Death By Spinning and Swiss Cake Rolls

Remember Swiss Cake Rolls?

The little cake roll ups that kids would trade their brand new Trapper Keeper for when you were in grade school? 

The treats that are made with the exact same ingredients as every other pre-packaged cake item but taste SO MUCH BETTER just by being in roll form?

Yeah, you remember those.

I haven't had one of these bad (so bad) boys since high school, but their lovely memory came flooding back when I came across these Brownie Roll Ups on Cookies & Cups!

I think a quick dip in chocolate (or white chocolate??) candy coating or ganache and we would be.in.business.

Another must-make.

 Ok, now let's counteract those cake rolls and talk about spinning.

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The last time (and only other time) I was in a spin class was 2 years ago. I was with my sister and hated it so much that after 20 minutes, I walked out. 

Just right out the front door! In the middle of class!

I hated it SO much.

There are 6 situations in my life when you can expect me to drop the f-bomb:

1. Slamming my finger in the car door.
2. Stumping my toe (like...some stitch-worthy stumping).
3. Slamming my finger in the car door then stumping my toe on the pavement (this has happened).
4. Mile 22.
5. When the line is out the door and around the corner at Sprinkles (who am I kidding, I'll wait).
6. During spin class.

Well, tonight I attended class with a friend of mine and you know what? 

I HATED it. 

But I really loved it too :) It was still a huge challenge for me while I sweated buckets, but I think I have learned to overcome my dislike for certain things (helllooo brussel sprouts) when I know it is benefiting me in the long run. We have growth!

5:30 AM 'Pump tomorrow morning, so I better get some shut eye.

Goodnight!

Zesty Taco Soup & Easter Sweeties

 I have been HANGRY (angry because you're so hungry) all day today!

Well, not really angry (maybe only for the 10 minutes that my stomach was roaring before devouring every meal), but definitely hungry.

My alarm went off at 4:45 AM this morning for 5:30 AM BodyPump, which left me shaky and fatigued. 

It.was.awesome.

After 'Pump, I had about 30 minutes to kill before I needed to hit the showers, so I completed 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical while looking at food on my Pinterest iPhone app. Obsessed.

Breakfast was an exact repeat of yesterday's overnight oats. I just can't get enough!

After a long day at work, I ran by the grocery on my way home to pick up a few items for taco soup. I was feeling a hearty soup for dinner tonight and this fit the bill!

 Super easy, filling, and yummy! 

Zesty Taco Soup

Ingredients (buy organic as much as possible!):

•  1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 10oz can corn kernels, drained
• 1 10oz can pinto beans, drained
• 1 10oz can black beans, drained
• 1 10oz can chili beans 
• 28oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 8 oz can green chiles
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 1oz packet dry Ranch dressing mix

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat.
2. Add onions and turkey to pot and saute until the turkey is cooked halfway through.
3. Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce to a simmer and cover (stirring occasionally). 
5. Simmer for at least 30 minutes on low heat.
6. Serve with cheese, sour cream, chopped avocado, and tortilla chips! ENJOY!

  Ok, enough about soup. Let's talk about sweets. 

Specifically Easter sweets!

I found these cute little buttons on...Pinterest...today and I just HAD to share them. 

Cute, easy, inexpensive little treats! A must-make for sure.

 And what is a holday without cupcakes??

I LOVE coconut, and especially on top of cupcakes...and especially especially during Easterz.

I'll be referring back to my Vanilla Coconut Cupcakes recipe very soon. 

You should too :) 

Unless you are allergic, then please do not.

...or one of those crazies that just doesn't like coconut. 

I don't understand this madness.

What is YOUR favorite Easter (or any holiday) treat??

Now I leave you with Bakerella's cutie patootie Easter Bunny Cake Pops. I mean...how does this even happen?? I admire cake poppers. This is not a talent of mine. Maybe I'll attempt these this year.

Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the skeeters (aka mosquitoes that are HERE even though it's still Spring and definitely not mosquito season yet, but this is Texas so they are here nonetheless...) bite. 

Random Cuteness, Food, and FUN

Let's begin with my random food loves for the day. It started with a Two Degrees Cherry Almond bar. Sticky, crunchy goodness!

After an hour of cardio, I arrived at work and devoured a delicious bowl of overnight oats (1 container Chobani vanilla greek yogurt, 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup almond milk) topped with Wild Squirrel Curious Cocoa-Nut.

Lunch was at Schilleci's to celebrate a coworker's birthday! I dominated this Shrimp Salad, but my favorite part was the hard boiled egg. Delish!

Dinner was the last of the Superfood Salad leftovers that I had in the freezer. Still so yum :)

Ok, so here come the randoms:

Random #1: My new favorite snack...Wasabi Peanuts! YOU HAVE TO TRY THESE. When you bite it, you think you might die from the spiciness, but then it turns salty, then almost sweet..? Amazing.

 Random #2: My new favorite band..FUN! I snagged some last minute tickets to their concert last Tuesday at Warehouse Live and they ROCKED THE HOUSE. Incredible. You must check these guys out!

 A less than stellar iPhone pic of me and the Mr. at FUN....but I still love it :)

Random #3: My future child...

Cuteness.Freaking.Overload.

Random #4: What I fall asleep to almost every night. Love this massive little snuggle bun.

Random #5: An iceberg. Isn't this majestic slash terrifying??? I have taken up a recent hobby of looking at pictures of icebergs on the google machine. I realize this is not normal, and the hubs reminds me of this daily, but I think they are the COOLEST! And scary. And a phenomenon. Who doesn't love a good 'ole phenomenon from time to time?

Happy Monday! I ended my day with a killer BodyPump class before coming home. Back at it again in the AM! 

Goodnight! Love you guys!

Dreaming Cows & Two Degrees

 Look what came in the mail today!

 Of course, I am devoted to my Hungry Bars that I eat every single day, but sometimes I need a change. Enter Two Degrees bars! After opening the box, I immediately dug into the Chocolate Peanut. SO good!

 Can't wait to try the other flavors! These will make the perfect pre-'Pump fuel at dark thirty tomorrow morning :)

 Ok, now on to another product that I tried for the first time today, Dreaming Cow yogurt.

 Attractive packaging? Check!

 All-natural? Check!

Live active cultures? Check!

Siggi's still reigns supreme? CHECK!

I tried Dreaming Cow's plain flavor first, and even though the packaging is practically identical to Siggi's, the yogurt is not. 

After stirring in the weird yellow liquid that was sitting on top (I know some liquid on top of yogurt is normal, but yellow? That was a first) it was runny, lumpy, and tasted rather revolting. It takes a lot for me to bash a food product, but it seems that the people at Nightmare Dreaming Cow may need to go back to the drawing board :( Maybe I got a bad batch?? Not sure.

Sweet dreams! Body Pump again tomorrow morning. After Pump on Tuesday morning and DefineBody this morning, I am SORE! Hopefully I can drag my sore booty out of bed at 4:45 AM again. Goodnight!

Define & Superfood Stir Fry

 Let's backtrack today, beginning with dinner!

 I had a nice amount of leftovers from my lunch at Stir Crazy last Thursday that I decided to freeze for a later date. Is that gross? Well, it was certainly not gross when mixed with a few superfood items for dinner tonight!

...and as always, topped with goat cheese.

The superfood came from a big batch of Superfood Salad that I made last night. You may remember it from this post!

 This made one delicious (and nutritious!) lunch. I think this might be my all time favorite thing to make and eat! Seriously, so good.

Two slices of Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip topped with Chia Charger (now called BeKind Butter??) Manhattan Mud and Wild Squirrel Curious Cocoa-Nut for breakfast! Yum yum.

