Day 27 - Poor Poor Pumpkin... & A Couple Recipes!

Breakfast: mixed fruit protein smoothie
Snack: banana, Nature Valley Protein bar
Lunch: PB2 & jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread, string cheese, & granny smith apple
Snack: Popped caramel corn rice cakes
Dinner: Italian-style tomato soup with meatballs --see recipe below
Snack: pumpkin-carrot bar with cream cheese frosting --see recipe below, natural fruit popsicle
Calories consumed: 1353

Exercise: Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit!! --yep! I'M BACK!!! :D

After work today I went to Walmart and got some groceries!! I had a list and it contained mostly ingredients for bagel dip & pumpkin bars for the Halloween parties that I'm going to tomorrow. The list also had a couple things like razor blades & shampoo & conditioner, but who cares about that right!??  Anyhow... I was hungry when I went shopping. BAD IDEA!!! --NEVER EVER, I repeat... NEVER go grocery shopping when you're hungry!! lol You end up with a heaping cart that looks something like this....

CRAP!!!!  --That is way more than what was on that little list of mine. BUT...I didn't get a bunch of junk. It was all pretty healthy!! of course I did get some froyo...and fruit popsicles...MMM!

I also bought a couple of pumpkins for the pumpkin carving contest tomorrow!! I was worried about them rolling in my car so I thought that I'd put mine in the carseat! :D --I'm so thoughtful & motherly. HAHA

I thought about buckling it in case it were to roll out, but when I attempted, I realized that I'd have to adjust the straps which seemed like way to much work!! So there it sat! The other pumpkin wasn't so fortunate to have a nice, comfy & safe seat to sit in. I'm sooo glad I put my pumpkin in the carseat!! Otherwise it could have easily ended up like this one...

Sorry hunny....you're pumpkin lost its stem!! :/

Well after the not so safe travel home... I started making dinner & was STARVING by then so munched on some mini rice cakes & had some super yummy mango orange juice while I made dinner--a new favorite!!

I made some homemade Italian-Style Tomato & Meatball Soup. Thanks to Courtney at Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life. Here is her recipe!

{ Italian-Style Tomato & Meatball Soup }

Meatball Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean group beef (I used 93% lean)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons minced onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Soup Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3-4 cloves roasted garlic (I had some leftover – you could also do 2 tsp minced garlic)
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) fat-free and lower sodium beef broth
• 1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup whole wheat shells (or other small pasta), uncooked
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Prepare meatballs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well (use your hands to really get in there!). Shape into 28-30 meatballs, about 1-1/4 inches each. Place on a rack in a baking dish (or just directly in the dish). Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center. Set aside.

Prepare soup: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Add in pasta and reduce heat; cover and simmer at least 10-15 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Stir in meatballs and continue to cook until heated through. 

YUM YUM YUM!!!! Here's another delicious recipe that I baked tonight for a Halloween party tomorrow!!

{ Pumpkin Carrot Bars with 

Cream Cheese Frosting }

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Earth Balance (or other butter substitute)
2 eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin pie filling
2/3 cup finely shredded carrot

Cream cheese topping:
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon skim milk

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Spray a 15 x 10 jellyroll pan with cooking spray.
2. In small bowl, whisk flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In larger bowl, use electric mixer to beat sugar, Earth Balance, and brown sugar until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin pie filling, and carrots. Beat until well blended.
4. Add flour mixture and mix until well blended. Spread onto greased pan.
5. To prepare cream cheese topping: mix together cream cheese, sugar, and milk until thoroughly blended.
6. Drop teaspoon-fulls of topping over pumpkin batter and swirl and cut mixture into batter with a butter knife.
7. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool in pan completely on wire rack before cutting into squares.

Makes 48 squares.

Click Here for Nutrtitional Info

Recipe from http://www.fitsugar.com/Healthy-T-Day-Dessert-Pumpkin-Carrot-Bars-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-6325643

So there you have it!! Some more super delicious recipes to try!!! Trust me... You're gonna want to!! 

Well... now that I finished my workout, Josie is completely craving my attention and she's wining at my feet! Did I mention that she officially knows how to play dead!??? YEP!! I'm such a proud Mama! BANG!!! --She's good!! haha Hope you all had a fantastic Friday!!! Tomorrow I'll be posting my bagel dip recipe & some pics of me in my Wonder Woman costume!! Don't get too excited!!! :D 

TATA for now!