Weekend eats

Happy Monday! I'm excited for this week because a) I'm going to be taking on some new projects at work, b) I have some fun plans with friends, c) I'm going home on Friday, and d) I'm going to be sending out my internship applications, so I can finally stop stressing about them.

It's going to be another busy week, but I'm feeling ready to tackle it after a refreshing weekend:

On Friday night I enjoyed a relaxing night in, so I made myself this faux butternut squash risotto from Cooking Light with barley instead of farro and without the hazelnuts. It took 2 hours to make, but it was definitely worth it!

The next morning I was up bright and early for my usual Saturday morning grocery shopping. But first I had some apple oatmeal for breakfast. Here's how I made it:

Bring 1/2 cup water + 1/4 cup milk to a boil then add in 1/3 cup oats and reduce heat. Add 1 chopped apple, 1/2 tbsp chia seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and let it cook until it thickens up. Then add 1/8 cup of egg whites and a handful of raisins, and cook for 2 more minutes. Top with maple flakes and soy nut butter, or any other toppings you prefer!

Then I hit up the grocery store. I always bring a list with me, otherwise I am guaranteed to forget at least half of it. But this week somewhere between the produce and the cheese departments, I lost my list! I went back and searched for it, but couldn't find it anywhere, so I had to rely on memory - and I actually did an awesome job. I remembered every single thing on my list! Funnily enough I found the list the next day in my coat pocket. I guess I forgot to check there!

 Vanilla 2% Greek yogurt, skim milk, edamame, oats, tofu, egg whites, Yogi tea, chickpeas, canned tuna, baby spinach, apples, orange and red pepper, mango, olives, bananas, carrots, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, broccoli and Brussels sprouts

Later that night I went out for my friend Andrea's birthday, so I baked her these pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and topped them with some cinnamon pumpkin seeds and maple flakes for decoration. I'm pretty proud of how they turned out considering I piped the icing using a Ziploc bag with a hole cut in it! Also, they were pretty delicious if I do say so myself.

Not only do I not have an icing piping kit, but I don't have a cooling rack either. So when I make baked goods, I use my dish rack to let them cool. Hey, it works!

Later on in the day I went to the gym and did this 40/20 workout, which is a great workout to target your whole body and get your heart rate up. Warning: it leaves you very sore the next day!

On Sunday I was feeling a bit zombieish, since I was out late and woke up really early, but a 1 hour walk on the treadmill at the gym helped to reinvigorate me. Even better was the fact that Pride and Prejudice was on the tv during my walk! I love that movie.

I also made myself a fabulous sandwich of avocado, smoked salmon, cucumber and pea shoots on buckwheat, oat and flax bread from Organic Works. This meal is definitely going to be repeated with the rest of my smoked salmon!

Before I end this post, I just wanted to give a shout out to Heather. Heather emailed me over the weekend and her story was so touching that I had to share. In 2005, just 3 months after giving birth to her daughter, she was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. This is a life-threatening cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. She underwent a risky treatment option and survived, and now 7 years later she works to spread hope to those suffering through speaking at conferences and social media. She writes a blog here that I encourage you to check out!

What have you been cooking/baking recently?

Do you grocery shop with a list or do you wing it?