Ok, now on to a phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. 

Locally, it is called Define, and it.is.amazing. 

I believe Core Fusion is a similiar concept in other locations...?

A sweet friend of mine asked me to join her at Define this past Saturday, and not really knowing what I was in for, I still gladly accepted the invitation. I am always up for changing up my joe shmo routine.

What they teach at Define is basically a hybrid of pilates, yoga, and ballet. Holy smokes. Talk about humbling. It kicked.my.fanny. Is it possible to be obsessed with something after only experiencing it once?  If so, I am. Can't wait to get back into that studio!

Well, I'm off to get some shut eye. 5:30 AM BodyPump is going to come quick!

Goodnight Sleep Tight!

A Sky Diner & Organic Oreos

 There is this place in Dallas called Kathleen's Sky Diner, and it is easily one of my most favorite places on earth.

 Love Reason #1: They bring you complimentary brunch muffins that are big, warm, streusel-topped greatness.

 Love Reason #2: They make the most perfectly poached eggs, topped with the creamiest hollandaise, that they layer on top of freshly sliced chicken and homemade english muffins. They also make insanely delicious roasted potatoes to go on the side. 

Nom freaking nom.

This meal was enjoyed last Sunday morning before heading back to Houston, and I was gloriously stuffed.

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As if the scrumpdidilyumptious brunch menu wasn't enough, they have RIDICULOUS desserts that they always have free samples of in the cute little market (where they sell their goodness...in containers...help) that is adjacent to the restaurant. 

After this amazing meal, we headed over to the market to visually eat our desserts out of the glass bakery case. 

We then decided to REALLY eat samples of their famous Fudge Brownie with Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream and the Fudge Brownie with Cream Cheese Frosting. No words.

 Ok, on to something completely different but still pretty yum...my dinner!

 I whipped up this super simple pasta last night with the help of Emeril's Kicked Up Tomato Pasta Sauce! I'm not a huge fan of jarred sauces, but I was pretty impressed with this one. I'll definitely have to try the other flavors.

Other ingredients included rotini, smoked jalapeno sausage, spinach, chopped jalapenos, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, and peppa. Easy and deeelish!

Bluebell Cookies 'N Cream with crushed Peanut Butter Newman-O's on top for dessert. I am seriously obsessed with these cookies and honestly think that they are better than the original...and WAY better for you. Win-Win.

Happy Almost Friday!

We have big plans to see Train at the rodeo tomorrow night with some very wonderful friends! I LOVE Train and am so excited to finally see them live!!!

Have a lovely night! And eat Newman-O's! They really are life changing :)

Terrific Tillman

This past Saturday, my sweet husband took me on a little one night vacation to Dallas for my birthday.

I developed a LONG list of restaurants that I became obsessed with while living in Dallas (we moved about a year ago...), so we tried to pack in as many as we could in the short time we were there.

Tillman's Roadhouse was stop numero uno for dinner on Saturday night. We began our feast with Truffle Popcorn (!!) and Salmon Ceviche.

I LOVED the flavor of the ceviche, but the texture was a little off putting. I had one bite and unfortunately had to pass on the rest. The Mr., however, loved every bite! :)

I began my meal with a cup of the shrimp bisque, which was insanely good.

For my entree - the Seared Scallops with fried green tomatoes, poblano grits, and a drizzle of baconnaise. 

Help. me.

Chicken fried steak (real steak, not the pounded hamburger shiz) with mashed potatoes and green beans. Also amaze.

For dessert, the Red Velvet Cake with Blood Orange Ice Cream and a toy :)

Who knew sherbert would pair so incredibly well with cake?? Amazing.

I so wanted to polish this lovely block of cream cheese frosting OFF but it just would.not.fit.

Death by blood orange sherbert. Hurts so good.

So thankful for this man. He knows how to take a lady out, that is for sure! Seriously blessed :)

More Dallas eats to come! Have a great night!