I wish every day could start out like this….

Happy Tuesday all! Is that all, really, it’s only Tuesday…..It feels like it should be AT LEAST Wednesday.  I had the chance to start my day off in a different way today and all I have to say is that I wish EVERY day could start out like this.   This week was my turn to pick up the Farmer’s Market Goodies for work and since everyone is always gone on Fridays, I picked today. 

First though I was a good wife and brought The Husband as Starbuck’s since he had to go into work at 3 AM.  I couldn’t resist getting a Venti Non-Fat Decaf Latte with Caramel Drizzle on top.  It is similar to a caramel macchiato but it has less calories since I leave out the fake tasting sugary vanilla syrup.

Next, it was off to the Tuesday Farmer’s Market….I specifically went to this one because the Bolani Bread boys are there…..but, *gasp* They were NOWHERE to be found.  So bummed!  I still scored some fantastic stuff for the office.

 

White & Yellow Nectarines

White & Yellow Peaches

Pluots

Apricots

Plums

Asian Pears

Strawberries

Blackberries

Grapes

Red & Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

Lemon Pita Chips

Wheat & White Wheat Pita bread

3 types of hummus – Roasted Red Pepper, Artichoke something and Black Bean Chipolte

Cinnamon Roll Bread

Honey Sticks

I couldn’t decide what to get so I got a little of everything.  I did miss out on getting nuts though ~ Eh, oh well!  I made up a sampler plate for breakfast.

The Blackberries are amazingly sweet!

Plus some Fantastic Organic Strawberries!

Crunchy sweet grapes!

Some veggies to round it out  ~ two types or cherry tomatoes

 

Wheat Pita bread with a little sample of each (ALL amazing – The Hummus Guy might be my new favorite!) plus one gigantic lemon pita chip.  Yep, I ate hummus before NOON!

The Cinnamon Roll Bread was hot out of the oven when I got it.  She brought it straight to the market and didn’t even have me close the bags.  So doughy, sweet and good.  I actually went back for another 1/2 piece – YUM!  I cannot even describe how good this bread was even with the big chunks of raw sugar on top!

I will be snacking on all of this all morning ~ such a fun breakfast.  I LOVE sampler plates! 

Quick recap for yesterday & because I need to get back to posting these:

2,769 calories burned

11,705 steps taken!

TODAY’S FUN STUFF:

* Check out these TwitPix Gone Wild ~ so HILARIOUS – click HERE!

* Would you wear these Beauty Trends?  Click HERE to check them out!

* Take your towel & do Yoga on the Beach!! – Click HERE to print out the moves!

* Super cool NOODLE GIFTCARD GIVEAWAY ~ Click HERE to check it out!

I have a ton of stuff to get done today plus I am heading out to lunch with my co-worker who forgot her lunch.  It’s going to be completely hot again today over 100 degrees, but, I will fit in a workout at some point.  I am wishing now I did the 530 am water aerobics!

Have a great day all ~ see you all late this afternoon!

July 4th BBQ Luau Fun!

I think I should have added some greek yogurt to my Amazing Smoothie this morning to have a little protein and staying power.  I was hungry about 2 hours later and decided to not ruin my Luau BBQ appetite.  I snacked on a new to me TJ’s Product ~ Multi-Grain Sesame Pretzel nuggets. 

One 22 piece serving is 2 Weight Watcher Points.

 

They are pretty tasty and slightly addictive.  There is a little hint of toasty sesame seeds but the overall flavor is pretzel.  These would be AMAZING dipped in some Gourmet PB!!!

The luau today was fun!  The President ended up doing all the BBQing along with a few helpers.  But, before I get to the food, let me share a couple of our fun decorations.

Tiki Torches with cute table decorations and BUBBLES!

Fun umbrellas for our drinks!

In Tropical Punch of course ~ The Mai Tai’s will come out later I am sure :D lol…..

 

Tons of FANTASTIC food!  Salads ~ Organic Mixed Greens with snap peas

Sweet 3-Bean Salad

Teriyaki Chicken, Pineapple Chicken Sausage, BBQ Ribs using Annie’s Org BBQ Sauce

 

A new type of Veggie Burger that I NEED to buy!  It tasted like Veggie Egg Rolls with nuts – YUM!

 

Fantastic Grilled Veggies!

Desserts!  Watermelon, July 4th Strawberry Mouse Cake & the BIGGEST cupcakes I’ve ever seen!

I had to try a little bit of everything.  I put my 3-bean salad on top of my organic mixed greens.

Then I loaded up on Grilled Veggies!

With a little meat sampler ~ 1 rib, 1/2 piece chicken and 1/2 a chicken pineapple sausage (which was really awesome but definitely not healthy tasting).  I LOVED seeing the big pieces of pineapple in the sausage.

Plus a slice of juicy watermelon!

I was fairly full/content at this point when the strawberry mouse cake was served up.  It was actually too sweet for me.  I had a bite to try it and then just ate the strawberry middle. :D

 

For our games we just ended up doing trivia questions while everyone worked this morning ~ it was easiest.  I wanted to do more or things that are fun (like a pineapple carving contest or limbo) but you have to go with what the crowd wants, right?!

