Perfect Smoothie

To bring back a phrase from my middle school years, it's hot like a mug out there. I walked out the door this morning, and I was instantly bombarded with stifling humidity. It was suprisingly hot out for 7:30 a.m. It's 9 a.m. now and it's already 74°.

When it's this hot, my usual oatmeal doesn't sound very appetizing. That's when I pull out the blender and whip up a smoothie.

In general, I'm not a huge fan of drinking my breakfast. It just doesn't hold me over well. But my coworker suggested the Perfect Smoothie. It sounded kind of weird to me and I wasn't sure my blender could handle fruit with the peels. But I gave it a go. And it wasn't bad! A little tart, so sometimes I use a little orange and a little lemon. It has spinach, which seems to be all the rage. It that scary shade of green thanks to the blueberries and it doesn't take mounds of spinach to make one drink.

I chop up the ingredients the night before and my breakfast is ready in a flash. It holds me over better than the average smoothie, but I need a small mid-morning snack so I'm not starving going into lunch.

See? Not a scary green :)



Do you have a favorite hot-weather breakfast?

Coffee-Break Muffins

These are probably in my top five favorite muffins ever. And if you like coffee-flavored treats, I'm positive they'll be at the top of your list, too. I first made them more than a year ago back when I worked at my last company. Every month we had a staff meeting and each meeting someone was charged with bringing a snack.

I brought these.

In the middle of going over the table of contents for the upcoming issue my boss interrupted himself. "Oh man, these are good."

I made them again for a birthday breakfast at my current company and they were devoured. Since my blueberry muffins didn't go over as well at the last birthday celebration, (might have been because I left out the honey on accident) I made these again.

Not only do they taste great, I have all the ingredients in my pantry. Instant espresso might be a unique ingredient, but other than that, you probably have the ingredients on hand. And considering crappy danish at the grocery store goes for $5 or more, if it's something I can whip up without spending any extra money, I'm in.

Did I mention they are delicious?

Unfortunately the glut of baked goods people brought in today meant not all of muffins were eaten, but my dad seemed more than willing to take them off my hands. It was either that or they'd get tossed. I had one last night— you know.. to make sure I was serving something edible. But that's all I really wanted. I'm not one who can "casually" snack on baked goods.

And these aren't low cal. Sure, you could probably mess it by cutting back on butter.. using some milk.. maybe some unsweetened applesauce. But why mess with perfection?

The recipe for the beauties can be found online straight from the source: Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Wheat Berry Salad with Goat Cheese

I am constantly amazed how many people still think the only way to achieve a steady weight loss is to reduce the carbs you eat in a day. Unless you're diabetic and otherwise directed to do so, I wouldn't see why someone would feel the need to.

Going by what they preach in the Weight Watchers materials, no where does it say to reduce your carb intake. And the Food Pyramid even outlines the health benefits of whole grains including many nutrients, including dietary fiber, several B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate), and minerals including iron magnesium and selenium. I guess B6 vitamins play a key role in metabolism by helping the body release energy from protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

I don't know about anyone else, but I want to help my metabolism along any way I can. I'm not a huge fan most forms of exercise, so if I can torch calories while not exercising I'm all over that.

I personally prefer to take a balanced approach close to the Simply Filling plan. I get most of my carbs from "good" carbs — whole grains and starchy vegetables over white pasta, rice, and bread. And I don't usually have the same whole grain twice in one day.. I like to mix things up.

Today I had brown rice with my lunch and dinner was the Wheat Berry Salad with Goat Cheese. And, for some extra crunch, a few crackers on the side. My version had red onion because I didn't have green onion, but otherwise I followed the recipe.

It has the basic flavors of tabbouleh but added goat cheese and used wheat berries rather than bulgur. I was heartier, but very similar in flavor. I thought it wouldn't be filling, but it was. Probably from the overdose of fiber.

Plus today wasn't a very hungry day. I skipped my morning snack and will probably pass on half of what I had planned for tonight. I did make muffins for a coworker's birthday, though, which means I sampled a little of the batter. I had to make sure I wasn't feeding them something gross, of course.

I'll share the recipe tomorrow — these are definitely worth the calories and always a bit hit.