Help Me Pick!

Hey Beautiful Friends!  I'm winding down from a fantabulous weekend and getting ready to brace myself for a new week.  I start grad school again this week with a mind-numbing schedule.  Would anyone like to take Managerial Accounting on Friday evenings for 4 hours?  Please raise your hand.  Oh, wait- I do!!!!  I can't believe that's my schedule, but it's worth it to graduate on time (hopefully)!  You can ask me again in a couple of weeks!

Last night we went to Baby Ben's 3rd Birthday dinner.  I was a bad blogger and forgot my camera.  Highlights of the evening included delicious eats, sitting under the dinner table playing with the birthday boy (his idea, kinda), playing a new baseball/bowling hybrid game we invented, and being directed to go 'right durrrrrr' by a little boy who has developed a St. Louis accent (who remembers Chingy?).  It was a great time for all!

Food Prep
Today I was a food prep maniac because I have school on Tuesday and Friday night this week.  I turned on the oven and roasted 3 huge trays of veggies for the family.  As a reminder, there are only two of us.

I kicked up the broccoli by using some TJ's taco seasoning on it:

I pumped up the brussels sprouts with s&p and chili powder:

I put the finished smellyness into a tupperware for easy access:

I packed up the butternut squash in a separate tupperware with roasted carrots for less stinky food lovin:

For my lunch plate, I broke into all the new goods:

I also had cottage cheese and blueberries to round out the high amount of fiber here with more fiber.  Yum!

My strategy for meal prep is to make the staples (veggies, protein and carbs) and then make a couple of meals combining them so that they are fresh, balanced, and ready to go.  I focus mainly on the hubby's lunches because I am a maniac and prefer to pick my meals out that morning.  This usually gets me through until Wednesday, when I can replenish the supplies and start all over again.  I'm no Martha, but this plan works for me and we save a LOT of money on not having to buy lunch, unless we really want to.
Here is a preview of one of hubby's lunches this week:

Brussels sprouts, roasted broccoli, parmesan cheese potato wedges, and parmesan roasted chicken thighs.

Workouts
Ever since my whine-fest on Friday night, I have been taking it easy on my lower body and adding variety to my workouts.  On Saturday I did a fun bike/elliptical workout and called it good after 30 minutes.  I followed it up with a lot of stretching.
Today I stretched a lot at home, did 20 minutes of bike and let myself run a slow mile to test out my knees and hips.  Some may call it masochistic, but I wanted to see if this would cause pain and I'm happy to report that I was able to go for one mile with very little pain. I decided to stop and not push it, although I felt like I could go longer.  The bright side of this frustration is that I am mixing up my workouts and adding more strength.  I had the pleasure of being trained by my own personal fitness expert.  Today's plan was to make my triceps cry- and they DID!  We did my favorite exercise, skull crushers and 2 more!  I felt so great and accomplished and the frustration I had going into the weekend has disappeared.  Let's hope it continues!

I'll be back tomorrow with a semi-homemade recipe for Meditteranean pizza.  I made it tonight and LOVED it!

For now, I have a question for you.  I'm making cupcakes for my nephew's 3rd kiddie birthday party.  I have decided to make chocolate, vanilla, and 1-2 other flavors.  If you were a pre-schooler, which flavor(s) would you eat?

• Lemon
• Caramel
• Orange
• Strawberry
• Banana chocolate chip
  

Babies are picky and bloggers aren't, so I don't have a good idea of what to make!  I'm staying away from anything with nuts so I don't poison the little guys!  I would love to hear what you have for me!  I need to start experimenting soon!
Hope everyone has a great week!