We all know that oatmeal is not my thing. Well, maybe you didn’t know but now you do. I am not the food blogger that craves oatmeal even the kind with gobs of nut butter and other delicious looking toppings. I tried, I really tried, but oatmeal just isn’t my thing, not on a regular basis at least.

Even though I am not an oatmeal lover I am intrigued by oatmeal dishes and alternative breakfast ideas. A while back my friend Katie made a quinoa cereal thing-y for a blogger brunch being thrown by Diana. I, sadly, had to miss that brunch, but all of the pictures got my imagination going. Quinoa is like rice to me, I would never think to eat it for breakfast, so the though of quinoa for breakfast was kind of mind blowing.

One morning, when I actually got ready quick enough that I had time left over cook, I knew that I had to make some breakfast quinoa, a version of it at least. Unfortunately the morning I decided to give it a go I was out of milk. Boo.

I made quinoa like I always would, with water and salt except I also added almond extract and cinnamon.

Once the quinoa was done I added it to a bowl with strawberries and yogurt and then topped with some mini dark chocolate chips and almond slivers. The quinoa was cooked and seasoned well, but the creaminess from the milk was definitely missed. I really enjoyed the chewier texture that the quinoa over the mushiness of oatmeal.

I change in texture was a nice change up that I plan to have again, with a few modifications. Next time, in addition to having/using milk,  I may drizzle with a bit of honey or agave just for a little sweetness, and I may even try toasting it in the oven for a little crunch.

What kind of ideas have you come up with when trying to shake up your routine?

Woohoo! The rest of my day went by without much stress. It was really nice not to hate my job again.

I enjoyed a late afternoon snack of fruit.

Cantaloupe and grapes.

Ever since i got home I have completely vegged on the couch. I meant to take Piper on a walk, but TV sucked me and the evening got away from me.

It really took a lot of motivation to get up and put together dinner even though I was excited about what I was going to make. I decided to stay with the Mexican theme that I started at lunch. Lately, spicy food has sounded so appealing!

I started by cooking 1/2 c quinoa in chicken broth and then added some taco seasoning when it was almost done. Once the quinoa was completely cooked I stirred in a can of drained seasoned black beans. I stuffed 2 bell peppers, topped them with shredded cheddar cheese, and them put them in a 350* oven for 10 minutes or so. I cared more about melting the cheese than I did about cooking the pepper. I prefer my veggie raw or only lightly cooked because I like them crunchy.

I topped my pepper with diced jalapenos and plain Oikos, plus I added some salsa and guac on the side.

So. Good. You must try this or something similar for yourself.

Dessert was a few more pieces of angels food cupcakes. Now that those have been polished off I can get started on the cake that stuck to the loaf pan. Fun.

The full dishwasher is calling my name….I am trying my hardest to ignore it, but I can only do that for so long. Bah!

That’s all for tonight folks!

Happy Monday!

Usually Monday’s are pretty bittersweet with the end of the weekend and all, but today has been pretty good as far as Monday go. Steady workload and beautiful weather. I think Piper has a walk in store for her when I get home!

I am happy to report that I did manage to work in some 30 Day Shred after blogging last night. I think I was motivated by the new workout pants I bought yesterday! The workout was great, but it threw me back on bedtime, which also meant that Jessie did not get up for an AM workout today.

I actually prefer and evening workout, when I can peel myself away from my laptop, because I like sleeping in the mornings. Unfortunately I let myself get distracted by my to-do list, and  often working out gets pushed too low on the priority list. So from now on I am going to aim for AM and PM workouts and just see what works out. Some days I will hit one, some days both, and (hopefully) only every once in a while none. When do you prefer to workout? Why? I want to hear from you, please let me know!!!

This morning I somehow managed to start running late even with all of the snack prep work that I did yesterday. Not sure how that happened. I was sad when I realized that I was out of sweet tea and had no time to make more. I really have a hard time drinking plain water 1st thing in the AM.

No sweet tea @ home = stop by Chic Fil A on the way to work. I like the 1/2 sweet/unsweet tea when I can’t have my own.

I wasn’t planning on picking up breakfast but I couldn’t resist.

3 pack of Chickin minis.

These little guys kept me full all morning. No snack needed. Shocking, right?!

Lunch was pretty ho-hum. I had a conference call over my break (I am totally jumping on the OpenSky bandwagon!) and was distracted while preparing. It turned out very under-seasoned and flavorless.Wilted spinach, quinoa, refried beans, salsa, plain Oikos, and jalapeno slices.

