Full time and fun times

This week was my first week going full time at comso school. I actually like it more than I thought I would. I put in 35 hours this week and it felt wonderful! Normally I would get around 15. Graduation here I come! I am a lot less busy now- more people come in the evenings and weekends to get their hair done than mornings and daytime during the week. This has given me a lot of time to catch up on working on my mannequin. I’m finally getting faster and better at my finger waves. I love these. So beautiful.

I was also given the opportunity to go to a shellac class where we learned design shellac- in about two weeks I will be able to do it on clients! It’s so wonderful to have polish that lasts.

My ‘design roller set’.

I have been working out at 6am before school which I have also really been enjoying. It feels great to have my workout done so early. We were supposed to walk on parallel bars with dips at the end. We do not have any parallel bars so we had to come up with our own substitute.

Friday night Tim and I went out for a few drinks with a few friends. Check out my hot date.

Found out I do not like green olive martinis. Blech.

Timmy enjoying his splurge…

Brickhouse= amazing! Bacon wrapped chicken with some creamy delicious sauce. MMM.

Matt met us out and had on some stylin socks from Mr. Mike. Dancing naked ladies… Yes!

The Sun and The Sea was playin at Marley’s so we decided to check them out. Good tunes!

Now on to get ready for a 20 mile bike ride with some fellow CrossFitters. Great start to a gorgeous Sunday!

Feast #3 recipes + salad

Alllllrrrrrriiight. Time to post Tim’s Feast #3′s recipes. I was in St. Louis all day and still had to run to the store when I got home so I didn’t have much time to cook, so I made him a little something today. Here are Monday’s recipes (THIS post):

Paleo Cauliflower Rice and Acorn Squash

I made this a little different than the recipe. I did not add beef into the cauli rice (store was sold out) and I was dissapointed. I could tell it would have been WAY better with it! I also kept the roasted squash separate from the rice. Short on time = less assembly. Of course, even though I made it differently, it was still very tasty! I enjoy variety in my veggies and this provided it!

Buffalo Chicken and Sweet Potato Meatza

This was Tim’s special request for the week. Boy did he make a good decision! This is packed with protein and its yummy! Quick and easy to make. Highly recommended.

I also stuck some broccoli in the oven while my squash baked. I tossed it in some oil, garlic, salt, and pepper before roasting. MMM.

I almost forgot! I made Lauren some Coffee Cocoa Muffins for her birthday. I left out the chocolate chips and put in about 1/2 bar of 70% dark chocolate. They were yummy!  A little dry (probably due to lack of fat from the chocolate), but they hit the spot.

Today I made a version of the Avocado Cilantro Chicken Salad. Tim has been asking for a salad and this sounded delish. As you can see in the photo below, I used a few different veggies (carrots, mushrooms, celery, peppers,tomatoes). I will also be using the spinach/spring mix in addition to the veggies and chicken. I will most likely add in a little bit of olive oil on the salad as well. The Avocado “dressing” is very refreshing.

On my way to work this morning (at 4:45am woo woo) I saw the firs hibiscus of the season has bloomed! Yay! I have two big plants outside and they are so beautiful in the summer.

Last thing. Bernie is so cute. hah. I thought he looked funny laying in between my legs. Such a sweet little guy.

An interesting day…

What a day today has been! Before I gab on and on about my day here are the recipes I have been promising from April 16th’s post!

Cajun Mini Meatloaf

These were SO juicy and delicious! MMMM. I had to limit how quickly I ate these because it is very easy to eat more than 2!

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

Say that five times! This was Tim’s favorite. This was creamy, pasta-like and had lots of depth in the flavor department. This recipe made a big batch. It’s great for leftovers!

Supreme Egg Loaf

This was mighty tasty, mighty portable and mighty mmmmmmm. Having food pre-made for breakfast makes things SO much easier. MAKE THIS.

Okay enough about that. Worked out this morning with a few gals. We did an upper body dynamic day- I love upper body! Maybe that’s why my lower body is lacking…

I worked on ring dips today. Last time I worked on them I felt like I couldn’t do them very well if I would go pretty deep into the dip. I practiced today and was able to strongly push out of the bottom of the dip. Thank god. Now I am not as scared to work on that muscle up again. I know I can get up, but can I dip out? I think so.

Later I went ‘shopping’ (is it REALLY considered shopping here?) with Caroline and found this AWESOME shirt (not only is it awesome, but we have a joke with it, which makes it even funnier)!

Bobobobo be bobo be bobo bo-bo-bo-bo-bo (is anyone else catching on?)

