Rough Morning, Better Day

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone started the week on the right foot. My morning was a bit rough, but thankfully, the day seemed to get better as I went along.

I am going to begin this week with a product review. Last week, the wonderful people at Larabar sent me a glorious box of their new flavors to sample.

I have had a larabar or two in my life and definitely enjoyed the experience. I especially admire the simple ingredient list, the fact that there is no added sugar, they are unprocessed, raw, have no GMO’s, and are gluten, dairy, and soy free. These bars are a vegan’s dream.

It is going to take me ages to get through this box; however, today I pleasantly sampled my first pick…the Tropical Fruit Tart.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed the taste of this bar. It was moderately tart but not reaching the point of sour. The texture was substantial and dense but it crumbled when I broke off a piece. The first bite was chewy but the bar itself has a nice soft consistency. This is important to me because ever since my mouth surgery, I find really chewy or crunchy bars are extremely hard to eat.

Overall, I really enjoyed this bar. I am looking forward to working my way through some of the other flavors and have stashed quite a few in my desk as a nice go-to snack for a rumbling mid-morning tummy.

Thanks to larabar for providing me with the opportunity to taste-test!

Well, as I mentioned, my morning wasn’t the most agreeable. Do you ever feel like if one little thing goes wrong to start the day, you feel as though the rest of the day just kind of falls apart? It all started when my HRM went feral during my run. No matter what I did, it just wouldn’t pick up my rate…so annoying, right? I think the battery may need replaced soon.

And to continue with the technical difficulties, the internet decided not to work during my valued time of checking mail and blogs over breakfast. Ugh! How infuriating. I felt bad because I kind of had a slight meltdown on Toly. For some reason, whenever I experience computer problems, I always blame him when really is the alleviant to all technical issues in our house. He actually was late to work trying to fix it for me and all I could do is huff and puff away at him. Poor guy, he takes the brunt of my frustration all too much.

Anyways, a few other insignificant irritations occurred, but I’ll pass on sharing them in the attempt not to seem entirely cynical for a Monday.

At least the food was good. That always seems to put me in better spirits.

I went home for lunch in hopes of having better luck with the laptop and thankfully, I was successful this time.

While getting caught up on emails and my reader, I enjoyed a leftover piece of fantastic pizza from last night. I think it may have been a little better the day after. (Love that!) I also munched on some carrots and broccoli with the most fantastic veggie dip (salsa and hummus). And some fruit for dessert.

I waited for my hubby to get home so we could Shred. He is doing so well at sticking with this workout. I am so proud of him! ;)

Then I got to cooking. Dinner tonight…

Grilled Bruschetta Tofu
(Chicken for the boy of course)

I marinated the tofu/chicken in a tad of Gazebo room overnight and then grilled for a few min each side. Before it was done, I brushed on a slight layer of basil pesto on the tofu and fresh sliced mozzarella on the chicken.

For the bruschetta, I mixed fresh tomato, cucumber, basil, lemon juice, basil, capers and avocado.

On the side, we had grilled corn and green beans (but Toly's beans looked more like a potato) and a few slices of sweet melon. (Whenever we eat these grilled meals, I always feel inclined to add a few watermelon slices. I just feel melon and grilled food is something that should not be separated)

It was definitely hot today, but never too hot to enjoy a picnic style dinner.

Well, that concludes this Monday. Hope yours was great!

Night.