I think it was really missing a crunch or chewy factor. I totally forgot to grab a handful of tortilla chips. That what I get for cooking/eating while distracted.

After my disappointing lunch I wanted a great dessert, and decided to give chocolate Oikos another try. Chocolate Oikos with Bear Naked vanilla almond granola and butterscotch chips.

This was a great combo! And I liked the chocolate Oikos much better than last time.

Don’t forget to enter my Yoplait Greek Yogurt giveaway. I will be announcing the winner on tonight’s post!

Have a great afternoon!

I love DVR. I am sitting here watching this past Thursday’s episode of Private Practice and getting to forwarding through the commercials. I really should be cleaning though. Oh well.

Dinner was only okay. I premade it last night so there would be no effort involved tonight.

Sauteed chard, chicken andouille and quinoa with Tony Chachere’s sprinkled on top. I have said it before and I will say it again, I am just not a fan of greens. At least it was easy.

Then I had an apple with the 2nd half of my packet of Justin’s honey PB. I would absolutely buy a whole jar is I did not already have a jar and a half of Costco PB on my pantry.

B had a softball game tonight so I made plans to go to Marshall’s. I am always on the look out for cute kitchen stuff and I wanted some new workout gear. I didn’t buy anything but I did find a few things that I liked.

I am so cheap. I hate the thought of spending $15 on a pair of shorts, especially ones that I don’t love.

I made a stop at Target too and nothing really caught my eye.

While I was out I was hit with a craving that I just could not deny so I made one last stop at Harris Teeter. Walking into HT takes a lot of self-restraint on my part so I made sure to go straight to what I wanted.

Chocolate cake!

I ate half with a giant glass of milk and saved the other half for B.

Now lets see if I can myself motivated to clean. I have plans with Jen tomorrow so I need to stop procrastinating.

  I am watching Remember the Titans on TV right now and totally caught myself grinning from ear to ear.

Today has been such a light eating day. I have not snacked nearly as much as I usually do. I nearly lost my temper at work today and that irritation lasted almost all day.

As the day began to wind down I did end up eating a couple of Cuties to hold me over until dinner.

Not long after I got home I was ready for dinner. I made something similar to the red beans and quinoa that I made last Wednesday.

This concoction is a 1/2 and onion sautéed in olive oil, leftover quinoa from last night with a little Tony Chacheres,  wilted spinach, and 2 1/2 chicken andouille sausages. I couldn’t mix in the beans because B doesn’t like beans in his, and then we added the rest of the leftover cauliflower last night. I am in love with quinoa and I think I am winning B over too. EarthFare bulk bins here I come!

You would think after eating all of the leftovers today my fridge would start looking kind of empty, but it looks packed! How is that?

I think a bowl of cereal is calling my name now. I made a trip to Harris Teeter tonight to take advantage of double coupons and got some great treats to try and share with you soon!

My evening has gotten away from me yet again. I do not think I am going to make it to bed for my goal bedtime. Boo! It has been a productive night though.

As soon as I got home I got some chores done. Laundry, dishwasher, and putting away my organic produce delivery from today from Absolute Organics. I was really upset to see that 2 of my oranges had bad spots already. Ick!

Even though I was stuffed by lunch I could not make it through the afternoon without a snack. I had already eaten the only fruit I brought for the day so I broke into my nut stash.

After doing my chores I got right to cooking dinner. I had an idea for dinner all day and I was ready to give it a go.  I wanted to do a play on red beans and rice.

I started by cooking 1/2 c quinoa in my rice cooker. Once the quinoa was done I heated some olive oil in a skillet and tossed in 1/2 diced celery stalk and some red onion (1/4 c?).  While the veggies were sautéing I sprinkled on some garlic powder and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Once the veggies had softened slightly I added 1/2 c light red kidney beans that I had leftover from lunches this week, and then I added the quinoa and a dice chicken andouille sausage.

The dish was a little on the spicy side but otherwise amazing. I can’t wait to make this again.

For dessert I kept things simple by digging into my Valentine’s day stash. B’s parents had given me these Godiva chocolates. They were so creamy and delicious. I only ate 2 but I think I could have eaten the entire bag!

I have spent the rest of the evening half watching NCIS re-runs and trying do some writing samples. I really want to get into freelance writing so now I have to get motivated to write something other than my blog.  I know I have mentioned this on the blog before but I have not really mentioned it to my family. Today I told my Mom what I was wanting to do and I was really encouraged when she told me she though it sounded like a perfect fit for me since writing was always a strong point for me in high school and college. I know I can do this but I am at such a loss for ideas, and writing a bio is tough!

Time to get back to work!