{Review} Luna Bar: Nutz Over Chocolate

Hello Friends!

If you have never read a health blog, this post may be interesting.  If you have read health blogs and wondered what all the fuss about Luna bars is, this post may be even more interesting.  And if you meet either of these qualifications and are a female...even better!

Luna: The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women

I tried these lovely bars by accident.

{WIAW #22} Babysitting Fuel

Hello Friends!

I got the pleasure of hanging out with two 8 month old dolls yesterday!

They are twins and although I've only watched them twice, I think I'm in love. :-)

It's very interesting to see how my day goes when I am with two little ones.

My eating definitely falls to the back burner and I often took a LONG time to eat an item while chasing around the kiddos.  A taste of the future for sure!

The nice gal I babysit for told me to feel free to eat whatever...but I would feel bad eating ALL of their food so I brought some of my own.

{W.I.A.W.} What. I. Ate. Wednesday. 
{Click for more info on WIAW}

{Breakfast} 6am: Peanutbutter and jelly toast + diet dew

{Snack} 10am: Oatmeal Bar (recipe to come!) + delightful coffee with cinnamon bun creamer

Let's Think

Hello Friends!

Who else can't believe that it's Thursday?? 

This week has been a blur...not necessarily because it's been so busy, but just a little tiring on my brain.

Monday was a day filled with stress as I was determined to kick my Chemistry II. class's butt and learn the 3 chapters that my former Chemistry teacher had not taught us.  (Post from the first week of class.)

Source

That's right, my friend and I entered the class this quarter almost 3 chapters behind the rest of the class due to the fact that our last teacher would not move on unless the entire class understood the material.  This tactic was helpful in the short-term, but really ended up hurting us in the long run.

My friend and I tried hard to catch up, really we did. 

Staying after class, getting help in the homework center, thinking about Chemistry non-stop for two weeks.  My friend had been an immense help motivating me and we kept reassuring each other we would get through this as I went home and cried due to the stress of it all and the feeling that I was completely lost. 

I am not used to being the one in the class that doesn't get it.  I'm generally a decent student.  I didn't want Chemistry to beat me.

{WIAW #21} No Judgement Wednesday

Hello Friends!

I had (and still have) no food in the fridge.  Well, no fresh food.   

I had to get creative.  Don't judge.

I did, however, still have the bread and peanutbutter that I took to the farm.  Breakfast was a winner...the rest of the day....

No Judgement WIAW {What. I. Ate. Wednesday.}

{Breakfast}: Peanutbutter toast with grandma jelly.  (Skippy Natural PB is tasty!)  Got some fresh jelly from the farm this weekend. :-)

Also had coffee instead of the usual diet dew because I'm trying to do less carbonation on days that I run due to some side-stitch issues.

Homemade Scotchie Granola Bars

Hello Friends!

Did you know today is the first day of spring? 

It's also my Grandma Rosalie's birthday, which suits her well being a big gardener.   

Happy Birthday Grandma Rose!!

It's super rainy here...isn't April supposed to be the rainy month?
 (*April Showers Bring May Flowers...But What Did the Mayflower Bring?*)

It's weird because the grass actually looks greener just from two days of being all drizzly out.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter or read my sister's birthday post, you might know how excited I am that I made my very first granola bars EVER!  

They actually originated from a monster cookie recipe from Something Swanky, but after the tweaking, it seemed more like a granola than a cookie.

Thus was born...

Homemade Scotchie Granola Bars {Print Recipe}

It's all about Preparation + Country Love

Hello Friends!

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I hung out with the BF and his dad at their family farm this weekend.  It was a much needed escape from everyday life and stress.

The farm is in the middle of Nebraska somewhere.  (I'm not the one driving...I don't pay attention.)

Happy Birthday Sister + Granola Teaser

Hello Friends!

How has your weekend been going? 

I am at the BF's farm typing this post as we speak, looking out over cornfields.  Weird right?

I wanted to take a little time, while the boys are out playing on their new toy, to say  

Happy B-day 

to my lovely sister Courtney on the blog.  

Sister Courtney, Sister Rachel

Get ready for bunches of family photos!!

Her birthday was Thursday and we did the traditional family get-together. 

{Friday Five Foodie Finds #18}

Happy Friday Friends!

Well I was going to run 6 miles this morning.  

Then when my alarm clock went off I convinced myself I should just run after class...and therefore right before work.

We will see how that goes huh?  With warm temps and little time to run a distance that I'm not sure I've ever run before?  Will I make it to work on time to serve the folks coming into the wing-n-beer joint to watch March Maddness?

I suppose that does give me time to do my Friday Five Foodie Finds this morning!

Gotta look on the bright side, right?

Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas by Perry's Plate 
adapted from The Roasted Vegetable

This recipe needs to happen in my kitchen and fast.  I saw it a couple of weeks ago and was drooling the whole week.  So many veggies!!

Get Some Fruit in Your Life

Hello Friends!

In most of my WIAWs I've said that I really need more fruit in my diet.

I eat a banana or apple most days weeks, however I am not a big fan of berries.

Something about the texture bugs me, not to mention the fact that they seem to go bad pretty quickly.  I've also had my fair share of sour fruit so when I am at the grocery store, I don't have the biggest inclination to buy them.

{WIAW #20} Drooling all Day

Good Morning Friends!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far!  

I cannot believe it's Wednesday but I am so excited because I missed out on WIAW last week due to crazy stress and busyness.  (More info on WIAW.)

