Smoothie Time!

Is it bad that I was a little sore today from laser tag? Not the i.cant.move.anymore. sore but the kind where you can definitely feel your muscles while walking.  Yeah, I need to start working out more.

Today continued the retirement festivities, so I was able to graze all day, eating potato salad, chips, and dessert.  With all of that sugar in mah belly, I decided a simple, refreshing dinner was needed.

The smoothie.

For some reason, I was always intimidated by smoothies.  Never made them, rarely eat them (unless they are from Robeks).

So, after eating empty calories all day, I decided to add some nutrition to my life.

Looking at a few recipes, I quickly learned that frozen fruit was best, as you don't have to add ice to the smoothies.

Using that knowledge, and starting with this recipe, I made the.best.thing.ever.

Even better than these or these.

Chocolate Strawberry and Pineapple Smoothie

1/4 cup of vanilla almond milk

1 frozen banana

1 cup strawberries

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

1 tablespoon chocolate peanut butter

Blend all the ingredients together.  (that's it!!!)

So creamy, fruity, and with a hint of chocolate, this smoothie was to die for.  It was surprisingly filling and it tasted just like something I would have gotten from Robeks, but sooo much cheaper.  And I get to pick the flavor combinations! I recommend freezing the fruit (the only fruit I didn't freeze were the strawberries) because the smoothie didn't get too thick.  It was perfect, and I am so happy I have a little left over, so I can have this on my drive in to work tomorrow.  : )

Now that I am officially a smoothie convert, I cannot wait to see what other concoctions I can make!

Legendary.

I just found my new favorite pasttime. But you have to promise not to laugh.

Please tell me that all of you have seen this show?!

A woman at my work is retiring, so to send her off appropriately, the only logical thing was to take her laser tagging (?)!!!  This is the first time I have ever played, and let me tell you, after the first game I got so intense that I started screaming “You can leave now!!!!!” to every opponent I hit…..let’s just say I enjoyed the game : ) It also was a wicked good workout (yes, I am originally from Massachusetts), as things started to get a little smelly by the second game.

Once I got home, I still had the adrenaline rush from the games, so all I could think of was having a big chunk of meat for dinner (I guess aggression brings out the caveman in me…).  Since the only thing in the fridge that was defrosted was chicken, I went with that. 

BBQ Chicken Lettuce Wraps

By: Me!

(this is for 1 serving, but can be easily doubled, or if you are feeling really hungry...tripled!)

1 Chicken Breast

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's; use as much to cover the chicken entirely)

1/2 Hass avocado

Squeeze of lime juice

3-4 Romaine leaves, with the stalk taken out (1 leaf per sandwich)

Sprinkle of feta

Salt and Pepper

Pound out chicken to ensure even thickness.  I used a soup can and pounded the heck out of that chicken (I think I still had some "energy" left over from the laser tag!). 

Cover in BBQ sauce and marinate for 30 minutes to overnight.  I just thought of the idea when I got home, so 30 minutes it was!

 Grill chicken until cooked, about 8-10 minutes on each side.  Let rest.



Don't worry, I didn't eat both of them--one's for lunch tomorrow!

 Cut up half of avocado and roughly chop.  Sprinkle with lime juice to prevent oxidation and add salt and pepper (I used garlic pepper...yum!).


I put this stuff on.everything.



Sidenote: Check out this cool Salt grinder that my roomie
 got me for my birthday!!!

Take romaine leaves and cut out the thick stalk in the middle so you will be able to roll up the lettuce with the filling.  Lay on table and add avocados and feta.

Cut up chicken on an angle and arrange.

 Roll up and serve!

It is a little messy, but it is so crunchy and good!!!!

These are so good, folks and so easy to make! You can use basically whatever you have in the fridge for protein and veggies.  Traditionally, lettuce wraps are used with Bibb lettuce, but (once again) since I thought of the idea when I came home, I used what I had in my fridge--adaption is the key to cooking! One shouldn't spend $343 million dollars (ok, a little exaggeration) for one ingredient that you will use once, when you can substitute efficiently.  Check this website for other substitutions, or just use your noggin : )

Now on to dessert....

Kristin made cheesecake stuffed strawberries (omg!) the other day, but since I don't like cheesecake, I decided to do my own thing...with this:

I walked past this in the supermarket and couldn't leave it there with a clean conscience.  Dark.Chocolate.Peanut.Butter?!?!?!!? 

So I cored the strawberries, and spooned that magical concoction into the strawberries. 

Delish.  It would be even better with a topping of fresh whipped cream, but alas, my fridge was lacking that as well.  Maybe I should go shopping...

The pb didn't detract from the sweetness of the strawberries--in fact, it reminded me of chocolate covered strawberries, with a little "oomf".  One would think that peanut butter would clash with the strawberries, but trust me.  The peanut butter flavor isn't really prominent in this spread--the chocolate is.  And isn't that how life should be?

Enjoy!