The food post...

Happy Friday, everyone!  The other day, one of my friends quipped that, "Friday doesn't mean anything to you anymore, does it?"  Wrong.  Friday means a) I get to see my boyfriend for more than a few hours in the evening, and b) the gym will busier than usual.  Good and bad.  It means I'm another week closer to school, which is exciting, and responsibility, which is not as exciting.  I still like Fridays, thank you very much.

I've been cooking and baking a lot lately, which I mentioned in my last update.

Healthy foods and not-so-healthy foods.

Let's start with the not-so-healthy.  I've been on a bit of a cookie-kick.  

Funfetti cheesecake cookies with white chocolate chips.

I kind of made this one up based on a recipe for Eagle Brand Bars.  It involves a graham cracker base, peanut butter, honey roasted peanuts and chocolate chips.  Oh, and more peanut butter.

Cherry chip with white chocolate chips.

Double chocolate with white chocolate chips and caramel pieces.  Randomly found baking caramel at Target and had to do something... SOMETHING... with it.  

Excuse the ugly muffin tin.  These are my unbaked"breakfast cupcakes" - Egg, bacon and cheese in buttermilk biscuit dough.  

Million dollar mac n cheese.  The simplest, yet most involved (and best, IMO) thing that I like to make.  Of course, I can't eat it.  Involves white sharp cheddar, romano, and gruyere with real breadcrumbs.  

Deconstructed white (chicken) lasagna.  This, friends, is why I shouldn't be allowed on Pinterest.  

Let's compare this to "my" foods....

Pumpkin crepe with cinnamon "cream cheese" filling.  This was extremely low in calories, high in protein and surprisingly awesome.  Seriously. 

I'd forgotten how awesome my cast iron skillet can be.  Turkey breast tenderloins, browned and then roasted.  Since they're so low in fat, they typically dry out and are kinda "meh"... not this time.

Typical dinner these days.  Chicken and veggies.  

I obviously didn't make this, but it MADE MY DAY.  They have taco seasoning, too.

Pumpkin season (for me, anyway) is drawing to a close so I fully intend to overdose up until Thanksgiving.  These were pumpkin muffins, which I've been having for breakfast just about every day.  The macro breakdown is phenomenal.  Coconut flour, egg white, pumpkin, cinnamon, and protein powder are the main ingredients.

Pumpkin pancake, same ingredients as the muffins but in a different form.

Not the best picture, but my new favorite thing.  Mexican hot chocolate protein muffins.  These were a happy accident - I grabbed the cayenne instead of cinnamon one morning... Cellucor molten chocolate whey, coconut and oat flour, some pumpkin, egg white, Hershey's baking cocoa, cinnamon and cayenne.

So, yeah, I've really been loving this whole time to cook in the mornings (or time to do anything, period) thing.  Really, really enjoying.  Extra 'really' for emphasis.  

Making some gains.

It's funny (no, it's not) - turns out when you eat, you feel better.  Lift heavier.  Don't feel like passing out all of the time.  Yesterday I was dead lifting close to my body weight.  I was dead lifting OVER what I weighed this time last year.  I am very happy with all I've accomplished this year.  I have days that are better than others, and I'm still working hard on cultivating a positive inner voice, but I am making progress.  

Enough with the seriousness. 

Seriously.

I think my next post will be on the subject of gym etiquette.  Cause it's fairly nonexistent, and I have a good story.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!