Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal & Mexican "Rice"

As usual... it has been a while.. I am so so so sorry!

I swear school has been drowning me in project, presentations,

homework, and essays!! But, luckily after today I'm free until

Wednesday! Thank the Lord! I need a little break... where are

you Thanksgiving?!? Not to mention its almost 85 degrees here!

But, at least my pumpkin coffee and oatmeal feel a little fall festive!

 

Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal

What girl doesn't love chocolate and raspberries together?!

Or...at least chocolate.. the fruit just helps us feel a

little better about eating the chocolate..guilty!

 

I've started making my own premade oatmeal packets like

you buy at the store to save on time in the  mornings.

I blame the time change.. I cannot get of bed anymore!!

It's super simple and definitely worth it to sit down and

knock out a whole bunch in one afternoon!

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Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
Cinnamon To Taste
Handful Of Raspberries
1 Chocolate Kiss
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For one of my presentations today the topic is Diversity..

so naturally my "attention getter" to start off my presentation

is a bag of yummy, assorted Christmas Chocolate..I know Genius!
& So again, one just naturally decided to join my oatmeal this morning!

 

 

Mexican "Rice"

 

This is another new recipe I decided to try last night.

With recommendation from my sister, I knew I wanted to try it!

She found it off of this blog (click) -->  Peace + Love + Low Carb

I changed mine a little up, just because I can never make anything

like I'm actually supposed to. (That's probably why hers looks

a lot prettier than mine..but its still super delicious!!)

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Ingredients:
1 Head Of Cauliflower
1 Can Mexican Mild Rotel
2 Cups Chicken Stock
(I Used Chicken Base&Water)
1 Onion
2 (Rather Massive) Garlic Cloves
1/2 Packet Low Sodium Taco Seasoning
Cumin To Taste
Chili Power To Taste
Salt To Taste
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I started out this process by "ricing" my cauliflower in a
ninja, make sure to do it in sections so you get it all in even pieces.

Then, I started to saute my onion and garlic in a pan with a little bit

of water until translucent. I then stirred the drained rotel to mix in with the

onion and garlic. Then, I added in the chicken base, two cups

of water, and mixed until incorporated. Following all of that, I added

all of my cauliflower and put on medium heat for 30 minutes with a lid.

For the last 10 minutes I took the lid off and turned down to low heat.

Mine came out a bit wet, when I try this again I may take her advice in

adding the cauliflower be the liquids, and reduce the amount of stock.

However, it is still delicious and so happy my sister showed it to me!

 

 



Laptop Lunchbox #21 & Halloween!

 

 

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

Hope y'all all have fun plans for tonight!

 

Seriously.. is that not the cutest dragon you've ever seen?!

Luckily my apartment complex is having a pet costume

contest so I can show off his cuteness enter him in it...

No but seriously.. no one stands a chance!

Laptop Lunchbox #21

 

 

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Ingredients:
2 Cups Of Romaine Lettuce
1/3 Of a Cucumber
1 Serving Light Italian Dressing
Feta To Top
2 Homemade Salmon Patties
^Click For The Recipe ^
1 Orange
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Also would like to remind everyone to keep the East Coast

in their prayers with the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy!

Sending lots of prayers to everyone and hope they are safe & with their family! 

My boyfriend is on his way there for work to help repair the aftermath,

He's been sending pictures all morning, such a pretty drive up the east coast from Texas!

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

<3 AL

 

 

 

GoRaw! & Laptop Lunchbox #20!

 

Happy Monday ya'll! Hope your a little warmer then me

this morning! Gotta love walking to class when it's 39 degrees!

 

But, on a happier note, last week I was so excited to check my mail

and receive my awesome GORAW! <-click Package!!

Seriously, so many items! All natural, raw ingredients

you know and can actually pronounce! 

Even Braxton liked them! He decided he wanted

to sneak one of the granola bars when I wasn't watching him!

