Happy Halloween!!!

I hope your day is going well! If Sandy has made her way into your area, I hope you’re staying safe.

It was one crazy week of weather in Michigan. It got up into the seventies last Wednesday and Thursday…

…which caused a lot of eerie, Halloween-like fog….

…but, unfortunately, it is now back down into the thirties, and we had some lovely sleet yesterday. Yuck yuck yuck.

WIAW by Peas and Crayons

Breakfasts

Well, this week, I have one very fun and new and exciting breakfast to share with you all: Breakfast Quinoa (E, N, D?, GF)!

I whipped this up on a whim Sunday morning, and the results were amaaaaazing. For people who are intolerant or sensitive to oats (like me), this is such a fantastic substitute for a warm bowl of oatmeal. I think I actually like it better than oatmeal!

I’ll post the recipe soon!

I also enjoyed a Pink Ribbon bagel and Panera this morning. The restaurant in town donates an amount of each bagel to Breast Cancer research, so I had no problem ordering a bagel that also supports a good cause!

I hardly ever try flavors outside cinnamon-raisin (or asiago cheese), but this one was really good! It had dried cherries and cranberries in it, and I also tasted a good amount of vanilla and brown sugar. Yum!

Lunches

My mom wasn’t feeling well last Saturday, and in our house, when someone is ill, we make chicken noodle soup!

My dad made a huge batch that we all shared. It was delicious! Yet another recipe I’ll need to post sometime soon, especially since it’s getting chillier out.

At school, I made up a good amount of pasta to eat over the course of the week. To make it, I sauteed a chopped bell pepper with some onion until they were almost soft. To that I added some frozen mixed veggies and let those cook through. I then poured some “light smart” pasta sauce into the pan, added a few spoonfuls of store-bought pesto, and threw in some whole wheat rotini.

Snacks

A week ago, I popped into Panera for something yummy. (Looks like Panera is becoming a Wednesday morning tradition…?) I had a free pastry/treat waiting for me for my birthday (thanks to my Panera card!), so I got this huge Shortbread Cookie, with a green tea + lemonade to wash it down.

I looked online at their menu and ingredients lists beforehand to see which things I was allergic to. Traditional shortbread only has a few ingredients (butter, flour, butter, maybe some vanilla extract, butter, sugar, and more butter), so I knew this cookie would be egg- and nut-free!

Ohhh my goodness, was it amazing. I’m just going to ignore the nutrition facts on this one (did you notice that butter is a major ingredient in it?). It was so crumbly and light, and it tasted a lot like the ones in England that I loved so much.

One of my favorite snacks – I also eat it as a side dish a lot – is roasted sweet potato. It’s so simple, but also filling, tasty, and good for you!

I’ve also been enjoying lots of apples this past week…hooray for fall!

Plus, I finally finished up the candy corn. I love this stuff wayyyyy too much for my own good. Did you know yesterday was National Candy Corn Day?

Dinners

I had an absolutely incredible dinner this past week. Every year, my dad asks for traditional English pasties for his birthday dinner. They are a pain to make time consuming, but soooo worth it in the end. I was on my feet for three hours making six pasties, and my grandma even helped a bit! Whew.

The recipe is actually my great-great-grandmother’s. She brought it from England, so we know it’s pretty authentic! 🙂

Gosh. Just looking at them makes me hungry.

Another dinner I enjoyed this week was pretty simple and healthy: salmon burger + ketchup, mixed veggies, and brown rice + spinach.

Desserts

One of my favorite conversation topics is food (go figure), so quite often, when I’m working at the Writing Center, we get on the subject of food – usually chocolate, frozen yogurt, cakes, etc.

Well this week, I decided to take that one step further and bake up some 2-Ingredient Chocolate Pumpkin Cake Cookies. These treats are a college student’s dream because they’re super simple and cost under $3. Perfect.

Everybody (who likes pumpkin) loved them! 🙂

My dad also asked for lemon cake with lemon frosting for his birthday. To make it so that I could have it, I whipped up a cake from a box mix using a recipe I found a few years ago. I’ll have to post that one as well!

Another dessert I enjoyed this past week was from that frozen yogurt shop again….

….but this time, it was courtesy of my boyfriend, who got me a gift certificate! 🙂 Plus, because it was so warm, we got to enjoy it out on the patio, which was a nice change.

I got raspberry frozen yogurt and topped it with crushed oreos, sprinkles, and hot fudge. After a visiting the shop a few times, I’ve noticed the best way to bring out all of the flavors is actually not to layer chocolate on chocolate on chocolate, but instead start with a base of a different flavor and then add the chocolate! Bam. The science of frozen yogurt.

And while I do love frozen yogurt, sometimes something classic is needed. Well, maybe not needed, but certainly wanted. I really wanted this classic on Sunday night:

An Oreo McFlurry. Yum.

Wow, that was a lot of eats this week!

Workouts October 28-November 3
Sunday: 45 minutes on elliptical
Monday: off
Tuesday: 25 minutes jogging + 20 minutes walking on treadmill
Wednesday: another one of these videos – I’m still sore from the one I did on Saturday!
Thursday: rest
Friday: 25 minutes jogging + 20 minutes walking on treadmill
Saturday: Elliptical + Bob Harper’s Weight Loss Yoga

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In other news, my dog is adorable.

Ok, that’s not really news…I just want to share some more pictures. 🙂 On Saturday, I took her for a long walk and then out twice to play in the leaves. The leaves were a new experience for her, and she loved to run and slide into the piles. Then she’d lose the ball and go on a tail-wagging search for it. It was so cute!

She enjoyed it so much, but she was super tired when we got back inside!

Do you see how her “arm” is all bent up underneath her chin? She fell asleep resting her head on it!

Look at those tired puppy eyes! 🙂

For those of you who are looking for a good movie to break up the monotony of the work/school weeks, I highly recommend Seven Psychopaths. I liked it so much, I went to see it twice this weekend!

While it is super funny, I will warn you: there is a lot of foul language and gore in it. If you’ve seen In Bruges or Burn After Reading, it’s sort of like those.

Anyway, I’m off! Have fun and stay safe if you’re going out Trick or Treating!

Question: What is your favorite food of your heritage?

I’m English, Irish, German, and Dutch. Pasties are definitely high up on the list for me! 🙂

What do you think of my new blog design? I changed up the header and the background. I appreciate any and all feedback! 🙂