Let’s jump on in, shall we?
You probably read the title and are jonesing for some cookies, so I’ll ramble about my week in eats, treats, and workouts, and then leave you dying for them by the end. Mmmkay? Good. (but here’s a teaser pic first)
So! Here’s how my week looked! Ready for some awesome pictures?? Thought so!
I started my weekend with a bowl of my Key Lime Pie Oats! Pat on the back, they’re amazing. Yup, I wish I had some more right about now…
My Key Lime Pie Oats are just too fabulous!! I fluffed these up with some almond milk and extra Stevia!
I found the greatest thing in the whole wide world…
Dying over these! SO amazing!
Yup, the Blue Diamond Toasted Coconut Almonds have my heart.
Then, my fiance took me on a date! We went to a really nice and fabulously delish restaurant in town! I ordered the scallops and substituted the grits for more veggies! They were to die for. I had the biggest grin on my face the whole night!
I had the most amazing scallops on our date night! They were perfectly seared, with a side of grilled asparagus and green beans!
Sunday was St. Patrick’s Day!!
I had a very green breakfast on St. Patrick’s Day! Coconut coffee, zucchini egg whites, and oats (they weren’t Irish oats, but we can pretend they were)!
And I totally snacked on this…no surprise…
Seriously, Quest Bars are my favorite! I eat them pretty much every day! (don’t forget to click on the ad in my Right Sidebar to order yours!!)
Not to sound like a broken record, but you totally need to buy them…through my link…and make me the happiest blogger in the whole world 🙂
I sure know how to make dessert (not that I’m a baking blogger or anything…cough, cough)! I mixed up this yo-bowl, and topped it with my amazing almonds, and it was CRAZY good!!
Chobani flavored with Pralines and Cream extract, topped with peanut fluff, healthy chocolate sauce (cocoa, Stevia, water), and those amazing Blue Diamond coconut almonds!!
And then, my week went a little like this:
I’ve been really good about taking my vitamins in the morning! And I love that my Egg White Oats only fit in my really big bowl!
I’ll pretend it’s spring and paint my nails with Essie: Off The Shoulder and Mint Candy Apple!
My protein flavor of the week was Strawberry! I used the Designer Whey Luscious Strawberry to make “icing” to top off my peanut butter Greek yogurt (side of peanut fluff on celery)!
And because I’m still, and always will be, a frozen yogurt addict…
Treat yo’ self! Kids cup of 1/2 mint chip 1/2 cookie dough frozen yogurts, with some sprinkles of course.
I love my fiance for taking me before dinner for a treat! It was so surprising! And then I had to come off my sugar high to make dinner.
Crazy yummy saute of peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and chicken, topped with hot sauce and a side of fresh blanched green beans!
Another brilliant breakfast…
Definitely doused these oats and zucchini egg whites with a super dose of cinnamon…confession, I probably added more after I ate the top layer!
And strange but fabulously good dinner…
Burger night! A lean ground beef burger, seasoned with Chinese 5 Spice, topped with peach jam, sauteed onions, mustard, hot sauce, and an egg! All on a romain leaf. Side of warm wilted Asian slaw!
And I cannot wait to make my way through these books:
So excited about these new reads! I love reading other health professionals’ perspectives on exercise and nutrition. And I just LOVE Jillian Michaels! I’m obsessed!
I’m obsessed with Jill, so I know I’ll love hers. Ultimate You is supposed to help me tweak my exercising with my hormones, so I’m eager to read it and see if I can apply it to my life.
Wasn’t that fun??
This Week’s Treats:
Grasshopper Bars (totally a peek into Spring!)
Coconut “Carrot Cake m&m” Cookies (using the new Spring m&ms, a healthier soft-batch style cookie!)
Orange Creamsicle Oats (because my citrus oat genius knows no bounds)
The Sweaty Breakdown:
Friday: I did that Barre DVD that I talked about trying last week! I was SO thankful it was only 30 minutes, because you work by tweaking little muscles, an inch at a time! It totally wiped me out.
Saturday: my fiance and I took a walk around the city, mostly to check out all of the St. Patrick’s Day partiers that were downtown. Then, that evening we went out for our date, downtown, and I walked there and back in heels! Now that’s a workout in my book.
Sunday: I did a HIIT treadmill workout! Here it is:
warm up 5 min
for 20 min: 60 sec – perceived level 8 sprint
60 sec- perceived level 3 recovery
cool down 5 min
pushups then a walk around the block with the dog!
Monday: training – total body circuit
Tuesday: Rest day!
Wednesday: training – total body circuit (I like doing the total body circuits, versus focusing on upper or lower body; I feel more balanced)
Thursday: Rest day!
Fabulous Fitness Finds:
This week I’m going to change it up and give you a recipe for my Fitness Find!!
It uses Designer Whey protein, but you can use whichever protein you like best. BUT if you want to try Designer Whey, the lovely Jody has offered up a discount code for you to use!! Just enter ZDWHEY4 when you check out and you’ll get 20% off your order AND FREE shipping on orders over $50 (Continental US)!
