More meal ideas from this week...

Banana's Foster - the breakfast version. This mornings breakfast was one of my FAVORITE desserts gone "healthy". Not something I suggest for everyday but for a weekend, it's delicious! I take about 2 tbsp of Land O Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil and heat it over a pan adding one sliced banana, approx 3 Tbsp of splenda and approx 1 tsp of cinnamon until warm and gooey. Then I top a Dannon Vanilla Greek yogurt with the mixture and enjoy dessert for breakfast.

A very non original breakfast - this is what I had almost every morning this week. I usually do one of these cottage cheese doubles or a greek yogurt with a piece of fruit and a fiber bar.

I worked late every day this week so I really wasn't in the mood to come home and cook so for lunch this week I packed a container of hummus and veggies and / or baked pita chips with a baggie of cherries. I don't recommend this brand of hummus, I'd never tried this kind before and honestly it's more bland that some others I've had.

Another hummus variation. I used a whole wheat sandwich thin and spread hummus on one side and topped it with thinly sliced cucumber, spinach, and a slice of cheese.

There ya go...four meal ideas with minimal if any cooking or prep.

Blah to job training...

This week I had some pretty stressful job training so I bought one of these as an afternoon treat... Yum!!!! This bar is huge and the chocolate is so rich that it took me all week to eat it. I will definitely repurchase. Plus each bar has a chance to win a real "golden ticket", a slim chance but for someone the Willy Wonka fairytale will come true. Mom and I finally went for her birthday dinner (two weeks late). We both got so busy it kept getting pushed back. We went to her favorite local resturant which per her report has the best steak in town, I discovered they also have a mean tasting salmon but the winner was definitely the stuffed baked potato in all it's chivey cheesy goodness. The resturant also serves watermelon preserves and cinnamon spiced apple rings which were the perfect cool summer dessert. We also went and saw Killers tonight with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl...honestly it was a great idea and a good story line until the end - I really didn't like the end. I thought it was similar to the movie Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey but that one had a much better ending. I'm so excited about all the great summer movies coming out. Are there any that ya'll are itching to see???

In the Kitchen: Nut Butter and Chocolate Chip "burrito"

Yummy snack or dessert idea, nothing orginal but it's one of my favorites! I used a whole wheat Flat Out Flatbread and cut it in half spread some organic almond butter on top and sprinkled some mini bittersweet chocolate chips. Sometimes I use bananas instead of the chocolate chips (or with them if I want something really tasty). I have also made it with raisins, toasted oats, and using peanut butter before - there are so many variations. I like to roll it like a burrito and toast it at 300* for 15 - 20 minutes (I have a small convection type oven that heats up quickly). Or you can leave it flat and toast it like a pizza. I have microwaved it for about 30 seconds before and it gets deliciously gooey but the flatbread is limp, which isn't a bad thing but I like it better toasted. Yes by the way, that is a styrofoam plate. Not all my dishes are unpacked so I've been using plasticware and paper plates in the meantime.

Summer Music Festivals!

I moved a few weeks ago and my friends have kept me busy... We went a few towns over and attended an all day music festival (mostly country and beach music) with the main artist country singer Sammy Kershaw!!! I have photos of our group at the show but I'm so PALE!!!!!! Compared to the other girls I was a ghost. So I purchased Ulta Self Tanner in the spray can but I majorly botched the application and ended up with muddy looking feet. My legs and arms looked awesome but my feet, especially the right one looked awful. I couldn't wear flip flops for days. So I laid off the self tanner until I could get my skin even again. Then came along this little show: Country Throwdown A fantastic nine hour music show in Raleigh on Saturday. We tailgated before the event. This is Lindsay and I after we "set up camp". It was hot as hades but lucky for us we had a cooler full of beer and water (because it that heat I would pass out after drinking too much). My friend's boyfriend brought his charcoal grill and we had brats and burgers. Lindsay made her "famous" ranch dip with chips and since it was her boyfriend's birthday we brought chocolate cupcakes. The burger below was her boyfriend's and that is cheddar bacon cheese on top of it. Sounds nasty to me - why would I want bacon flavored cheese????

We had to take a photo with Captain Morgan... this was actually one of the many in our Captain Morgan photo session.

So many great bands were there...Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Eric Church, The Eli Young Band, Jack Ingram, Heidi Newfield, and Montgomery Gentry.... I loved their skull back drop.

On Sunday mom and I got carried away watching Sex and the City 2. I liked it but not as much as the first, I guess the star on the Christmas tree for me was seeing Carrie and Big get married. This one was funny (mom can't stop talking about it) and definitely one to own when it comes out on DVD.