Missing the Cleaning Gene

Hey Guys!  I have to say this was a fabulous Monday and there is a little bit of it left until I get to go to work again!  ((Insert happy face here))!
Thanks for the comments on the spring rolls in my last post.  They are seriously not at all difficult to make and so light and flavorful.  Make them now!

Today I got some cleaning done and straightened up our place after being gone for a week-it was no easy task!  I have to admit that I am pretty crappy at keeping our place clean.  I get a lot of help from the hubby and we share chores but work, school, and everything else really take the place of being Martha Stewart sometimes.  I think I might be missing that wife gene.  Speaking of which, I've been an old married lady for 7 months today!

(One of the blooper pictures because believe me, there were LOTS!  Hubby found a toy and I was not happy)
At least I cook and bake. The highlights of my day included baking brownies:

Marshmallow and white chocolate:

Green sprinkles for my favorite nephew:

Some coffee, cashew, and walnut brownies for my hubby:

One of my favorite things about baking is giving the treats away.  I can't be left alone with sweet treats at all!

In addition to baking and being a wifey, I went to the gym to get my workout on since I swear just smelling the treats added a few extra cals.
The spin class I wanted to take was filled up so I did my own workout and even did my own spin class:

• 20 minutes intervals on the deathmill (stairmill)
• 25 minute spin class
• Stay between 90 and 100 RPMs, alternating levels and doing the 'high' portion at the chorus of each song, approximately 30 seconds of crazy fast and then going back to just normal fast.

• Yoga/balance stretching for 20 minutes

I felt wonderful after and remembered how much I love working out- as bad as it feels when I'm doing the death-machines, I feel like a rockstar after every.single.time.

After my workout I broke into my spring roll leftovers with some dipping sauce and carrot dippers:

I also had an apple with Laughing Cow Light Cheese and almonds:

It was a really filling and flavorful meal, albeit a bit eclectic, but that's how I roll!
I'm off to shower and get ready for my exciting day tomorrow!  Hope your Tuesday is fabulous :)
  
Questions: Do you like to clean?  How do you make yourself clean if you don't like to?
I hate cleaning but music, commercials, and incentives help!

Spring Rolls and Salad

Hey guys!  I hope you are enjoying your Monday.  Today is the calm before the storm.  I've been out on vacation from work and I'm trying to be positive, but I'm sure I won't see the light of day for at least the next four days at work from the piles I'll find myself under.  Oh well- let's enjoy today!

I've got my breakfast for you and a fun lunch I made yesterday!

Breakfast

I sauteed some kale with eggwhites and ate the sweet potato leftovers that have been in my fridge for over a week.  No shame in leftovers- unless it's the week old sandwich my resourceful hubby may attempt to eat today :)
It's not my conventional breakfast in that it's not filled with sugar, but that's kind of the point- more on that some other time.


Spring Rolls and Salad
One of my favorite foods is spring rolls- stuff that little rice paper with anything and I'll eat it!  If it includes cilantro and some peanut sauce, you're in with me!  This weekend I decided to make some since I was back in my kitchen after a bit of a hiatus.  Hubby was glad that I have been away because he got the benefits.

Ingredients (filling)

• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
• Mixed greens
• Pickled ginger
• Broccoli slaw
• Shrimp

Wraps:

• Rice paper wraps from your local Asian grocery store or store aisle 

Sauce:

• I used Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Dressing- you can make your own peanut sauce of your choice

Here is how the process goes:
Take out your rice paper wraps:

The instructions are easy- you'll need to make them workable by dipping them in a bowl of warm water for no more than 30 seconds.  I didn't get a picture because I can't dip and photograph at the same time!

Marinate your shrimp (I used about 2 tsp of the peanut sauce- plenty of flavor):

Set out your fillings:

Place a wrap on your work surface, fill, and roll burrito style:

When you are done, display them however you like with extra dipping sauce:

I also made a salad to go along with these including all of the fillings plus orange slices and sesame seeds:

This is a quick, easy, and affordable meal.  I happened to have all of these items in my kitchen already, but it's a pretty easy recipe once you have all the ingredients- plus no cooking!  If you a veggie friend, use tofu instead and you're good.

I'm off to run some errands and hope that my laundry will fold itself while I do so!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Back and Ready for More

Hey Guys! I hope you are enjoying your Sunday and if the Easter Bunny is making his (or her) way towards your lovely casa, you got lots of chocolately and sparkly things.  If he or she missed your house like mine, then hopefully you are enjoying some fabulous weather!

As I mentioned earlier, I've been off at Vegas and the Grand Canyon for a bit of a Spring Break.  I just finished another quarter in grad school (bleh) and I needed to recharge a little bit with my favorite guy and our friend who is visiting from Australia.  Vegas was Vegas- drinkies, a little gambling, lots of walking, and smoke-filled casinos.  Not to be a party pooper, but two days was plenty for me!  We did enjoy some dancing and drinks at a couple of fabulous clubs that put San Francisco to shame!

Drinks- which leads to Zoolander faces.

 Then we drove out to the Hoover Dam (awesome) and the Grand Canyon after a few days.  We took all the dang pictures we could when we got to the Dam:

Our first day at the Grand Canyon involved a lot of oohs and aaahs!  It was absolutely breathtaking in more ways than one.  One minor detail in my planning is that I didn't realize we would be at 7,000 feet in elevation.  Yours truly lives at sea level- right outside San Francisco.  Add that to descending halfway down the Canyon and then back up made for some HEAVY breathing, but we did it!  I mentioned it before, but being outdoors and being in the gym are two different things.  Doing walking lunges for 2 hours straight? Yeeeooooch!  Here are some views from our hikes:

We did it!

We didn't ride any mules, but I LOVE them so much I was excited when we found some just hanging out!

