Not Better. Just Different.

I’ve been DYING to try Better n’Peanut Butter! I didn’t realize they sold it at TJ’s (SCORE), so I snagged some last week.

I am OBSESSED with nuts butters. No lie. Look at my stash.

I have PB in my morning oats – the Smart Balance. You see, I work at a headquarters for a local grocery store chain and I don’t think they’d appreciate me whipping out the TJ’s nut butter as I eat my breakfast. They don’t realize I never shop at their stores because they’re insanely expensive, and if I’m gonna go big, I’d rather spend that money at TJ’s and Whole Paycheck.

At home I use the Almond Butter and TJ’s PB, and now….Better n’PB! And for the record – it’s not better tasting necessarily (IMO), but it does boast awesome stats:

Serving Size 2 tbsp (32.0 g)

Calories: 100
Calories from Fat:18
Total Fat: 2.0g
Sodium: 190mg
Total Carbohydrates: 13.0g
Sugars: 2.0g

I think the taste lends itself to a….coffee flavor? Am I nuts? (hahaha) It’s not good or bad, just like me – different. Overall I like the stuff, but I’m not giving up my regular nut butters! Especially in the morning with breakfast….they just keep me fuller for longer.

Do you hoard a particular kind of food? Obviously I hoard nut butters, but I always have a huge stash of yogurt in my fridge at all times: Blueberry/Strawberry/Peach Chobani, TJ’s Organic French Vanilla, TJ’s Greek Style Honey (sooooo insanely delish!), just to name a few.

Hope ya’ll have a great weekend! I’m off to visit my friend in Louisville – I’m going to a winery for only the 2nd time in my life. For a girl who doesn’t really like wine, this could be really good – or really, really bad.

Stuffed Peppers

I have wanted to try Stuffed Peppers for a LONG time – so it was perfect timing when I saw a recipe last week in Jenna’s article on Health.com!

First of all, these are super easy. Second, they are CHEAP!

Yum yum yum!

I was very impressed, although I actually got the diced tomatoes with chili peppers. And though I’m sure it could be classified as “mild” to most people, it almost had me in a sweat! Whew! But they were seriously good. Although, a little tricky to eat. I have to admit, I dug into them with my hands in the end. (Do people cut these things up to eat them?) It’s a good thing my co-workers know how much of a classy chick I am.

Aggh – my boyfriend (Wentworth Miller) is guest starring on Law & Order SVU tonight! Super exciting. Anyone else a Prison Break fan? I was so disappointed when they cancelled it. I miss his sexy face.

Happy Hump Day!!

Check out Missy’s Zevia Giveaway!!

BMI and Body Fat

Sorry I’ve been slacking on the posts lately….I feel like I don’t have much to post about, unless you want weekly recaps of my Anatomy class? Nah, I’ll spare ya.

Anywho, today I got my BMI and Body Fat measured at my gym. I’ve never done it before – only the online calculators like this one, and I’ve also had it measured on Wii fit . I was just curious to see how it compared (can you really trust a video game system for your BMI?). Plus, it was free!

They ask you your weight and height, and also how much you exercise (this question was kind of embarrassing to answer….I’d MUCH rather have answered it back, oh….5 months ago?!). Then they use this handheld device. I measured 15.9% body fat and 18.6% BMI. I guess I don’t really know the difference between the two? I know BMI is Body Mass Index, but…I guess I thought that measured your body fat?

It made me feel a little better because I’ve been pretty down on myself for not doing any cardio in the past few months. It seems like everything aggravates my knee. I probably should walk more (and swim….ugh, I wish I could get myself to like it because it’s so good for you!). I know this might not have been entirely accurate, but at least it’s a ball park figure.

Have you ever had your BMI or Body fat measured? I’ve always heard they are better indicators than weight, because of water retention and that sort of thing.

