scary!
BTW, I went to Trader Joe’s last night and got SO many goodies! One thing I think you’d like is Super Green Drink Powder. It tastes like berries….so good!
I count weight watchers points because it is comforting to know. I don’t do it as religiously as I did when I lost the most of the weight but I still do it semi-regularly.
Thanks for the link love, sissy! And thanks for being there last night … It means a lot!
I live in Indiana and our local snow cone place is called the Snow Shack. The guys who own it actually paid their way through college with the profits (they went to Indiana University) so we always go there to support them when we can. It’s DELICIOUS! My favorite flavors are rock n roll, sour grape and lime. I just took 5 boys there on Wednesday! YUM.
That brat looks SO GOOD!!! I always go for the turkey ones and you really can’t tell the difference! Same with turkey sausage and turkey bacon. Ok, so you can tell the difference with the bacon but it’s still yummy!
Cottage cheese.. not a fan. It’s a texture thing. Though I do like whipped cottage cheese in my oats.
I grew up on AE cottage cheese, it was on our dinner table every night with some fruit, always on a piece of lettuce.
Which when i was a kid, the lettuce was left on my plate. I miss AE and it has taken me years in California to find a brand that i like.
AE products are one of the things i crave when i come back to visit. I can’t get enough.
Not much on counting calories, buy try the WW way of writing what i eat daily. That seems to work for me.
i could not be a bigger cottage cheese enthusiast… i SERIOUSLY love the stuff. and would love to eat it every single day.
big no on cottage cheese. i think its a texture thing! ksaljfk;dsjf; heebie jeeeeebies.
it seems like you guys get bad tstorms or rain ALL the time! is this a characteristic of Iowa or just the way the weather is this spring/summer?
enjoy your weekend…perhaps you could finish a book and start the next
I love cottage cheese! I went on a little hiatus b/c I ate it too much, but I just had it again for breakfast yesterday and I’m defintely back on track now. Its so weird to have nothing to do on the weekends, but enjoy your free time to just relax!!
Yum. I was just thinking last night that a peach daiquiri tropical sno sounded good. Do you know where they are located in WDM?
That is unbelievable how much you can eat or have a bun with some grease.
I had no idea your brother was the Immersion service leader! I was there! I loved that service so much!
wow. that all looks SO good. i was hungry anyway but now i gotta get up and get something!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE cottage cheese! No one else I know (except my dad) likes it…I love it plain, on salads, mixed with fruit (esp. cantaloupe), mixed with some jelly/jam or with a bit of salad dressing mixed in…or in my oats!!! So many ways to eat it
Love cottage cheese, but not had it for a while, so thank you for reminding me! I have counted calories and points religiously in the past to lose weight, but am much happier now I just eat what I feel like (luckily I love healthy food) and exercise more. Saying that, years of dieting mentality means I always roughly know how many calories I may be consuming!
PS. Tried Pina Colada Oatmeal this week – yum!
Nope – don’t count them anymore. It became too much of an obsession on my part and I used it in an unhealthy manner. Now, I just focus on eating mostly good stuff
So much less stressful! And, I LOVE cottage cheese.
Tropical sno is the shit! Summer between ages 10 and 12 included a tropical sno almost every night. My fave flavors were Tigers Blood and MelonBerry. I like cottage cheese but I think I would be turned off it I ate it every day. It’s something I crave once in awhile, usually on baked potatoes.
I like cottage cheese, but it has to be mixed with an adequate amount of fruit for me to really enjoy it.
I just started counting calories in a sincere attempt to lose the 10-15 lbs that I’ve been carrying around since I had my last baby (who is now 3!). I find that it helps me think about what goes into my mouth, avoid mindless snacking, and make healthier choices.
Tropical sno: Porky Pig flavor is the bomb!
The heat/humidity must bring out those TropicalSno cravings! My sister (who just gave birth to niece #3!) has been craving a VANILLA or “Ghost” TropSno for a good 2 weeks now… I, too, love the Ghost TropSnos and have had many people ask as I leave the stand, “Did you just get plain ice?” Of course not!!
I also love their passion fruit and guava… delish!
I’ve never counted calories and I don’t think I ever will. The only thing I’m checking these days is the amount of fat because of my cholesterol level is so high
Your spinach salad looks so good, I love the shape of your carrots!
I hate cottage cheese! UNLESS it is in lasagna or some sort of pasta dish…I know, it’s weird!
I try not to count calories because I become much to focused on the numbers of things!
i LOVE cottage cheese, i could eat it everyday too.
they have that yogurt here but not the low fat one. the 5% fat one was pretty good!
i love melon juice!:)
Just curious, why don’t you eat Greek yogurt? Have you tried it? It is the BEST, thick, creamy (even 0% fat) and it has WAY more protein than regular yogurt.
Spinach salad I would devour, the cottage cheese I just cannot. I dont know if it’s the texture or what, it just makes me queasy. My bf adores itl.
[...] cup of creamy, cold cottage cheese. I am so shocked by how many people hate cottage cheese! I grew up eating the best stuff from a local dairy, so maybe that’s why I like it so [...]
I tried Cottage Cheese for the *first time (since childhood) and I realize I LOVE IT! And I thought after all these years that it was gloopy, sloopy, grossness. Good thing I give things a second chance!