Found him under my desk trying to open my pumpkin granola bar!

Sneaky little puppy! I haven't tried them all but you should check them out!

 

Laptop Lunchbox #20

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Ingredients:
2 Cups Romaine Blend Salad
1 Romano Tomato
1 Serving 2TBS Light Italian Dressing
Feta To Top
1/2 Cup Deer Sausage
1/2 Peach
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Since Halloween is on a Wednesday we decided to

celebrate this weekend! The cold front came just in time too!

Lots of Halloween Cupcakes!

Loved going to the pumpkin patch and seeing all of the

little kids so excited about getting to pick their own pumpkin!

After the pumpkin patch Ryy&I decided to carve the

ones we bought & had a contest to see which was better!

He won.. by a sad landslide of 6-1 :( My poor Frankenstein!

 

 

Hope everyone had a perfect halloween weekend!

Enjoy!

AL <3

Roasted Cauliflower Laptop Lunchbox #19

 

 

This past week has been a crazy one!

Full of exams, projects, and perfect 21st birthday festivities!

But, more importantly I am so blessed to have such great people

in my life to help me celebrate another birthday!

Seriously my friends are perfect!

& of course so is this boy! <3

 

Okay, enough mushiness back to food!

Today's delicious breakfast was some cooked,

warm apple oatmeal! Can you tell I'm so happy it's Fall?!

Cooked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Oatmeal

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Calories:214
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Water
1 TBS Sugar
2 TSP Brown Sugar
1/2 Honey Crisp Apple
Cinnamon To Taste
1/2 Cup Of Dry Oats
Water For Desired Texture
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Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add in sugars, stirring

constantly until completely dissolved. Add in apples and cinnamon

to taste and let cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes stirring

every once in a while so the sugars don't stick and burn on the

bottom.Turn down heat to about 3 and let cook for an additional

20 minutes without stirring until apples are cooked to desired softness.

 

 

So, for some reason lately, allll I've been wanting

is some warm, roasted vegetables! I think it's probably

because here in Texas it's still in the upper 80s in October!

So late last night , after realizing I still hadn't made my lunch

for today I decided I would use the head of cauliflower sitting in my fridge!

 

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

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Calories: 424
Ingredients:
1 Medium Head Of Cauliflower
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
~4 TBS Of Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
*Garlic Powder, Onion Powder,
Salt & Pepper To Taste!
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Start by preheating your oven to 350. Place your washed

cauliflower florets into a 9x13 casserole dish, and top with your EVOO,

parmesan cheese and *desired seasonings. Cover with foil (or a lid)

& bake for 25 minutes. My cauliflower was not tender enough for me,

so I then put it up to 400 degrees for an additional 20 minutes.

I also wanted a nice color to them, so I took off the foil, and

put them back in for 5-10 minutes with the broil on high!

Laptop Lunchbox #19

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Calories: 381
Ingredients:
Oven Roasted Cauliflower
Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Chobani
1/2 Cup Of A Honey Crisp Apple
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Enjoy!

AL <3

 

Oven Roasted Cabbage & Laptop Lunchbox #18

 

 

I cannot believe its only Wednesday!!

The week goes by so slow whenever your birthday

is on a Thursday! YES! 21 tomorrow! Happy girl!

 

However.. someone else isn't as thrilled as me..

Poor sleepy puppy!

So excited for a birthday spend with my sweet friends,

boyfriend, and family this week & weekend!

Not to forget a perfect bridal shower!

Since I know this weekend will be full of lots of food

I knew I needed to keep my lunches full of veggies!

 

Oven Roasted Cabbage

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Ingredients:
1 medium head of cabbage
2 Slices Of Bacon
~3 TBS Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper To Taste
_____________________________

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and start preparing the cabbage.

Remove the two outer leaves, and then wash thoroughly.

