What I Ate "When I Was Home Alone" Wednesday

Yay it's Wednesday! My most favourite weekday of all!






And this is no ordinary Wednesday ~ this is the day when I divulge all the treats I indulge in when my hubby is away. You know what they say, "when Derek's away, his wifey will play"....with food that is! :-) In the old days, all I would have been able to post here is pot after pot of Kraft Dinner with weiners, but thankfully I've evolved and become a little more creative in my eats!

I like to pick and munch all day long when I have no one's schedule but my own to worry about. This weekend was no different. I thoroughly enjoyed my down time, but I was really glad when Derek got home, so I could get back into a routine.

Check out all the good things I indulged in over the weekend.

Veggie Pizza. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd have this for breakfast, lunch & dinner!

Other breakies included iced coffee and fresh strawberries.

When I wasn't eating pizza for lunch, I was having a tomato pesto sandwich.

If you haven't tried this, go and make it right now! It is one of my all-time favourite sandwiches!

For dinner, when I wasn't eating pizza ;-)  hehe, I was having a salsa bean burger on a thin

bun, with a side of stirfried broccoli with garlic and balsamic.

Stay tuned, bean burger recipe to come tomorrow and I promise you that it is dee-eelish!

Can you tell I'm lovin' these whole grain thin buns?

And of course, I can't forget all my snacks. They are an absolute must for a home alone weekend!

Strawberries dipped in dark chocolate

Brown rice chips - sweet chili flavour

Red Wine ~ of course!

...and last, but not least, my lonely little peanut butter blondie.

Whew! Thank goodness I'm not home alone every night or I'd be in some serious trouble! I love to indulge and enjoy my down time, but it always feels great to get back to my healthy oats and salads full of greens.

If you're looking for some more inspiration, pop on over to Jenn's site at Peas & Crayons to explore the amazing eats of so many other awesome bloggers.

What is your favourite thing to snack on when you just want to pick and munch all day?

Happy Hump Day,

Andrea

Home Alone ~ My Supplies

So Derek has been gone since 7:30 a.m. and he's all set up at the Michigan International Speedway lounging in a lawn chair and sippin' a cold one, or two :-)

Me, I'm finally home from the longest work week EVER and I'm getting myself ready for a lazy and relaxing weekend. On my way home I stopped for some essential supplies:

Veggie Pizza (see, I wasn't joking about this in my last WIAW post!)

Red Wine

This is a new Merlot from Niagara, Canada and it is FANTASTIC.

Dark Chocolate - obviously!

Fresh, local strawberries - to curb my sweet tooth after I polish off that chocolate.... or maybe I could melt the chocolate and dip my berries in it...hmmmmm......

Season 1 of Dexter - I've had so many friends tell me I will love this series. Erin also mentioned she was lovin' it on her blog recently and it's been on my mind ever since, so I decided to break down and rent it. I found it at our local library, so it was a FREE rental! Yeah baby!

Don't judge if I watch the entire season by Sunday night :-D

Stuffed Frozen Kongs - a definite necessity to keep the doggies stimulated when you plan to watch 10 hours of the tube over the weekend! These ones are stuffed with sweet potato mashed with just a wee bit of cream cheese and finely diced chicken weiner.

...oh, and I can't forget about the kale :-D ....wha??? You'll just have to check back to see what I have planned for it! I have a couple of yummy and healthy recipes on the brain.

What is your all-time favourite TV series? Hands down, mine is Sex & the City!

What are your essential must-haves when you are enjoying a quiet night to yourself?

Have a fabulous weekend,

Andrea

Weekends are the Best.....& so is Veggie Pizza!!!

I love weekends for so many reasons.

Why you might ask?? Well, let me tell you :-)

1. Workouts can be done in the morning
I just love getting up and getting my groove on bright and early. Not only do I get my workout done and out of the way, so I can enjoy the rest of my day, but it leaves me with so much positive energy. I'm pumped up and mentally I feel really so good that I fit the workout in and that I'm one day closer to my goal of getting fit for the upcoming summer. This weekend I got in 2 awesome workouts. Yesterday I started week 2 of my running program with the goal of running a 5K this year and it was the easiest run I've had so far. Today, I did a kick-butt step class. It was tough, but I felt great afterwards.

2. Grocery Shopping!!
Unlike so many people out there, I love grocery shopping! I drop into the local grocery store at least 2 - 3 times every week. On Saturdays, I usually have the time to stroll up and down the aisles checking out the deals and conjuring up some fabulous meals for the upcoming week. I can't wait for the Spring because my favourite place to shop is the farmer's markets!

3. More time in the kitchen
I love cooking on the weekend because we can cook, eat and clean up and still have time to sit down and relax in the eveninigs. Lately I have been finding myself still at the sink washing dishes at 9 p.m. on weeknights ~ I hate when that happens! I also use the weekends to bake up sinful treats for Derek and our family and friends if we have somewhere to go or something to celebrate.

Let me in on our secret to a happy marriage : Sweet Treats = Happy Couple :-)

And speaking of treats, check out what I whipped up this weekend.

We celebrated Derek's mom's, grandma's and cousin's husband's birthdays today. Of course, I needed to bake. I also made some peanut butter brownies, but I never took any pictures <insert wrist slap> :-) I promise that I will be posting the brownie recipe in the very near future. They were soooooo good and I have so many variation ideas that I can't wait to try!!!

Derek was away overnight last night and after I was all finished baking, I was starving. So, I whipped myself up a quick and easy veggie pizza.

We had a store bought whole wheat pizza crust in the freezer, as well as some leftover pizza sauce, so I used them as my base.

Then I chopped up all of my favourite veggies. If you have never had broccoli on pizza, you should give it a whirl. It's fantastic!

And no pizza would be complete without green olives. I love olives on everything especially pizza and veggie subs.

And of course you can't forget your favourite cheese. This is the one dairy food that I still crave on a daily basis. I haven't found a vegan cheese that I like (although there aren't a lot of choices readily available here) and I just don't see myself giving up pizza.....ever.

Bake at 350 for approximately 25 - 30 minutes.

Remove from oven once the crust his golden brown and the cheese is all melty and bubbly. Let sit for a few minutes.

Cut into slices and enjoy.   Mmmmmm.   So Good.

It was the perfect dinner for l'il ol' me.

Next time I am going to try my making my own crust. I've never tried to make it before. I've seen a few recipes I would love to try and I've also seen pesto as the sauce on veggie pizza; with goat cheese. Can you say "Heaven on Earth"?? 

I try to limit myself to pizza only once a week, especially while on my journey to a hot and rockin' bod, but I see that pesto veggie pizza just might be in our futures.

Until then, have a wonderful Sunday evening!! 

Andrea