Better Taste!

So much exciting stuff today; fasten your seatbelts!

Okay, maybe not super exciting by any means; I just feel like it was a good day. I love the feeling of being healthy! Sort of ironic I feel that way today, since I am still fending off a cold, but I guess I just love the feeling of knowing you've eaten fairly well all day; not only healthily, but deliciously.

Started my day with the usual:

Blueberries, instant oats, greek yogurt, all-natural apricot-mango preserves, 1/2 banana, 1/2 slice WW toast, and Kashi H2H Warm Cinnamon. And GMCR Gingerbread coffee, of course!

Have you noticed I haven't been using so much maple syrup?! I am officially cutting back on artificial sweeteners like splenda/aspartame. Not cutting myself off completely, but I think it's fair to say when I douse everything in s.f. maple syrup that is obviously loaded with the stuff, it's a little ridiculous ;)

These blueberries, however, were largely disappointing. My mom bought me some frozen organic blueberries (Thanks mom!) but they just don't compare to the ones we picked ourselves over the summer. Sad realization this was. And they are tiny. I will admit the ones we picked were sort of monstrous, though.

In other news, this marks a whole month free of oat bran. I just haven't been craving something hot like oatmeal in the morning! This is another sad realization. My love will return, I am sure. Especially after peeping THIS amazing recipe from Family Fresh Cooking! Coconut. Chocolate. Oats. Parfait. What could go wrong with that?! Definitely give Marla's blog a peep for more great ideas, too.

Moving on, would you like to meet SaBaay?

While SaBaay warmed herself over the heater while birdwatching, I packed lunch and snacks for the day.

Egg salad, cleverly made last night to include all the veggies I would normally take the time to intricately place on a sandwich, to save both time and the frustration that can sometimes occur when carefully trying to balance oddly-shaped veggies on a sandwich :) Also, cleverly made by sandwiching between lettuce before sandwiching between bread to prevent sogginess of any sort. Hehe...

Also included: the sad last carrot, remaining banana, Total cereal (yes - still have this box. told you I wasn't a fan, but it actually does make a good snack. I like snacking on cereal...) Kashi GoLean crunch bar (that went uneaten) and a Kashi TLC Chewy Pumpkin Pie Bar.

Not very interesting snackage. I also need to go grocery shopping for snacks like crackers and such.

What do you like to bring for snacks, and what is your favorite thing to snack on?

I can too easily fall into the rut of just eating fruit and veggies all day!

Egg Salad consisting of: hardboiled eggs, red pepper, tomato, dill pickle, carrot, chili powder, s&p, and dijonaise. Enjoyed on a WW Sandwich thin with French Onion Laughing Cow & romaine.

Morning classes were good! World regions was a bit of a drag but not too bad, I guess. I've never been a fan of geography and that sort of thing.

What subject(s) have you always/did you always hate?

love?

After Intro to C.J. which ends at 12:15, I had until 2 to run into town ("town" meaning the same I work in - Rutland.Not to be confused with Granville, "town" neighboring where I live that also has Price Chopper) and get some groceries. I guess the good thing about Vermont winters is that you can go grocery shopping, purchase frozen goods, and not worry too much that they'll go bad while they sit in your car for three more hours while you're in class.

Anyways, I mainly wanted to pick up some more frozen salmon and tilapia from WalMart. They have the best deal on frozen, WILD salmon and tilapia - $3.50 for a package of 4-5 filets! Ridic. I'm never in the mood to deal with the ridiculousness that is WalMart shoppers after work, and don't really go into Rutland otherwise. So, it was the perfect opportunity!
Since I was in the plaza I decided to bop into Price Chopper to pick up some goods, too! Check the new finds:

Cannot wait to try this Spelt bread!

I also picked up some WW La Tortilla wraps and a new kind of Sandwich Thins. They didn't have the Ezekiel wraps at this P.Chop.

Also cannot wait to try this! I'm afraid to try the Almond Butter for fear I won't like it but will have to et it anyway - it did cost me $12. Also been eyeing TVP for a while. Anyone wanna give me an idea as to what to do with it?!
Other than that I just grabbed some carrots & red peppers, and applesauce. I'll go grocery shopping this weekend for "real" grocery shopping, haha.
The sweetest little old lady came up to me while I was in checkout and handed me a massive amount of coupons. I was so appreciative! Love saving money...isn't that so sweet? I looked through them, too - none of them are expired and the majority of them are actually for stuff I'll use! Score! She said she just likes to cut them out, haha. It's a good samaritan act I'll have to keep in mind...not a bad idea, right?

I scurried my little booty back to school just in time for my first Photo II class. I'm not sure what to expect out of it, to be honest! I guess I'll find out, though.
We got out early, and I brainstormed all the while home about dinner! I wasn't hungry exactly - it was early yet - but I was psyched to be able to cook a "real" dinner for the first time this week. I decided on a cornmeal-parm-paprika crusted tilapia!

It definitely didn't end this pretty, but did taste this pretty.
Turned out great!

For the Tilapia: Combine equal parts cornmeal, parmesan, and crushed bran/fiber cereal (I used Total) and season to taste with salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Spread out on a paper plate. Take filet and brush both sides with dijonaise. Press into breading mixture, again on both sides. Heat a pan with EVOO, minced garlic, and fresh parsley. Place filets in pan and cook until done.
For the Side: Sautee 1/4c. kidney beans and sugar snap peas - season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. Add in 1/2 French Onion Laughing Cow wedge.

Viola! It was delicious! However next time I will either (a)be more careful flipping it or (b) bake or broil it.
You'll notice I lost most of the coating on that first one on my plate, haha. I pieced it back on while eating and it was outstanding. The peas and beans were good too! I was going back and forth between that and some leftover bulghur from last night but opted for just the peas and beans :) I love kidney beans, so easy to make delicious with anything.
Just enough leftovers for lunch or dinner tomorrow!

Currently nomming on some delicious vanilla-apricot greek fro-yo and a lime-poppyseed quick cookie. Seriously addicted. Aspartame free, I'm allowed! haha. But seriously: if you haven't tried this quick throw-together for greek fro-yo, it's time you did! I'm not sure if the dash of pudding mix is what makes it so creamy or delicious, or if it's just like that naturally...but dang! is it good.

Have a good night, everyone!
Don't forget to leave me your snack and TVP suggestions!