E.T. Phone Home

A bit sore this morning. Another reason I don't like working out in the evening; the next morning seems too close to my last workout. This morning I did Power Vinyasa #4 from YogaDownload.com. I really enjoyed this flow, even if it is for more advanced yogis, because it's a bitter faster paced which really made the 20 minutes feel like it was flying by and I got to try some new poses. Breakfast was bfast cookie dough cereal inspired by The Fitnessista.

Night before: 1/3 c old-fashioned oats, 1 T PB&Co. CRS, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1/6 c USVAB, and cinnamon. Morning of: Added almonds (for crunch), pomegranate Craisins, and ~ 3/4 c USVAB. I think I'll add fresh fruit or add back in the 1/2 mashed banana the night before, but overall it's a pretty good substitute for when you don't feel like a steamy bowl of oats (which I haven't been in the mood for lately).

Guess who finally remembered to photograph her lunch before she packed it all away? This girl right here! Although I accidentally took the picture on the right (below) on the wrong setting (I would have retaken the picture, but I didn't want to unpack/pack everything again). I brought a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar with a juicy nectarine for lunch and Vanilla Chobani (Larabars, nectarines, and Chobani were all on sale this week!) mixed with a little bit of FiberOne cereal for an afternoon snack to tide me over until dinner and fuel my ride back home.

The Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar was awesome. As soon as I opened it up I thought: "freshly-baked peanut butter cookies". As a kid, my favorite cookie was always those Peanut Butter Blossom ones (peanut butter cookie with a Hershey's KISS on top). This one deserves another appearance and will definitely make its way into my bar stash again. And one of the best parts? The awesomely short and natural ingredients list, of course!: Dates, Peanuts, Salt.

It always throws me off to have a day off from work in the middle of the week. Today is Thursday and it feels like a Monday, which can be both good and bad. Good, because I feel rested from the "weekend" the day before but the weekend comes sooner! Bad, because you get into the "Monday slump" near the end of the week rather than at the beginning and you have two slumps; one on an actual Monday and now one on a Thursday. But, overall, I don't think today dragged on too unnecessarily. I have my book and access to the internet all day, so if worse comes to worse I go searching for new blogs to read and follow if I consider them entertaining enough to actually want to read again.

After I got home, read the mail, and put all of my things away, I set to work on baking cookie for my "mini vacation" this weekend: Extraterrestrial Cookies! I know that I can't be the only one out there who always thinks of the movie E.T. when they see Reese's Pieces. Did you know that the filmmakers had requested that M&M's be used, instead of Reese's Pieces? The Mars company had denied their request and so Reese's Pieces were used instead. As a direct result, Reese's Pieces sales skyrocketed. Because of this, more and more companies began requesting that their products be used in movies. Thus, product placement was born. You learn something new every day!

Extraterrestrial Cookies

1 1/4 c flour (I used whole wheat)
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp baking soda
3 T cocoa powder
1/8 c (2 T) unsweetened applesauce (gives it a slightly cakey texture)
3/8 c (6 T) butter, softened
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c sugar
Flax Egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water)
1/3 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 c (2 T) chocolate chips
1/2 c Reese's Pieces

Preheat oven to 350deg. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a large bowl; set aside. In another large bowl, mix applesauce, butter, brown sugar, sugar, flax egg, and vanilla extract. Stir the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients, small amounts at a time. Stir in the chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces. Drop 1" spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. I got about 2 dozen out of this recipe.

As the cookies baked, I ran through some core work, and as they cooled I cleaned up the dishes and countertops a bit. I sampled a small one soon after that and it didn't taste too bad, actually, considering that I made up this recipe myself and was trying to make it a tiny bit healthier. But, experimentation is good; it's an effective way to help you learn and to grow. And it doesn't hurt to have willing and able test subjects.

My body was craving veggies, so for dinner I spread a little garlic hommus on a high fiber tortilla and topped it with cucumber, tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese, and spinach leaves. Then I made up a side of corn and mixed it with a little salsa as a good compliment to round out the meal and get in even more vegetables! Now I'm going to print out some recipes, fix up my binder, and hopefully squeeze in another round of yoga before I drift off to Dream Land. G'Night y'all!