The Most Important Meal of the Day

I've never been much of a breakfast person because I'd much rather get the extra sleep or take the time to straighten my hair, but this semester has really thrown me off. My class schedule is kind of all over the place and I tend to have class when I would normally have lunch, which forces me to eat lunch much later than I'm used to. A few days into the semester I realized I needed a much more filling breakfast than my usual chocolate caramel GOLEAN Crunchy bar ...my fav!

Lately I've been loving my vanilla yogurt concoction -



-1 sliced banana
-1/2 cup Trader Joe's Organic non-fat French Vanilla Yogurt
-1/4 cup Kashi GOLEAN
-1 tablespoon sliced almonds
-1 tablespoon golden raisins

Eating a legit sit down breakfast is a new thing for me. What are some of your favorite quick and easy things to make for breakfast?

Size Zero

I came across the BBC documentary SuperSlim Me a few days ago. Ironically, I was about to go the gym and ended up watching the whole thing on YouTube. You can find it in six parts, here's the first part -



If you have the time to watch this weekend, go for it. It's interesting to see what happens to someone when she's only consuming 500 calories a day... but I don't think the documentary affected me the way it was intended to. When it was over instead of feeling anger toward the fashion industry and Hollywood I just felt defeated and fat!

For everyone that gets a chance to watch, what do you think?

A Guilt-Free Indulgence

I came across this fudge recipe on Hungry Girl around the holiday's and have made it a few times since. It couldn't be any easier and I totally suggest it next time you have a chocolate craving!

Ingredients:
2 cups canned pure pumpkin
1 box Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies Mix (the 18.3-oz. Family Size box)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin with the brownie mix in a large bowl; stir until smooth (do not add anything else). Spray a small baking pan (8" X 8" work best) with nonstick cooking spray and pour in the mixture. Cook for approximately 35 minutes. The batter will remain very thick and fudgy, and it should look undercooked. Remove from oven. Cover with aluminum foil and let cool in fridge for a couple of hours. Cut into 36 squares and serve.




Hungry Girl suggests spooning in two tablespoons of Better ‘n Peanut Butter after pouring the batter into a baking pan for an extra kick. I typically use whatever low-fat peanut butter I have on hand and swirl it around with a knife but this time I chose not to put in the peanut butter. After the fudge has cooled it's also nice to sprinkle some confectionary sugar on top.

Serving Size: 1 piece (approx. 1.3 oz.)
Calories: 63 (depending on peanut butter/confectionary sugar)
Fat: 1g
Sodium: 56mg
Carbs: 13.5g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 1g

I use up any leftover canned pumpkin by mixing it into yogurt, fat-free CoolWhip, and even Kashi. But don't worry if you don't like the taste of pumpkin, there are no traces of it in the fudge!

The Real Spring Break

For spring break, six of my girlfriends and I went to Laguna Beach. It's not always easy to eat well while on vacation, but everything is OK in moderation. After a week of eating, eating and more eating I thought I would share some of the dishes I had.

Our first night in Laguna we went to Javier's Cantina & Grill Crystal Cove. It was packed which was surprising for a Monday night, and the atmosphere was great. I had the Fajitas de Pescado which was swordfish served on a bead of sautéed chiles, onions and tomatoes. It was served with white rice, black beans, and warm tortillas. The swordfish was cooked perfectly and was a great way to celebrate Amanda's final 22nd birthday fiesta! :)

Sorrento Bar & Grill -- The greatest thing about Sorrento's was the diverse martini selection. I had the Rosemary 'Bricked' Organic Chicken with Santa Barbara Greens. The greens were awesome because they had dried cranberries in them which I'm a little obsessed with. The chicken was really moist but not all that flavorful because I took the skin off. My Pear Pressed Martini was delicious and had a big piece of pineapple floating in it. :)

Sushi Laguna -- I love sushi but unfortunately this roll sounded better on the menu than it actually was. The Mango Salmon Roll was made of mango and salmon (shock), and had some scattered macadamia nuts on top. The chili sauce scattered on top added flavor, but the salmon was kind of gross. Overall the roll was disappointing but the salad was crisp and the ginger dressing was quite tangy.

La Sirena Grill -- This place was a lot more chill than most of the other restaurants we went to and just as good. I had a Blackened Salmon Salad with avocado, tomato, cucumbers, grilled red peppers and papaya salsa. The sweet salsa definitely made the salad.

Another one of my favorite salads of the trip was at Mosaic Bar & Grille at the Montage. The restaurant is located in between the hotels two pools with a phenomenal view of the Pacific. I wish I had taken a picture but the salad had salmon, string beans, asparagus, cherry tomatoes with a delicious and light honey lime vinaigrette. I could have eaten that salad everyday for lunch when hanging out by the pool! In February Spa Montage was voted best in America by USA Today, so you can stop in and get a facial after enjoying your salad.

Mozambique Restaurant & Coastal Lounge -- This place was super fun. They had salsa lessons going on and the sangria had tons of fresh raspberries in it. I had the Black & White Seared Tuna Steak. Sooooo good! The tuna was crusted in sesame seeds with green tomato relish on top and came with baby bok choy and wasabi mashed potatoes. I think this was my favorite meal of the entire trip, and the mustard sauce around the dish went perfectly with the tuna. Such a good meal, if you're ever in Laguna Beach make sure to check it out!


Sprinkles -- This red velvet cupcake was to.die.for. I love almost anything sweet, and this cupcake was amazing. Sprinkles cupcakes are super moist and the cream cheese frosting was perfection. I hate to say it but I loved this cupcake a lot more than any I've had at Magnolia which tend to be denser.

I had a small piece ...mmm

Sophia and Amanda cutting into a Red Velvet

Making healthy choices when on vacation is tough. I love seafood, so for me it's easy to find high protein low-fat dishes to enjoy without feeling deprived. Whenever I order a salad that doesn't come with a choice of dressing I order it on the side to ensure the lettuce isn't swimming in fat. I'm definitely trying to detox after all of last weeks goodness!

I’m not sure when but at some point over the last four years I became addicted to the Food Network. I don’t love to cook but there’s something about watching others cook that I find I seriously interesting – my friends and family can all vouch for this.

In early September 2007 I began to change the way I eat. Between watching countless cooking shows over the years and trying to live a "healthier lifestyle," my outlook on food has changed. I've become much more concious of the choices I make while dining out and preparing food for myself. I've learned that it's all about finding a balance, and I continue to learn more and more each day.

I hope to share my taste and experiences with you through pictures and stories.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to comment on anything that catches your eye!