We also fed some cute squirrels.  I know, that's bad but they were cute!  I was scared when the little bugger ate from my hands!

We also spent some time surrounded by SNOW.  I don't do snow, but poor planning and a total lack of US geography knowledge led to this:

Apparently it snows in Arizona and the warmest clothes we brought were sweatshirts.  Oops!

It was an awesome trip and a great time to recharge my batteries for 6 more months of work and school until our next trip!  As always, I'm ready to be back and to eat my own food, rock my own gym, and sleep in my own bed!  One of the best things about vacations are reviving my goals and jump-starting my healthy lifestyle at home.  I better wash my now red running shoes (thanks Arizona) and get going so I can fill up my fridge with some good Cali eats!

I promise I'll get back to your blogs and comments now!  I appreciate each and every one of you and I hope you'll be around for my next set of boring every day shenanigans!  Till then- see you soon!

Hola from the Grand Canyon

Hey all! I am finally approaching civilization and wanted to stop by
and say hello since I am not hiking the massive canyon or inhaling
smoke in Las Vegas. I have to say that the views have been amazing and
my workouts in the gym have done nothing to prepare me for hiking
uphill for two hours or our 15 mile jaunt today!!

I will be back with regular posting soon! I miss you guys! Tell me
what's new with your lives!

Winner

Hope this doesn't crash my site! I'm on a stanky shuttle in Las Vegas
and have to announce the tea winner- #13 Bridget who shared an awesome
sunburn story!! Please email me at onehealthyapple at gmail dot com!

If this is not a huge fail, I will be checking in- can't guarantee
coherant posting but I'll try!

Sent from my iPhone

How I Kick Off Spring Break

Long are the days when I used to kick off spring break with a margarita and a pile of chips and salsa (although I did kick off Wedding Planning Break with some yummy drinks a few months ago).  These days I start off one week away from school by having a workout and refueling, then having a dessert of Greek yogurt, pomegranate arils, cocoa powder, and Better 'n Peanut Butter.  I've had a long week at work and submitting assignments for school, so I've been doing anything I can to keep up with my health.  Lucky for you, I wanted to share some health with you!

 

Celestial Seasonings has busted out a “natural wellness kit” for you lucky girls and guys! I have been the lucky recipient of some of their wellness teas and I'm loving the Sleepytime Vanilla and the Raspberry Garden Green Tea.  

Want to win the following tea swag in the form of a Celestial Seasonings Natural Wellness Kit?

• Four wellness teas to ease  symptoms associated with the cold and flu including Sleepytime Extra, Echinacea Complete Care and Tummy Mint
• Two green teas to support a healthy immune system year round - Authentic Green Tea and Honey Lemon Ginseng Green Tea
• Mug, soothing lip balm, honey sticks and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Bear and the book “Herbs for Health and Happiness” by Celestial Seasonings founder Mo Siegel and Nancy Burke

Here's how:
1. Leave me a comment telling me your favorite Spring Break memory (tattoo stories, drinking stories, and family vacations are all welcome)!
2. Post this giveaway on Twitter and comment back!
3. Add me to your blogroll and comment back!

Easy as pie!  I'll pick a winner on Sunday night, so please enter by 9:00 PM Eastern Time!

Now spill some Spring Break dirt and let's get ya'll some tea!

Got My Goods

Hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday!  It's crackin over here with work, work, work!  I can't wait for this week to be over because that means that I'll have ahem, finished my papers and completed another quarter at school!

Last night was all about running errands, cranking out some laundry, and catching up with my papers while watching Dancing With the Stars.  Hope that doesn't ruin my street cred.  By the way, was Pam drunk?

Moving on- I made a random deconstructed burrito salad:

Spinach mix and kale topped with carrots, cauli, broc, avocado, sugar snap peas, peach salsa, black refried beans, and pickles..because they made sense at the time.  It felt like I crashed a salad bar but didn't pay $10 like I usually do.

To go along with my salad, I had a snack plate of cheese, small apple, crackers, and my new flax almond butter:

All of the components of my dessert came from my favorite store- Trader Joe's.  You guys know by now that I'm obsessed- completely obsessed with that place because they offer delicious, healthy, non-junky foods.  Rest assured you can still find Pound Plus bars of dark chocolate (I buy them for the hubby once a week) and lots of treats, but I love the simplicity and customer service the store offers.  I also try to tell people that eating healthy should not cost too much, as long as you choose what to splurge and save on.  I have been trying to come up with a list on my favorite products, but there are too many, so I'm starting with a few of my favorite items:

• Trader Joe's Brand Vanilla Greek Yogurt- roughly $2.79 for 2 full servings of delicious yogurt goodness- cheap and a perfect sweet treat
• Organic Plain Yogurt- perfect for smoothies or yogurt messes, all under $3
• Peach Salsa- spicy, smokey, and has real chunks of peach
• Ok-Mak crackers- Under 150 cals for 5 of them, super filling, and perfectly sturdy for lots of dips, cheese, toppings. I love that they are whole grains too!
• Trader Joe's Almond Butter with Flax- holy crap this is good.  It's about $4 and the crunchy, nutty goodness is perfectly filling and satisfying.  I love almond butter and this is one of the best I've tasted.
• Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus Dip- tangy, perfectly spicy, and reasonably priced for under $3
• Eggs- they are in the background, but a hot item- organic and cage free is my preference and worth a couple of extra bucks!

Hope you guys give these items a try.  I obviously am not paid to talk about any of these products, and if I were, I would be one happy girl!

That's all I've got.  By the way, I was kindly told that my green monster was brown on my last post.  Yep, I'm green-monster challenged.  I think the blueberries and cocoa powder messed me up!

Have a great day all!