Flavor bomb.

YOU GUYS I NEED TO SHARE THESE FLAVORS WITH YOU IMMEDIATELY BEFORE I EXPLODE.

Breakfast

I discovered this flavor combo by accident. Steve's brother Sean was visiting this past weekend, and I realized he had never had Nutella before. WHAT. UNACCEPTABLE. Obviously I immediately dragged everyone to the store to pick some up and then proceeded to eat the whole jar myself. Sean got a bite, relax...

So I was trying to figure out what to eat for breakfast. I chopped up some fresh strawberries, and mixed a spoonful (heaping) of Nutella with half of a TOASTED COCONUT VANILLA oikos greek yogurt.  Come on now. This will blow your mind. It was a light breakfast, albeit a little too sweet for everyday.

Lunch/Dinner

Kale quinoa cakes with avocado. Yes. Steve actually cooked these up, as I got home from work late and was grumpy and lethargic. As I grunted at him slumped over on the counter, he whipped these up and they were amazing. Super healthy, and actually very filling. We cooked up some broccoli and spinach with lemon to eat with it. If you are a vegetarian, this would be a super yummy and filling meal. I was actually craving them the next day, and we had leftovers for lunch, plus some extra! Here is the recipe: http://yummysupper.blogspot.jp/2012/09/quinoa-kale-patties.html

Snack

Here is the ultimate winner winner chicken dinner, the true flavor bomb. I have been drinking these after my workouts for the past few weeks and I can't get enough of them. It almost encourages me to work out more just so I can have one. 

These are the ingredients for a mocha peanut butter smoothie recipe from one of my favorite bloggers. It has some healthy stuff and some not so healthy stuff, but many of my favorite flavor combinations: chocolate, peanut butter, and coffee. 

I never knew what the deal was with putting spinach in smoothies, but you really can't taste it and it adds a lot of great texture. YUM. I already had one this morning and I want another one. Please do yourself a favor and go make one right now. Here is the recipe: http://www.pbfingers.com/2011/12/14/sneaking-in-vegetables/

Workout

Here is a great strength workout that has been my favorite for a couple weeks now. Sometimes I do a half hour of cardio (running or bike) before, or sometimes I incorporate some high intensity cardio in between the strength exercises. Whatever floats your boat. Choose your weight and reps, and I promise you will be sore the next day.

Squats

Bicep curls

Stationary lunges

Shoulder press

Pliet squats

Bent over rows

Walking lunges

Bent over shoulder flies

Single leg deadlifts

Tricep extensions

Squats with calf raises

Hammer curls

Deadlifts

Skull crusher

This weekend will be full of birthday celebrations, psychological evaluations at the clinic, and hopefully amazing music at Summerfest :) Happy eating!

Summer Eats

It's June! And it's sunny in Milwaukee! ANDDDDD we've been able to sit out by the pool a few times :)

My life lately has consisted of: margaritas by the pool, bachelorette parties, frequent hangovers, getting my name on multiple poster proposals for the National Association of School Psychology conference next year, food tours, researching internship sites for next year, snapchats, and grilling. A mix of productivity and ridiculousness it seems.

Summer is wonderful. One of my favorite parts of summer is the light and refreshing meals. My schedule this summer is also pretty flexible since I am only taking one online class and starting to transition a lot of my clients at the clinic. This creates a lot more time to plan meals and come up with creative concoctions in the kitchen.

This post includes a recipe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All yummy and easy to make.

I've been struggling lately to come up with tasty and healthy breakfast options. I saw these mini waffles at the store and decided to try them out for a week.

I just put half of a greek yogurt and some fresh strawberries on top, and it was sweet and filling. I only toasted them for a minute or two..I learned this the hard way one morning when I left them in too long and burned them. I just flipped them over and pretended they tasted good.

For lunch, I made a big portion of these kale soba noodles. I left out the miso (mostly because I didn't have any and our grocery store does not have a very diverse selection) but it was still awesome. Steve liked it too, and it lasted for lunches all week.

It wasn't the prettiest looking dish, but it packed a punch of flavor and was super light. Here's the link to the recipe: http://www.ahouseinthehills.com/ahouseinthehills/2013/4/30/kale-noodle-bowl-with-avocado-miso-dressing.html

Finally, I've been joking with some of my friends that I have been trying to eat "fake" paleo. I've been trying to cut down on carbs and dairy, and eat more lean meats and veggies. This has proven very difficult, mostly due to my ongoing love affair with pasta. Obviously the waffles and yogurt and pasta recipes that I just described clearly depict my struggle with this daunting task. However, the past two weeks I've been doing a pretty good job, and the following dinner was a success.

This was roasted chicken thighs with fennel and lemon. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of adding some of my leftover kale, which soaked up the AWESOME flavor of the juices. But, it was still very tasty and healthy. Steve thought it was great too, and I think we will definitely make this again. It was a pretty cheap and quick option for a weeknight dinner.

Here's the recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/dinner-recipe-roasted-chicken-139854

So, Steve's brother is coming to visit this upcoming week, and I need some ideas for fantastic meals to serve (when we are not exploring restaurants in the area). Any suggestions?

Happy eating, and a happy father's day to my wonderful Pappa, a huge supporter of cooking and other food/beverage-related activities :)