Breadless McMuffin

Welcome to 2017, y'all! I truly hope this is our best year yet. This year I have big plans and personal goals that I have decided WILL happen. My positive attitude waivers from day to day depending on the weather and how much sleep I've had. I'm feeling good about things today though. School starts back next week and I have done some changes to my syllabus and I'm excited about trying new things and becoming a better teacher. I'm grateful it's starting back because too much time off makes me crazy. I get up every day and do at least 2-3 hours of writing or preparing for school to stay sharp and not watch Food Network for 12 hours. In terms of weight, I was planning on weighing NYE but decided it would more than likely make me depressed and I'm not letting numbers do that anymore. I am giving myself some time to let my body recover from the holidays and then see where I'm at on January 13th. I've done pretty well this week so far. I'm taking things slowly. I'm healthy so there's no rush. As I always say, one day at a time.

I want to give a quick birthday shout out to my dog Major, who turned 7 on Monday and my main squeeze Ian who will be celebrating the big 3-0 on Sunday! Yes, I'm robbing the cradle by a couple years. I hope he has a great weekend. I have some surprises in store so I think he will!

This morning I went old school and made a low-carb breakfast that is super easy, filling and tasty. I've made similar meals before but using ham at the base is a little different and it's one that I like. All you do is pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, grab a muffin tin, spray 4 spots with non-stick cooking spray, add a piece of deli ham to the bottom, and add a small piece of cheese on top of that (I used smoked white cheddar but you could go with something else). You are essentially making a little cup. In a bowl, whisk two eggs, add a little water to make it stretch further, add some chopped green onion and chopped spinach. You could use any veggie you want (mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, etc.). Add salt, pepper and garlic powder. Take the egg mixture and pour it into each cup. Pop it in the oven around 15 minutes and that's it! I had 4 of these bad boys for around 300 calories. It's got lots of protein and "they" say that is key to a healthy breakfast to start your day.

We've also made two blue apron meals this week and a Little Big Meal from Fresh Market. If you haven't explored the Little Big Meal from Fresh Market, give it a try. I sing the praises of Fresh Market all the time but I don't do all my shopping there. I only do the sale stuff. The first picture, which is the result of the Little Big Meal is a steak salad. For $20, I got a pound of fresh steak strips, a huge thing of mixed greens, a container of shaved parmesan, a salad veggie pack (broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes), 8 sourdough rolls and 8 strawberry strudels. I mean, it doesn't get much better than that. The second picture is Blue Apron's sesame chicken. I'm glad the serving was smaller than usual on this because I could have eaten three times the amount that I did. The third and final picture is Blue Apron's creamy fennel pasta. It was garnished with ricotta, garlic bread crumbs and green olives. We have one dish left this month but those two were super tasty. I like when all the ingredients for a meal are handed to me. I can only afford Blue Apron once every couple months though.

My Dad called me randomly on the 30th and asked me if I wanted to go to Bama's playoff game against Washington in Atlanta on NYE. I said yes and so we went on an impromptu trip. I'm so glad we did! It was a long day. We left around 7 and then drove back after the game. I was home in time to go out and party with friends in Tuscaloosa. The atmosphere was awesome and Alabama won! I'm really grateful my Dad, brother and I got to experience it. Alabama plays Clemson AGAIN on Monday 1/9 for another National Championship.

Roll Tide!

Have a great week!

Until next time...