The food pictured was from a couple of weeks ago when I made my yummy crockpot chili.  I prepared it in the morning and was home all day doing homework and drooling over the smell.  I finally got to enjoy it with the BF and Daddio after a hard Body Pump workout.  So.  Good.

Enjoy and hopefully you can get some foodie ideas!

WIAW {What. I. Ate. Wednesday.}

{Review} Yummy Snack via Attune Foods

Happy Monday Friends!

How is the time change treating you?

My body was completely confused last night when I told it to go to bed at 11 (which felt like 10...) but really I have a weird sleep schedule.  (This is why I NEED my bedtime routine.)

I wanted to share with you a little snack I've been having lately, courtesy of Attune Foods.

Have you heard of this company?  Seriously, check it out.  They are all about quality and wholesome ingredients in a packaged food.  It is possible!

I am definitely a check-the-side-of-the-box gal and I approve the contents of the two items I am sharing with you.

1.  New Morning Organic Cinnamon Grahams

Me and graham crackers...we go way back.  Back to the days where my stomach tolerated milk and I would slather leftover chocolate frosting in between two pieces of graham cracker and dunk it in a glass of cold milk.

Now days I tend to have them at bedtime with my green tea (yes, I still dunk!).

Thankful Thursday

Hello Friends!

I've had another challenging day. 

I have been dealing with a case of the grumpy-everything-is-stupid-and-why-am-I-always-tired syndrome lately.  I mean I didn't even do my WIAW post this week due to my stress causing shooting pains in my stomach last night and I am super bummed!

Let me tell you, SIX hours of Chemistry class/lab today did not help that in the slightest.  Nor did the fact that my last Chemistry teacher did not prepare us for the current class...my friend and I are two and a half chapters behind the rest of the class.  Awesome.

To re-take the last class with a better teacher or to work my booty off and maybe pass this course? 

This is what I have to think about this weekend.  

Or do I?

Keep Moving

Hello Friends!

Running is not always easy or fun for me.

Take today. 

It was abnormally warm today and I have been used to bundling up like crazy to run.  I wore a sweatshirt that I had to awkwardly take off (after taking off my garmin watch and glasses and almost dropping my ipod five times) and tie around my waist.  Needless to say, running with a sweatshirt flapping around your waist is not the most comfortable way to run.

And the wind!  Oh the wind!  I am absolutely positive it was out to get me today.  Taunting me and angling in such a way that it blew right up my left nostril causing an uncomfortablely dry nose and headache. 

I was smart enough to wear a headband that covered my ears, however the wind still snuck right in and pounded on my eardrums.

I will blame the wind, but for some reason I also felt sick to my stomach twice on the run...like looking for a place to lose my breakfast...bleh!
 
And did I mention how I am small so it basically took all of my strength to not get blown over at certain points?

Crockpot Chili

 Hello Friends!

I am a beginner cook.  I am sure most of you have realized this.

I am fascinated by all of these cooking blogs that I follow because each one makes me feel like I know even less about preparing a meal.  (See my Friday Five Foodie Finds for recipes I drool over weekly.)  I've become mesmerized by food photography and cooking from scratch.  And realizing I will never be able to fully cook from scratch.  Or be a totally healthy food maker.  You'd think that would discourage me, however it makes me want to improve and broaden my horizons.

All of this to say that I had a few cooking firsts the other day, of which I am quite proud. 

I made chili for the first time in my entire life.

It seems like a basic dish, however I've yet to attempt it because for some reason it seems to daunting.  Everyone has their own "perfect" recipe.  How could I compete?

Well for my fellow novice chefs out there, chili is pretty easy.  Especially when you get to throw all of the ingredients in a crockpot and let it stew for 8 hours while it fills your house with savory auromatic top notes.

{Friday Five Foodie Finds #17}

 Hello Friends!

How's your day going?  Mine feels busy, but it's all relative right?  TGIF!

I had to get up early this morning to go babysit a cat before I headed out to school.  Yes, babysit a cat.  ;-)  My friend is out enjoying some sweet oceanic views so I get to pretend to be a pet owner for a few days.

Marley-cat and I watched some Full House and then it was off to class.

The hour drive was a very sleepy one.  I had to be there early enough to *doh* pay for a parking ticket and buy some parking passes.  I only have class there on Fridays for now so {thankfully} I don't have to pay for a whole semester.  I felt pretty silly forgetting the fact that at a university, you pay for parking.  Darn you community college for spoiling me!!

My nutrition prep class went well, I didn't feel like I wanted to cry after leaving.  One Friday I learned that I will probably have to leave the state for a year for my internship.  I've lived in Nebraska my whole life and would hate to leave the BF and my fam!

Today we just learned all about taking the Registered Dietician exam as well as certification and maintenance.  200 smackeroos to take the test so I better study up!!

Then it was off to run some errands and have a late lunch of leftover chili + easy mac.  (I'm super excited to share the chili recipe with all you soon!)

And now it's time to blog!

Friday Five Foodie Finds is somewhat of a shout-out to the lovely recipe writers I follow.

There are so many out there but I decide to pick my five favorites that I would like to try to make myself each week.

Fluffy Peanutbutter Banana Cookies by Krissy's Creations

Krissy is one creative gal.  I adore her photography.  Just look at the colors and the dainty pink ribbon against the turquoise placemat with the little peanutbutter chips on the side.... *sigh*  That photo is pretty enough to eat!