Monday, August 23, 2010

Smiling in the Morning



Are you a morning person? 

I am.  I'm actually a very bad night person, but the mornings are when I do my best work.  I wake up with little trouble most days, I feel like I have my best workouts and runs when they are done before the sun comes up, and I'm usually very happy and upbeat as I prepare my breakfast. 


Maybe it's because breakfast just makes me so happy, but either way, how could you not smile over a bowl like this?



Chocolate Covered Raspberry Overnight Oats

Overnight-
  • 1/4 Cup Scottish Oats
  • 1 Raspberry Chobani
  • 1 tsp Flax
  • 1 tsp Chia
  • 1/2 Ripe Banana
AM Add-ins-
  • Raspberries, Blueberries, 1/2 Banana
  • Vanilla Almond Granola
  • 1 tsp Chocolate Almond Butter, melted
I believe overnight oats are my new favorite breakfast. Well, not sure how long this statement will last, because pumpkin season is right around the corner, and you know how I feel about pumpkin oatmeal!! 


But for now, I will enjoy the refreshing feel of cold oats, iced coffee, and juicy grapefruit.  Yes, this is my favorite in the present day. 

My chipperness lasted well into the morning.  I was doing some filming today for a webinar that I am creating so I needed to look visually appealing to a younger audience.  

Flirty skirts always make me feel young at heart. 




I didn't have much time in between tasks for lunch, so it's a very good thing leftover Gazpacho is quick and easy to consume in a reasonably short amount of time. 





By the way, someone asked me what that pink stuff is in my cup with lunch.  The answer to this is Sparkling Mineral Water with a splash of POM juice.  Lunch is always more fun with bubbles. 

This Monday flew right by and before I knew it, work was over and I was starting the week off with some strength work. 

~~GYM TIME~~

  • 2 miles on treadmill (1/2 mile intervals of sprints/hill speed walking)
  • 12 x 3 overhead press, 40 lbs
  • 25 jumping jacks
  • 12 x 3 bench press, 40 lbs
  • 25 jumping jacks
  • 12 x 3 seated lat pull down, 50lbs
  • 25 jumping jacks
  • 12 x 3 bicep curls, 30 lbs
  • 25 jumping jacks
  • 5 min stationary bike
A whole 40 min workout and quite involved.  Apparently, I had a thing for the jumping jacks tonight. 

I was so hungry when I got done.  Lunch was eaten earlier than normal and I realized it had been way to long since I had last consumed food. 

I didn't waste a moment to start on dinner and tonight, it was on of my favorites. 

Baked Feta Shrimp 


My mom used to make Shrimp Creole when I was little and I LOVED it.  This dish sort of reminds me of that, only, I've added a few of my own touches with eggplant and zucchini, feta cheese, and white wine in the sauce. 

I served my shrimp stew over a bed of steamed broccoli as seen above. 

There was just about 2 sips of wine left in the bottle.  Obviously, this could not be wasted and made a great little addition to the meal. 




As did the huge hunk of Cibatta with pesto.  Bread, Wine, Vegetables in a Spicy, Salty Tomato sauce.  And this could quite possibly be my favorite meal. 

See why I have so many reasons to be happy, not only in the morning, but all day?  Yes, food and cooking make me very happy, but I have countless other reasons in my life to feel joyful.  I think the key is just remembering these things on a daily basis and learning to appreciate them so much more than I already do.  Try it sometime.  I bet you will be smiling tomorrow morning too! 

Goodnight loves! 



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15 comments:

  1. I am totally a morning person. I like AM workouts and I am most productive work wise in the morning too! Great bowl of oats. I am SO sad summer is coming to a close. The only thing keeping my head up is pumpkin and squash :) CUTE outfit. And beautiful dinner. I just had dinner with a friend and was discussing how since becoming a total veg the only thing I miss is shrimp and crab!

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  2. I love mornings too, especially for a nice relaxing run to start my day off right!

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  3. Heck yeah I am a morning person! I am in bed by 10:00 every night ;)

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  4. I'm neither a morning person nor a night person. I'm at my best somewhere around noon. I dont know when it changed because I was a morning person when I was younger...

    I love the skirt btw :) HUGS!

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  5. i'm a morning person as well! probably has something to do with COFFEE, and the fact that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

    youre rockin that skirt, lady!

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  6. I'm definitely a morning person too...from what I see on the blog world, it seems like most of us are!! A delicious breakfast is always the best reason to get out of bed, too :) Hope you've had a great start to your week!

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  7. wow baked feta shrimp sounds OUT of this world! and i am totally a morning person too...unless i've stayed up too late the night before :)

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  8. I am trying to become a morning person...I am nannying at 8am and I need to get some pep into my morning routine. Goodness though...you sure looked cute today. I loved your outfit! A good outfit and a good breakfast can be a great start to the day!

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  9. I am totally a morning person. My idea of sleeping in is 7am :) I don't know what it is but once the sun is up, I like to be up a starting my day (usually with a workout). LOVE the skirt!

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  10. just caught up on a bunch of posts - you just are too dang cute! i love your optimistic outlook. this post put me in a good mood this morning as i am eating breakfast and drinking coffee myself. i would say i am an inbetween person - i don't do late nights but i don't do super early mornings. an ideal night would be bed by 10pm and up at 8am...10 hours of sleep will do ya good :)

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  11. When I used to work full time, I was up by 4:30 every day, at the gym until 6 and I was SO much more productive at work, I loved it! I'm still a morning person, as I tell my husband it's the only time of day the 3 kiddies are still sleeping and the house is calm and quiet. I'm no longer an AM workout person though, working out at night helps relax me and I sleep a lot better.

    I have yet to try overnight oats, but yours look so good, I may have to!!

    Jen
    http://jenslosinit.blogspot.com/

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  12. Hey Girlie,
    I have been reading your blog for so long and honestly don't think I have ever commented (how RUDE!). I absolutely adore you and your blog - I promise to be a good commenter from now on!!

    I want to be more of a morning person - but for some reason I have troubles falling asleep at night - I think it's because I normally do my work outs at night! I think I should switch it up and start working out in the mornings!!
    xoxo

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  13. I didn't used to be a morning person, but now when I wake up I just want to get up and start the day!

    LOVE that skirt. Flirty skirts make me happy, too! As does that baked shrimp. Shrimp, feta + tomatoes is always a winning combo.

    Hope you're having a great day!

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  14. I'm totally a morning person. Most days I practically jump out of bed in the morning!

    That overnight oat combo sounds delicious! :)

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  15. I'm definitely a morning person! I'd rather wake up before the sun to get things done than stay up late to do work. I'm so much more productive in the morning!

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