We’re Going to the ALCS!

If this weekend wasn’t already pretty fantastic, the Orioles swept the Tigers and are going to the ALCS! I may or may not have been jumping up and down. And Nathan may or may not have picked me up as I was yelling “ALCS! ALCS! ALCS!” in celebration. It’s a good thing he’s just as weird as I am..

The weather was absolutely incredible over the weekend. Actually, it really has been for at least the past week, but Saturday was especially beautiful. Saturday was also Yom Kippur but I was not about to let fasting get in the way of enjoy the weather. That said, I really tried to pack in the calories Friday night! I loaded up on beer, brick oven baked chicken wings, salmon salad, a little pizza, and of course, pumpkin pie gelato.

Cheers to the Orioles!

The homemade ranch really kicks it up a notch.

I stole all of the warm ricotta off of Nathan’s pizza 😉

I had to go with the seasonal flavor.

We also stopped for a bit to listen to the awesome live music on the street. They had a pianist, drummer, trumpeter, and clarinetist. So bizarre and so wonderful.

Fabulous live music on the streets of Berkeley!

Saturday we spent much of the day at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. I made a huge effort to explore the area when we first got there and we took a walk over to the Sutro Baths. It was worth all of my strength that went into it for such gorgeous views.

Stunning views.

Couldn’t ask for more beautiful weather.

We made it!

I was also rewarded by taking a nap on the beach afterward. I pretty much laid down and didn’t move for hours and it was glorious! After a few hours, we made our way back home where I took another nap. I swear, I have no idea how people ever fast. I need me some food! And after 23 hours, Nathan convinced me to break the fast.. with a shot of bourbon. Usually in my family we break with a shot of scotch, but bourbon was all we had. What a terrible problem to have, right? Then we went for dinner!

I needed to get my hand in for size reference.

Worth a second view!

You bet that salad bowl was completely empty along with more cornbread for Nathan’s salad. Whoops 😉 I was a happy camper after all of that food though.

Yesterday was pretty quiet with the exception of the excitement of the Orioles game! It was a sports day around here and I had a work meeting [and got to check out the new equipment!] Nathan cooked dinner while I was gone, so I figured I could work my magic with the rest of the week’s menu..

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Cajun chicken with Israeli salad
Monday – Chicken and easy broccoli stir fry
Tuesday – Indian-style chicken satay with curried cashew sauce
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – 20 minute Thai basil chicken with lemongrass rice bowl
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

There’s also a chance I’ll make these roasted sweet potato black bean burgers to have in the freezer. Don’t they look delicious?!

Food for Thought

If you were fasting or even had to fast, what would be your break fast meal?
What’s on your menu this week?

Five Things Friday

It’s Friday!! I’m not sure if I could be any happier that I actually made it out of this week alive [..so far].

1. The past 2 weeks have been absolutely nuts at work but it makes the weekends all that much better.
2. Speaking of weekends, tonight at sundown begins Yom Kippur which means 24 hours of fasting. I’ll be staying off of Pinterest tonight and tomorrow!
3. HOWEVER! Today is National Peanut Day. Quite possibly one of my favorite days ever [after my wedding day and National Peanut Butter Day, of course]. So I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite peanut recipes for you.
   

   Sweet

   

   Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bark

   

   Hail Merry Peanut Butter Coconut Banana Bites

   

   Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Cups

   

   Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

   

   Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

   

   Sweet Potato Dippers

   Savory

   

   Buddha’s Feast with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

   

   Peanut Chili Baked Tofu

   

   Tilapia Stir-Fry with Chili Peanut Sauce

   Enjoy 🙂

4. Another round of Best Body Bootcamp started this week. Looking over the workouts I definitely thought they didn’t look so bad and I’d probably breeze through them. Holy cow was I wrong! All of the workouts were deceptively difficult and I left the gym drenched. It was a great feeling!
   

   Cardio and core work

5. I wandered around the food area of Marshall’s last week and found a few fun things. I’d gotten plain ginger chews for Nathan to try once upon a time and he said they were a bit spicy for his liking. When I came across a bag of peanut butter ginger chews [here I go with the peanut butter again!], I couldn’t pass them up. They have more of a peanut butter flavor with a little kick of ginger spice.. seriously addictive! And they’re individually wrapped so you can throw a few in your bag for later!
   

   Peanut Butter Ginger Chews

And on that peanutty note, I hope you have a lovely, restful weekend!

Food for Thought

Do you have a favorite food holiday?