Strawberry Shortbread Protein Cookies (gluten-free)
(makes about 2 dozen cookies)
1 cup almond meal
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1 scoop Strawberry protein powder (28g, Designer Whey)
1 Tbs. granulated Stevia
1 Tbs. melted coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. unsweetened almond milk
~In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Create a well in the middle, and add the coconut oil, vanilla, and almond milk. Use a sturdy fork or spoon to carefully stir and mix until the dough comes together. The dough should not be very wet, and it should only just come together (if you can press it together with your hands, it’s good). Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it.
~Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment.
~Roll out your dough between two pieces of parchment to a few millimeters thickness (not too thick, but not so thin that you won’t be able to pick it up). Stamp out your dough with a cookie cutter (I used a 1 & 7/8″ round cutter) and use a metal spatula to help you pick up the cookies and transfer them to your cookie sheet.
Note: Do not roll out your dough more than twice without re-refrigerating the dough for 10 min between, to keep it from getting too warm. I rolled it out twice, stamped it out, and then wrapped the remainder of the dough to use another time.
~Place the stamped out cookies in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking. Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven and bake the cookies for 9-12 minutes, being sure not to over-bake the cookies. Let them cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
How exactly you enjoy, is totally up to you! Maybe you’ll be tempted to “ice” them with a little Strawberry protein thinned with water:
Or maybe you’ll make a sandwich cookie out of them:
Anyway is a good way!!
Enjoy!
Strike up a conversation: How was your week? Any big plans this weekend?
Coconut Almonds?!? Yum! I also love the coconut cashew Quest bar–it’s my favorite from their line. We made scallops at home a couple of weeks ago, and now that picture has me craving it again. I’ll have to see if they’re on sale this weekend!
strawberry protein – sounds yummy!
our week was good – we were very productive and busy 🙂
Happy Friday!
These look delicious! I don’t have Strawberry protein powder.. BUT I have Vanilla and Chocolate.. may need to switch it up a little 🙂
Totally should! These would be SO yum with vanilla or chocolate…or both 🙂
There is so much happening here I don’t even know where to begin. I need to get on board the healthy chocolate sauce train…maybe I’ll used carob since I’m somewhat obsessed with that flavor right now. 🙂
You should! My fiance is always making chocolate milk, so I have this intense need to make chocolate sauce to drizzle over my yogurt (and oats…story of my life)!
Ummm… I just ate and now I’m hungry again after seeing all of this awesomeness. I adore my DW powder. My order is going to have to include strawberry. Not my typical flavor, but I trust your judgment.
Totally not my typical flavor either! But the cookies could be made with any flavor. But I liked the strawberry shortbread 🙂
So many great recipes! I don’t even know which one to pin first 🙂
I have been reading Slim for Life, and love all the tips. I can only read a few at a time though–otherwise I feel like I’m on overload.
I’m making my way through Jillian’s book at the moment too 🙂
Those shortbreads look really yummy.
This is an amazing post. I’m new to your blog from the FitFluential FB link love, and I love all of these pictures! This food looks amazing. I want to try to Strawberry Protein cookies. I just bought the Vanilla Designer Whey last night. Did you do a cookie with the vanilla? And awesome job on your workouts this week. I need to get back to HIIT training.
Thanks so much! I DID do a cookie with the vanilla a couple weeks ago on Fabulously Fit Friday (Carrot Cake Protein Cookies), but you could totally do these cookies with the vanilla too!! SO happy you love my blog! Enjoy!
SOOOOOOOOOOOO much food love! 🙂 Got to love those cookies. Cookies are my go to treat! I love DW – I am an affiliate so that says that but this recipe is amazing!!!!
Let me know if any of your readers need a discount code to order DW products. I have one for 20% of all products online! 🙂
Awesome! I can edit and include the discount code with my recipe if you’d like to share it! Thanks so much!!
Only is you want! I try not to push too much. I do get a LITTLE money back but not much. 🙂 BUT f people like DW & will buy it to try or reorder here is the info:
Discount Code ZDWHEY4 to be used at checkout. You get 20% off entire order and FREE shipping with orders of $50 or more in Continental US! :)Have to put in the code though. Don’t go to any extra trouble.. I appreciate the offer though! 🙂
Oh no, I’ll be happy to do it! Thank you! I’m an affiliate for Quest so I totally know how it goes 🙂
How is that Dunkin Donuts Coconut Coffee? I love the Strawberry Shortcake version but I am almost out and looking to dive into the other DD flavors! 🙂
PS: I wish I was the 3rd wheel on your dinner date with your fiance, because I totally would have ordered the same thing!
I LOVE the coconut!! I’m going to go buy the Strawberry now that you mentioned it!
Wow! Cool on the Quest affiliate! So much buzz out there!!! Are you able to offer a discount on orders or is it just a little back to you when people order?
Sadly I can’t offer a discount. But I get a little back on orders but they have to be from clicking through the ad on my sidebar. I have to really encourage Quest lovers to come click on my sidebar ad to order! 🙂
THX for sharing my code!!!! Let me know if I can help you out as well!
Oh you’re so welcomed! Well if you ever have a friend or hear someone who loves Quest or wants to try them (or who orders them already), if you could just tell them to visit my blog and click on the ad to then order, it’d really help me out! 🙂
Plus, it doesn’t hurt them at all 🙂 win win
I’ve been making everything “protein” lately on my site – but shortbread protein cookies?! I’m obsessed. Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely be adding it to my collection of things I MUST make ASAP.
Which Barre DVD was it? (Sorry if I missed that somewhere!) Thanks!!