I also found some nice polish (summery, yay!) and a cute top that I think I might wear when I go celebrate Liana and Caroline’s graduation at ISU! I’m thinking some white shorts would look cute with this. I never would have thought I would be buying a shirt that will show my belly again… I don’t think I have worn a belly shirt since early high school!

Oh and I almost forgot! Two new pairs of WOD shorts. I hope these fit me well… I tried them on but sometimes you don’t know until you really wear them. I like these because not only are they good running shorts, but they are great for squatting, lunging, and doing other spread leg, bent hip/knee movements. Hah. I don’t have to worry about annoying shorts in the way or showing things I don’t want to! Oh and an extra bonus… Long enough to cover the bum! I tell ya… Shorts these days!

I don’t really spend much money so I am super excited for these things. If it seems like I was a big spender today, you’re kind of correct, BUT I rarely shop- and when I do I am stingy as heck. One last thing. Poor Raggie had some diarrhea today and had a poopy bottom. I gave her a bath which resulted in the following… I <3 her (and Bernie and J)!

Recipes!

[Pale]OMG these recipes were wonderful and easy. Especially the desserts. Wow.

Here is what I made (previous post)…

Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad from TheClothesMaketheGirl.com. How could it NOT be good? I don’t think I have ever had a bad dish of Melissa’s. This totally fixes the craving for some bar food. The heat from the chicken mixed with the cool salad was very pleasing! You must try it. It also does very well with leftovers.

Bacon Sweet Potato Poutine from PaleOMG.com tastes like a savory, old world, wintery, hearty meal. YUM. This hit the spot. I swear my insides turned into something warm and fuzzy when I ate this.

Paleo Spaghetti Breakfast Bake also from PaleOMG.com. This recipe made way more food than I expected. I have tons of leftovers which is *perfect* because I have lots of easy pre-made breakfasts now! Great for those days when I get up at 4am and can’t seem to eat until later.

Caramel Pecan Bars again from PaleOMG.com. Excuse my language please…HOLY CRAP these are soooo good. I don’t even have words to describe these… The texture of the topping with the crust, the sweetness with the slightly saltiness, the I’m almost in a coommmmaaaaa feeling. WOW. Just try them.

Sweet Potato Brownies from… you guessed it, PaleOMG.com! Okay here is a small disclaimer: the recipe calls for some (dairy free, grain free) chocolate chips. I cut the amount in half which is a little better. If you are doing strict Whole9 you may want to cut these out. This is the first baked paleo dessert I have tried that doesn’t require the gargantuan amount of a nut flour (or any for that matter) so I was a little skeptical. Well have I been missing out! these are ultra cake like and fulfilling. Usually I really overeat paleo desserts but this one I didn’t because it is so satisfying. Thanks for introducing me to these Lauryn!

ENJOY!!

Yum, YUM!

Tonight I made three different dishes and they all came out great, so I wanted to share.

Here is the food I will be using in my cooking:

Some of it prepped…

Below is a Paleo Pad Thai from The Clothes Make the Girl.

I HIGHLY recommend this! It tastes just like Pad Thai… nutty, creamy and satisfying. I quadrupled the recipe so I have plenty left over to get me through the week.

This is a Red Cabbage and Leek dish (with a bit of added bacon – bacon I found at food fantasies with NO sugar!). This is a great side to some steak. It has a nice crunch and a bit of sweetness. The bacon give it a nice salty/sweet contrast.

Finally, I made another type of chicken, breaded with pork rinds. Not the best nutritionally, but it helps keep me on track when I have cravings. Very tasty! Be careful of the high sodium.

The finished product:

Enjoy!

Fast and easy lunch plus more

I normally don’t have much time to cook, so I am used to whipping up something healthy, quick and easy. Today I didn’t have much in the fridge and didn’t feel like cooking. People always ask what I eat and what I do for meals, so I thought I’d share a typical meal for me. Whole9 approved, minimal salt and easy enough to get other things done at the same time!

I had some organic chicken strips and green beans in the frigde, so I seasoned both and put them in the oven for 30ish minutes at 375.

While the chicken and beans were cooking, I make a tomato sauce to go on my chicken. Sauce makes everything better! Normally I just throw a bunch of things together and adjust as I go, but today I decided to write it down.

Pickle relish?! Yes. It added a nice tang to it. Sorry for the lack of measurements. Again, I just throw things in.

The finished product! A healthy, easy, fast, Whole9, satisfying, tasty lunch plus leftovers!