Slice in about 1/2-1 inch thickness so all of the oils can absorb into the

cabbage and soften the leaves. Drizzle the olive oil to coat the top

of all the rounds, add cooked chopped bacon, salt and pepper. *the next

time I make this which I will it was amazing! I will probably try

wrapping them in foil to get more moist, soft leaves. Bake for about 30

minutes on 425, then turn down to 350 for an additional 20 if the leaves

 aren't soft enough. I believe the foil will cut down on cooking time as well!

Laptop Lunchbox #18

 

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Ingredients:
1 Serving Oven Roasted Cabbage
2 Homemade Salmon Patties
^Click For Recipe^
1 Cup Baby Carrots
1 Serving Garlic Hummus
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Enjoy!

AL <3

 

 

Salmon Patties & Laptop Lunchbox #17

Well..needless to say it has been a while!

School sort of took over my life for a good week!

Last night while trying to figure out what to pack for

my lunch out of my bare pantry and fridge I found two packets

of Salmon, and remembered my Mom talking about how she used

to always make Salmon burgers when we were little, so I thought why not?!

 

Salmon Patties

Recipe Adapted From Chicken Of The Sea

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Calories For Entire Recipe: 431
(Mine Made At Least 8 Small Patties) 
Ingredients:
2- 2.5 Oz Packets Of Salmon
(I Used Chicken Of The Sea)
1/4 Chopped Onion
1/2-3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs
(I Used Italian For More Flavor)
4 TBS Egg Beaters
Salt & Pepper To Taste
1/8-1/4 Cup Of Skim Milk Until Desired Texture
___________________________________________

I started off by emptying both packages of salmon into a

mixing bowl, then adding the bread crumbs, followed by the

onion and eggbeaters. Completely incorporate those 4 ingredients until

it starts sticking together.Add in salt & pepper along with any other

desired seasonings. Then, slowly add the milk until you are able

to get a chunky texture where you are able to form patties in your hand.

Heat a skillet to medium heat and spray your pan with cooking spray.

Since salmon is already cooked, you're just looking for color and

the break down of the onions. I did about 5 minutes each side.

 

 

Laptop Lunchbox #17

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Calories: 447
277 For Lunch & 170 Snack
Ingredients:
1 Serving (2 TBS) PB2
1 Banana
2 Homemade Salmon Patties
1 Serving (7) Tricuts
1 Light Baby Bell Cheese
(Cheese & Crackers Afternoon Snack)
1/2 Can French Cut Green Beans
_______________________________________

 

Enjoy!

<3 AL



Vanilla Caramel Coffee & Laptop Lunchbox #16

 

 

Already Wednesday...the week is flying by!

Not that I'm complaining at all!

I cannot wait for my best friend & boyfriend

to come to San Marcos on Friday!

 

Vanilla Caramel Coffee

Here's to another attempt of mine to keep liking coffee.

It seriously is freaking me out how I actually like coffee,

and not forcing it down my throat to stay up for finals!

Maxwell International's coffee definitely helps!

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Calories: 60
Serving Size: 1 1/3 TBS
______________________________

 

I left mine at work so if I ever forget it I can

easily make it since all you need is water!

I also love how filling it is for only 60 calories,

add an apple for my breakfast & I'm good to go!

 

Laptop Lunchbox #16

I must admit I have a little crush obsession with my

laptop lunchbox.. So needless to say I was a little extremely

upset whenever my mom called me 2 hours from home while

driving back to school to let me know I had forgotten

my lunch box...Lucky for me I order "Bento Buddies" too!

Although my actual lunchbox made for a lot easier transportation.

______________________________
Calories: 323
Ingredients:
2 Egg Whites
3 Baby Whole Dill Pickles
1 Serving (2 TBS) Garlic Hummus
1/2 Cup Of Cucumber
1/2 Cup Of Carrots
1 Cup Of Lettuce
1 Light Baby Bell Cheese
1 Serving (7) Triscuts
______________________________

 

 

 Enjoy!

AL <3