Dare You To...

Ah, vacation.  

I spent last week in Aruba--One Happy Island, so I'll share with you some eats from the week... What I Ate (Last) Wednesday (and the other days around Wednesday).  We ate breakfast and lunch in our own kitchen, and dinners sometimes in, often out.  In or out, I made sure I ate my vegetables. :)


Here's how it went...


We started off in typical Meredith fashion, roasting a zillion veggies for the next few days' consumption.


We ate at our resort's restaurant on the first night there (I had the most delicious sesame-crusted seared tuna over arugula), and then the following night had time to prepare a proper meal at home.  The star?  Salmon!

That, plus the veggies--asparagus, sweet potato, carrots--made for a deliiiicious meal.  So filling!


The next night, we were excited to go to our favorite restaurant in Aruba: Chalet Suisse.  We go every year on my parents' anniversary, and this year was no exception.  The food was just as delicious as always. Everyone e…

One of my favorite snacks is...
prunes + walnuts!

If you haven't tried this winning combination, I hiiiiighly encourage it.  For a while, I'd snack on them independently, but then a lightbulb went off and I started combining them in one sweet, chewy, crunchy bite!


Alone, they're great, but together, they'reperfection.

So, you can only imagine my elation when Trader Joe'sread my mind and created this--!


When food shopping after returning from my relaxing vacation, I practically did a happy dance right there in the aisle next to these brilliant inventions.  They're thin little slices of a log of prunes and walnuts!  The package suggests pairing with cheese, but at 50 calories a pop, I'd refrain from doing so, unless you're really looking for a treat (...in which case, I'd recommend goat cheese here).  They're very tasty, easy to eat, and would be great to toss in your bag if you'll be out and about.


If you like nuts, and you like fruit--fresh or …

I dare you to relax.

No, really, just sit back and truly relax.

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To share, I just returned from a week in Aruba with my wonderful family.  Life is good on that One Happy Island.




However, I was taking this vacation when I did NOT have a true 'break' from life.My graduate courses went on without me, and I had to continue my part-time job (for which I work online remotely) from abroad.  So, along with my bathing suits and flip-flops, I also packed textbooks, my laptop, and an outline to become a full-fledged paper.  Let the fun begin!

But really, it did.  Although it was tough at times, I was able to separate work-time from vacation-time.  When I was upstairs at my computer, I was working, I was writing, I was corresponding for work and school.  When I was outside, I was relaxing, I was reading, I was listening to music, I was going for a dip in the water.  I did occasionally slip in some reading for classes, but alternated with reading for fun.

My sister and I packed a small…

Have you ever gone to a restaurant, ordered too many appetizers, and had THIS happen to your meal?


Sure, it's nice to have something to take home and look forward to tomorrow, but do you really want to get so full from appetizers that you can't even stomach your main course??

Don't get me wrong; I love appetizers.In fact, the appetizer section is almost always my favorite part of a menu!  I find the most appealing options there, and often do choose to get one or two appetizers instead of a main.  It also works out well because the portion sizes are more realistic than some of the entrees are.  So if that's your choice, like mine, then go for it!  Enjoy those appetizers, those "small plates", but treat them as your meal, rather than course #1 in a gluttonous feast.

When out for a large family celebration last month, my relatives ordered a dozen appetizers for the table, which ended up each being family-style a very large plate, not typical appetizer-size.  Mos…

These are a few of my favorite things...
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Alright, I'm now finally a huge fan of oatmeal and granola, so it's about time I come around and try these "overnight oats" everyone raves about.  No time to pour my mix-ins into my yogurt before heading out the door?  This seems to be the prescription for when I know I'll have a very rushed morning.

The deal is, as I understand it, that you simply take your plain yogurt, some uncooked rolled oats, and whatever mix-ins you want (chopped nuts, dried fruit, etc.), and leave it in the fridge overnight, and, like magic, it will be breakfast in the morning.  Well, seems pretty obvious, no?


Well, I gave it a try.  This is the result.



Overnight Oats
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup oats/nut mix
- 1/4 cup dried fruit (above, raisins. Also try bits of prunes, or apricots, etc)

Other tips:
- mix in 1/4 cup "milk" or water to thin it out. (I used Almond Breeze almond milk, see below.)
- add a bit (a tsp-Tbsp?) of sweetener (hon…

This past week has been rough.  I have been quite sickly, somewhere between a really awful cold and migraine-city.  I've been buried in tissues and beneath my blanket.  Not fun.


In the eloquent words of Queen Adele, "I've got a bit of snot." 



Now, in general, I don't like to admit defeat to illness.  I also like to abide by the "if you're only sick from your neck up, it's okay to work out" rule.  When I wasn't feeling so hot earlier in the week, I really didn't want to give up my exercise.  The previous week was so busy that I didn't do the classes or runs I wanted.  This week, then, was supposed to be full of nice, long runs to make up for it.  Instead, I ran one mile.  Am I thrilled about that?  No.  But do I think I did the right thing?  Yes.

I do prioritize fitness in my life, and that's something that I'm proud of.  I treat my workouts with the same commitment as any other appointment or meeting in my calendar.  However, …