Full Of Real, Whole Foods

I’m so glad that so many of you loved that Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes recipe I tried out for breakfast yesterday!

I really wasn’t kidding when I said there were tons of delicious Paleo recipes out there.  I’ve already got a few more in mind to try out just from my new cookbook alone, so I promise I’ll keep them coming!

Yesterday morning I went to the gym first thing and completed this leg workout plus some core stuff.  I had to cut out the lunges and steps ups at the end because my right quad muscle was feeling kind of funky, but otherwise, everything went really well.

Not only were those pumpkin cakes absolutely delicious and a welcome treat on a cold Tuesday after an early morning workout, but they also kept me full well up until lunch time.  For lunch, I brought another delicious Paleo-friendly meal though, so it’s a good thing my fullness wore off eventually!

I prepped everything the night before, so all I had to do was heat it up in the microwave at work.  In the mix was chicken with crushed red pepper, zucchini + summer squash roasted in olive oil with garlic powder and Italian seasonings, and asparagus roasted with olive oil and black pepper.  It was absolutely delicious!

A little later on, I had a couple medjool dates, but I was still too full from my first two meals of the day to need anything more throughout the afternoon.  That’s definitely the difference between having meals made up of real, whole foods and those made up of a bunch of processed junk.  I love it!

While I was slaving away at work yesterday, my aunt sent me this beautiful picture from her condo in the Virgin Islands.  How jealous are you?!

I’ve given in to wearing my long johns underneath my dress pants even in the office these days because – despite my undying love of winter – I’m always cold, so it’s definitely quite the contrast to what her and my uncle are experiencing this week!

I just hope that one day I’ll have worked as hard as they have for so long and get to enjoy some awesome vacations too!  I obviously love winter, but it sure would be nice to take off on my own island getaway when it gets to be a little too much!  Hope you guys are having fun and relaxing out there!

Once I got home last night, I did some studying while my dinner cooked up in the oven.  I roasted some asparagus drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with black pepper at 400* until they got nice and crunchy – just the way I like ‘em.  During the last few minutes, I also put in some steak sprinkled with Montreal Steak Seasoning under the broiler.

I’m still not all that clear on Paleo-friendly spices yet, so I’m not sure if that one is acceptable but hey, it sure is tasty.  For some reason though, the past two times I’ve made steak, I’ve overcooked it, and that’s a serious bummer.  I guess I have to watch it better next time!

I finished up my studying right around 8pm because Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game both made their returns to ABC Family last night!  Thank gosh for Facebook friends reminding me of that though, because I totally would have forgotten.  Both were great episodes, but I might have to continue doing my usual watch-them-the-next-day-on-the-computer thing because I get so bored during the commercial breaks that I end up finding something else to do and missing parts of the show.  Ugh!

One such commercial break wandering adventure led me to the kitchen, where I fixed up quite the delicious dessert.  I heated up one of these Paleo cupcakes in the microwave for about 30 seconds and sliced some strawberries to go along with it and oh. my. gosh.

You know those molten chocolate lava cakes that you get in restaurants?  That’s what it tasted like.  Except it was made with completely real, whole, unprocessed ingredients.  Doesn’t get much better than that!

Questions:

Do you watch Pretty Little Liars or The Lying Game?  What other shows are you watching right now? I feel like all my favorite shows are coming back onto TV right now (Revenge started back up on Sunday too) and I don’t know what I’m going to do!

How do you like your steak done? I like mine medium rare, always.