Well, I have my first test this weekend…wish me luck! Oh, and a little update on Teacher Guy – I just don’t think *it’s* there. We’ve been out 4 times…I think I would know by now, right? Of course it stinks (just typed “he stinks,” LOL) because he’s so sweet, cute, and everything I’d want on paper. But that chemistry thing….it’s pretty darn important! Now I just have to find a way to tell him. I won’t succumb to the post-it breakup a la Jack Berger, but is it okay to text that to him?

Check out Cookin Fanatic’s TJ Pumpkin Butter giveaway!

Yellow Squash Casserole

My sister gave me some squash that she had grown, and I happily took it off her hands! I really, really hope to grow some veggies and herbs next year….I just never got around to it this year. Until then, I’ll just steal others’.

I can’t really remember ever eating squash (other than acorn squash, which I had once last fall and LOVED). And I’ve definitely never cooked with the stuff. So I went to my trusty cooking buddy (http://www.allrecipes.com/) and found this recipe for Yellow Squash Casserole.

The ingreds: (I didn’t have milk, so I used non-fat plain greek yogurt, and I always subbed Wheat Thins – generic, ’cause mama is tryin’ to save money! – for Ritz crackers…I LOVE Wheat Thins!!)

My question – how the *&%$ do you cut up a squash like this? I sliced off the skins, but stupidly forgot this has seeds. Do any of you have any good tips? I swear, this is why it takes me so long to cook.

I was a little skeptical about all of this….but it turned out amazing!! (I halved the recipe). I will say, however, that this was too much buttah for me. (Don’t tell Paula, please). I hardly ever eat real butter, so I would definitely half the amount (at least) next time. It doesn’t need it!

Do you ever eat or make squash? I LOVE acorn squash with brown sugar – I need to pick some up soon. And I STILL have not tried spaghetti squash….(I know!).

Check out Healthy Fit Runner’s Giveaway!

And Christy’s Oikos Giveaway!

Independent Woman

Have you lived where you lived now your whole life?

I have. Well, with the exception of college (4 years), when I went to Indiana University (only about an hour and a half away).

I have always been a homebody. When I was little, I couldn’t even spend the night at a friends without coming home! It wasn’t so much that I missed my mom and dad, it was that I loved my home.

Anyway, I’ve always stuck close to “home” – in fact, I live 5 miles from my parents, 4 miles from my oldest sister, and 3 miles from my middle sister! (some people think this is neat….other people thinks it’s…weird).

Yes, we always wear white at family gatherings. Don’t you?

Sometimes I wonder if I am too dependent on my family. Not that that is a bad thing, but I think I am the stereotypical youngest child – my family has always been around to help with decisions, and to just help in general. And that’s great! But sometimes I wonder if I need to be more independent.

Lately I’ve been thinking about moving….not seriously thinking about it (I did just buy my house a year ago!), but wondering if it’s something I might want to do in the next few years. I don’t even know where I would go! I wouldn’t want to go too far, but there are so many great places that aren’t terribly far from where I am now: Louisville (my bestie is there!), Denver (GORGEOUS….though far), Atlanta (warm, and gorgeous!), Tennessee (only driven it through it, but who doesn’t love the accents?), Chicago (know a lot of people there….lots to do), the Carolinas…..

Ah. Who am I kidding? I’ll probably never move. But it is fun to think about…and maybe in a couple of years after I’m done with school (or have a new career, at least!), I will bite the bullet and do it.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?? Mine would be Colorado. Hands down! I’ve only been once, but it’s gorgeous, the people are friendly, and Denver has over 300 days of sunshine a year. MAN! Much better than Indy’s (below):

Thank Heavens for Betty Crocker Contest Winners

After seeing this recipe for Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cookie Treats on Iowa Girl Eat’s and Chandra’s blogs, I had try ‘em for myselfmake them for my family!

Ingreds:

The PB Balls….

Shake it up, baby!

Does it get any better? No.

OH MY HEAVENS. Obviously this were not “healthy” in any way, shape or form – but life is waaaay too short not to have your favorite things. PB and chocolate ARE my favorite things, especially when mixed together. Oooooh la la! Seriously, this is now one of my favorite cookies. Maybe only second to sugar cookies with icing.