It was a fun day and I am happily sitting on the couch, blogging and watching the Food Network ~ ahhhhh!  I am not sure what our plans are for tonight, but, for now I am going to work on playing catch up with you all!

Farmer's Market Friday Fun....

Happy Friday all! I cannot believe the weekend is almost here - Yeah! It's just been such a long week with being nonstop on the go ALL week long.

We had fun getting everything last night, but, I have to admit I was completely bummed that they didn't have any strawberries, raspberries or blueberries. There was a boysenberry guy but he wouldn't sample them. I didn't want to buy them unless I knew they were sweet *sigh* Don't people know that is how you get your product to sell? People sample it and if you are like me, you decide at that point you cannot live without it! :)

Are you ready to see the Farmer's Market spread I laid out for everyone to enjoy today?

A gigantic bowl of fruit ~ White & Yellow Nectarines & Peaches, Apricots and Pluots - my favorite!!! They are a cross between an apricot & a plum.



A big bowl of cherries - can you believe I scored this entire bowl for only $9 - It's 5 lbs!



Nuts are a must at any market especially when you have them specially roasted by a farmer.

My favorite ~ Butter Toffee Almonds.



Orange Honey Almonds



Honey Roasted Almonds



And pistachios!



All together this is table #1!



Table #2 is separate because well - it's all my weaknesses LOL! I need to stick to the fruit and nuts :D

Cinnamon Raisin Challah bread



Seeded Honey Raisin Walnut Wheat Bread and 1/2 white & 1/2 wheat hummus dipping bread



Two Types of homemade hummus that are WAY better than Sabra ~ Roasted Garlic & Roasted Red Pepper



Kettle Korn......Once you start, you can't stop - steer clear of this amazing stuff!



I was really hoping that the honey guy would have his flavored sticks but he doesn't make them anymore :( Too bad because they make for fantastic pictures! I settled for regular local honey sticks that are great eaten straight up or drizzles on either of the breads.



All together ~ Table #2!



So that is everything ~ fun right?! Can you see now why I have a Farmer's Market addiction? Every time you go it's different and each market is different too - love that!

For breakfast, I had planned on making a pineapple smoothie topped with Kashi Honey Flax Granola. Then, I realized I forgot my magic bullet. Ok, fine, I'll make a parfait, but, when I opened up my lowfat greek yogurt it smelled like sour cream :( Boooo!

So I decided to change things up a bit and go with the Farmer's Market Friday fruit and nuts I was saving for my morning snack.



I ate the nuts, cherries, bread and a piece of cinnamon raisin challah bread (not pictured). I am saving the nectarine and pluot for my morning snack. Phew - a healthy save - yeah!

Quick recap of yesterday:

Calories burned: 3,068
Steps taken: 13,510

Alright all, I have to finish out my crazy busy week! I am thinking some nice Yoga and stretching is in the works for lunchtime versus spinning......See you all later!

BBQ Fun!

Today has totally been a fun filled Friday! For my morning snack I decided to try out one of the new Weight Watchers Chocolate Walnut Brownie Bars that I picked up last weekend.



When you open it up, it really DOES look just like the box ~ the icing makes it fun to look at.



I typically do not choose the WW bars because they always leave me wanting more and the ingredients are not 100% recognizable/clean. However, I do make some exceptions when the flavor is there and it's a "treat". This bar was pretty tasty - it really does taste just like a brownie with chunks of walnuts and brownies. It does not taste diety at all.

After spending some time chatting with Zesty about my new blog layout (I am soooo excited!), it was BBQ time.

Our worked used Gracie's BBQ to cater our Memorial Day Cookout. They set our breakroom tables up outside with cute table clothes and covers.





I did take pictures of ALL the food but knew you all would be most interested in the dessert table ~ YUM, I definitely saved room, but, more on that in a sec.



Being the "sampler" that I am, I filled my plate with a little of everything, however, I only ate about 1/2 of what you see here.



I started off with my tasty veggie burger topped with cheddar cheese, Annie's Naturals Ketchup and Mustard, tomato, red onion and avocado ~ It was so good!



Then, I nibbled on a little of the grilled chicken breast - it wasn't too bad, a little dry. I had two bites of this along with two bites of green beans, beans/rice and a little of my salad.





I LOVE corn bread especially when it is sweetened with HONEY. I had 1/3 of this so I could save room for my dessert!



I picked up a frosted sugar cookie to try, but, was sort of disappointed. It was iced not frosting. I decided after one bite it wasn't worth the calories and moved on.



This strawberry blueberry fruit pie thingy was amazing! It was so light and fluffy with a white chocolate mousse tasting filling. I ate EVERY bite of this and probably could have licked my plate too :D



After playing a few games and a raflle, they gave us fun little jewelry to take with us.



I thought of taking it out and sporting it for you all in a picture but figured one of our nieces or nephews would enjoy it more!

It was such a nice day outside and it really made the work day fly by. We had so much food leftover that they sent it home with everyone. The good thing is I don't have to cook tonight. The not so good thing - you will probably see the same thing for dinner :)

Don't forget to enter my signed Hungry-Girl Cookbook and T-shirt Giveaway - I made entering easy on you all and you have so many chances to win. Click HERE to Win!