Hello, 4-day Weekend.

One of the perks of being a student is getting days off that most of the world doesn't!

This morning I hopped out of bed bright and early at 5am to hit the gym for a 6am BodyPump class (I move really, really slow in the morning!). Even though I could've slept in since we don't have school, I'm not going to be able to go to my regular Sunday 'Pump - I still wanted to go sometime this weekend, so this morning it was. The instructor definitely killed us with push-ups, especially the walking ones!

There's definitely something to be said for getting your workout out of the way by 7am - I always am SO happy when I walk out of the gym nice and sweaty!

Since I don't have class today, I wasn't in any rush to get home and stopped at Starbucks for some of my favorite coffee, the blonde roast. It doesn't appear here very often, but I get this like 3 times a week in the morning (trying to keep myself from needing it every morning - plus $1.65 a cup adds up!). It also makes it a treat when I do get it.

I'm in love.

Then I made myself a yummy protein smoothie and slurped it up (in my huge hoodie, of course) while catching up on my favorite blogs. I love leisurely mornings!

Aaand I had to retake that picture cause the first time there were most definitely berry seeds in between my teeth. Very attractive ;)

Then this happened in my kitchen. Wait for it....

Birthday Cake Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies! Yup, you read that right. I have been looking forward to making these all week for my friend's birthday tomorrow!

A little while back when I came across this recipe on Picky Palate, and then saw Birthday Cake Oreos (for their 100th anniversary) in the store the same day - it was a sign! I knew this would be the perfect recipe to make for Nicole's birthday.

The idea was simple: cover an oreo with your basic chocolate chip cookie dough. The execution: not as simple! I was getting cookie dough everywhere (the recipe made dough that was a little gooey) and it was pretty hard to cover the oreos without making a mess.

I used Becky's tip and refrigerated the cookies before baking. I also stuck the dough in the fridge at this point so that it would be easier to cover the oreos for the rest of the batches, which was definitely a smart move. It was a lot less messy after that!

I followed the recipe exactly, except I added a few rainbow sprinkles to the actual cookie dough, used Birthday Cake Oreos to make the cookies festive, and baked them for 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for (the cookies were HUGE!)

These made my kitchen smell like cake batter and chocolate chip cookies. What more could you want?

I highly suggest you hightail it to the grocery store, pick up some of these oreos, and make these. Now. I promise you won't regret it!

And if this morning wasn't already amazing enough, I went out to pick up a few treats for my Foodie Pen Pal (first time participating this month!) and later I'm having lunch with my mom. I am so glad it is the weekend!

But the best has yet to come... because tomorrow I'm leaving for L.A. to visit my older brother!!!!! I am so flippin' excited - I haven't seen Jay since his winter break two months ago, plus this is my first time getting to visit him at college instead of him coming home! Needless to say I am PUMPED!!!!

what are your plans for this weekend? 
what's your idea of an awesome day? mine includes all of the above (a good workout, coffee, yummy healthy breakfast, time to bake and read blogs, hanging out with my momma, grocery shopping) but i would probably throw in a pedicure and some time with a movie or a good book too!

WIAW: New Foodie Finds.

This week for WIAW I thought I'd switch it up a bit and share a few of the new foods that I've been enjoying lately! There's been a couple of really good finds - mostly at Trader Joe's - that I'm super excited to share with you guys.

Up first: TJ's White Bean and Basil Hummus.

This stuff is thick, creamy and SO flavorful! It tastes a lot like pesto sauce to me, except it's healthier and has a more tangy flavor. I bet it would be awesome stirred into some pasta - planning on trying that later this week!

I've been dipping carrots into it, eating it straight out of the container (it's that good!), and the other day I had toast with the hummus and eggs. Definitely one of my current favorite breakfasts!

Next: PB2.

It's definitely caught on around the blog world but after reading a ton of posts about it I really wanted to get some for myself. I was this close to ordering it online when I happened to notice it was in a local grocery store called Lunardi's for $5 - the same price as it was online, without the shipping!

I was a little nervous about how it would taste since I've tried peanut flour before and wasn't a fan - but somehow the PB2 was a LOT better! It definitely has a really good nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness that I wasn't expecting. I also love how you can make it as thick or as drippy as you like, and there's 5g of protein per serving.

I've been enjoying it slathered on bananas with chocolate chips (my own version of ants on a log!), dipping apples in it, and eating it plain. I love making it really thick and just eating it with a spoon- for some reason it's super satisfying!

#3: TJ's Pizza Parlano (with italian sausage, uncured pepperoni, roasted peppers, and roasted onions)

This pizza was really good and full of flavor! The ingredients list had foods that I recognized (I don't buy pizzas with meat unless the meat is minimally processed), and for once the actual outcome looked like the pictures on the box, haha!

It was perfect for a quick and easy dinner, and I will definitely be buying it again!

#4: Clif Crunch White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bars.

I've been on a huge white chocolate macadamia nut kick and these bars are amazing. They're perfectly sweet and crunchy - perfect for satisfying my raging sweet tooth in a healthy way! 

They're even better when smeared with some nut butter (although what isn't better with nut butter??) 

And lastly: Trader Joe's Refried Beans with Jalapeño Peppers. 