What’s your favorite cookie? I also like white chocolate macadamia nut…but I’ve never made them! My favorite (as mentioned above) is a soft sugar cookie with LOTS of icing. YUM.

Check out Kelly’s Near East Giveaway Meal Kit Giveaway!!

Me Gusta Cilantro Y Couscous

New favorite recipe alert!

There are a few things I love SO much that I seek them out in meals/recipes/foods – almond butter, feta cheese, honey mustard, and…cilantro. Oh, cilantro. Te amo.

Oh. And I’ve never made couscous! I think I’ve eaten it before…but I’ve never made it. So I found a recipe for Black Bean and Couscous Salad that included cilantro and couscous – score and score.

The cast:

All the ingreds….

+ couscous….

WOWSA! First of all – who knew a cup of uncooked couscous made, like, a bajillion cups of cooked couscous?! Craziness. But this is seriously amazing. I love everything in it, and it’s very filling because of the beans and fiber. Definitely gonna be repeated in this house!

What’s one ingredient you absolutely could not live without?

P.S. Thanks for all of your “congratulations!” If you can’t tell, I’m just a wee bit excited.

P.S.S. Ya know how I bombed my first Anatomy quiz? Well, long story short, the computer graded it incorrectly and I e-mailed my prof about it. She corrected my quiz and gave me 100% – yahooooo! Fingers crossed for many more 100′s.

Bleh Weekend….GREAT News!

So for various reasons, my weekend was just bleh. Not horrible or bad, just bleh – ya know those weekends? But it was all made up for when (at my parent’s house today for lunch) my 5 year old niece came out carrying this cake:

It says “Congrats Happy Baby.” (huh?) And while many in my family inherited the blond gene, when my niece blurted out, “We’re having a baby!” – we got it!

My sister is preggers!!

Aaaaah, I am so excited. Her kids (my niece and nephew) will be 6 and 4 when the baby is born (April Fool’s Day is her due date!). I obviously LOVE being an aunt – even if I don’t have kiddos of my own, being an aunt is such a close 2nd. Especially to the kiddos of your sisters. AND my sister is the CUTEST pregnant person ever! (And, no, Kristy – I’m not just sayin’ that ’cause I know you’re reading!) She is also one of those people who never, EVER complains about being pregnant. Plus, she’s so dang cute!

So that just goes to show you when you’re having a bad day (or weekend), there is always good news around the corner to pull you out.

Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

MAT Review and a Hit-and-Run

So a couple of months ago, I spent about $800 of my tax money to fix dings, scratches and a cracked front bumper in my car. I plan on having my car for awhile – I still love it! – and I wanted it to be purty again.

Well….we had a good few months, Red! Sadly, I backed into my neighbor’s truck the other night. The GOOD news is that a. he was super understanding and nice, and b. it’s his company truck and they said it doesn’t need to be fixed! (The scratch is only a few inches long).

The BAD news is that my car didn’t fare so well:

Aggggh, such is life. I may or may not get it fixed, depending on how much it is. But I’m so relieved his car is okay!

So today I had my first Muscle Activation Technique Session. It was interesting….he tested my muscles (like, for example, he pushed on my outer leg while I tried to resist) to see how weak/strong they were. Interestingly, he noted right away that my right ankle is weaker than my left (I sprained my right ankle very badly 4 years ago).

I think I’ll give it another go or two – it’s pricey!!! $85/session…YOWSA. But at this point, I’d consider selling organs to get back on the roads again. So here’s hopin’! (I kinda like my kidneys).

I’ll leave you with a video of my ADORABLE nieces, Grace and Clare. Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite joke is “What do three gay horses like to eat?” A. “Hay hay hay!” I know….not very PC but my gay friends love it more than I do. Anywho, I’m doing my part to pass on the joke to Clare.

Check out Missy’s Yoplait Giveaway!

And Quinn’s Favorite Things Giveaway!