Kind of random, but I'm a huge bean-lover and these are some of the best refried beans I've ever had. They're not too spicy, and they have just the perfect amount of flavor. My dad, the other bean-lover in the family, really liked these too! 

I've been making omelets with the beans, shredded mexican cheese, and salsa - mmmmmm!

what are your most recent foodie finds?

favorite store to shop for food at? my favorites are Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco, and even Target. 

First Race of the Track Season

Hey guys! I hope you are all enjoying your weekends :)
[warning: marathon post ahead! ;)]

Last week was really crazy for me (hence the wordless WIAW post) and I found myself getting really stressed out over trying to balance everything. Sometimes I have really good weeks where I feel on top of everything, and other weeks I feel overwhelmed. Last week was one of those "how am I going to get everything done" kind of weeks, so I am really glad that I get to just relax today.

Yesterday was my first real race of the track season and it went fairly well!

Before I left my house, I had a banana with Barney butter (I never thought I would come to like this combo but it tasted really good yesterday!) and it didn't give me any stomach problems.

The race was part of a huge East Bay Invitational so there were a ton of schools there. Only bummer is when I got there, I found out that the meet was pretty far behind and my race would be at least an hour after its scheduled time.

I ended up sitting around for about 2 1/2 hours before I even warmed up (which made me really annoyed because I seriously hate wasting time, haha) and by the time we started our warmup I was starting to get hungry because I hadn't expected the race to be delayed so much. It was too close to the start to eat anything, but I could tell it wasn't going to be an awesome race. I'd been sitting around for too long, my legs felt really heavy during the warmup, and on top of that I was hungry!

[sorry in advance for the blurry pictures - my mom was snapping the photos and she had to stand pretty far away from track, so the camera was really zoomed in!]

at the start line - i'm in the yellow and green! 

There were supposed to be two heats of my race (I ran the 1600) but to save time, they ended up combining the two heats. Which meant there were 26 girls in my race - talk about claustrophobic at the start line! I was seeded 17th, so my goal for the race was to beat just a couple of girls. 

finally we're off! 

See the girl in the black and red directly to my right in the above picture? I made it my goal to stick with her and pass her by the end of the race.

By the third lap around the track my legs were seriously screaming at me. I think it was just the lack of fuel that made them feel so tired - but I kept pushing. 

I finally got close to passing the black and red girl...

And then I did [in the photo above, the black and red girl is behind me out of the shot]! 

Coming into the finish...

With a time of 6:01. Considering the fact that this was my first race this season and I wasn't adequately fueled, I was fairly happy with that time. 

Post race picture with dad [with portapotties in the background.. lovely, right?]

I was really hungry and thirsty by the time I finished, but we made a quick stop at Whole Foods to pick up some dinner before heading home.

I've been craving Panera's black bean soup for the past couple of days but since the one closest to me hasn't had it, I picked up a substitute at WF. 

I also got a sweet potato to try since I've been seeing them on lots of blogs for a long time now! 

While the sweet potato and soup were heating up I had some steamed broccoli to quiet my stomach. 

The soup was just okay - I was really looking for a thicker, more seasoned soup like Panera's. This definitely needed a little extra something, but I'm not sure exactly what. 

I also was not a fan of the sweet potato - I only had a few bites before I ended up tossing it (at least it only cost 87 cents!). I really like sweet potato chips, but the real deal was too sweet and mushy for my liking.

Since I tossed out the sweet potato, I was still hungry after the soup and whipped up a Simple Berry Smoothie which hit the spot. 

A little bit later I had some peanut butter cheerios while Skyping with my older brother. Then I plopped on the couch to watch a little bit National Treasure that was on TV, but 15 minutes later my eyes were drooping so I headed upstairs (total party animal, I know ;) ) 

This morning I woke up naturally around 7am with plans to hit up the 9am BodyPump class. I know you're thinking I'm crazy right about now - strength training after a race? But I'm going to be out of town next weekend and really want to stick with my goal of strength at least 1x a week. I planned to take off some weight on the leg tracks to let them recover a little bit. 

Then my mom came downstairs and asked if I wanted to go to the 8am BodyCombat with her, which is always a blast, so I ended up saying yes [ok, now you're thinking i'm really crazy]. I loved the BodyCombat class because it focused mostly on the upper body and the instructor was awesome! 

BodyPump wasn't as great - it definitely was hard to not lift my usual weight. I knew that it was going to have to come down sometime, since I'm not able to go as often as I used to, but it still was hard to accept that I'm losing a little bit of strength. 

I left the gym sweaty and exhausted, but with a smile on my face. Tomorrow is definitely going to be an easy day since I pushed myself pretty hard this weekend.

I came home and made myself another berry smoothie with a new kind of protein powder that I bought a packet of to try. 

I was definitely a fan of it [minus the cheesy muscle man on the package, heh] - it is sweetened with stevia, has 25g of protein, and made my smoothie extra thick and creamy. I think I definitely will be buying more! 

Don't you love it when your smoothies are so big that it fills up two cups?? This was one of my biggest smoothies yet and it was delicious. 

I'm off to clean my room, do some laundry, and possibly hit up the mall (starting to look for a formal dress for my senior ball in may!). 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

do you like sweet potatoes? if you do, how do you prepare them?

tell me something fun you did this weekend!