Banana Cream Pie Parfait (high protein)

I want summer to end already. Woah, yes, that’s right – I said it. The more it randomly rains for one day, the more I realize how much I love rain, and thunderstorms, and cuddle weather… I miss Fall and I want it to be here. I also love school and I want the semester to start. I get these fluttery feelings inside when I think of Fall. It makes me think of new beginnings; it is sort of like a nostalgic feeling – I get those a lot. They are wonderful feelings because they make me feel and think of how things used to be and how I used to feel, it makes me miss my childhood. But I don’t dwell on those feelings. I do hope to recreate them eventually though, probably with my own family in the future (whenever the time comes). The cuddle warm feelings of sitting in bed while it’s storming outside. I love those moments. It is saddening to me that this will be my last year at college. As much as I am ready to conquer the world, I am not entirely ready to leave school and the light-heartedness and “lack of” serious responsibility that comes with it. It means that another chapter of my life will be closed. The thought both excites and terrifies me.

Along with the thought above, holy crap, is it really the end of July already? Like, as much as I’m all for Fall being here – where has the time gone? Seriously, it feels like yesterday was only the weekend after 4th of July. The time is going by faster than it ever has before. It’s awesome cause Fall is near but I highly doubt the time will slow down once it’s in my ideal spot – next seasons will come and go just as quickly, I’m sure. We live in such a busy hurried world.

Anywho, you might have noticed I have been on quite the parfait kick lately. This time a ripe banana had to be used that has been sitting on the counter for about a week. Super sweet goodness. Time to get in my belleh– parfait style! Yeah, this time it’s a banana cream pie parfait. I just come up with these things as I go. I might be inspired by random things. *cough* pinterest *cough* I also have a whole list of recipes I have altered that are waiting for me to dig into and finally make in the kitchen but in time… mister, in time. There’s a time and place for everything. And today, it was the time for this banana.

Oh yeah, it was also my first time cooking oat bran. I haven’t had oat bran but always seeing it on Lisa’s blog, I wanted to try it. Although I made it entirely differently than she does, I still want to credit her for giving me to inspiration to buy this product. I love oat bran now and I can’t believe it took me this long to become converted. The texture is just right – so creamy and delicious, it also has more nutritional value than regular oats. The only downside is that it takes a bit longer to cook. Doesn’t stop me though 🙂

I made this in the afternoon and ate one right there and then ate another one for breakfast. The breakfast one tasted even better, so I recommend you give it a try and stick it in the fridge for a whole bunch of hours. You won’t be disappointed.

What I Ate Wednesdays #6: Summer is here!

Yes, summer is finally here. I am officially done with my Junior year of college as of last Thursday. I decided to take a whole week off to do nothing – therefore I came to my parents’ house in the suburbs for a few days. So then, finally, my WIAW looks a bit different than usual. And I think that’s a good thing – I needed variety in my life. My daily eats have been looking boring lately. Well, not like this time they are, like, super exciting or fancy or anything… but the whole day looks different from what I’ve been doing lately.

Healthy Banana Split

I am done with week 1 out of 12 of second round of ChaLean Extreme. Cardio is definitely my least favorite but I’ve really grown to enjoy weight lifting. Today was a cardio day. Haha, enough said. Also, for the past few months I’ve been really learning to listen to my body and hearing what it like and doesn’t like in terms of food. Every time I don’t feel good after eating something, or if I do something that my body doesn’t like, I write it down. Here’s a list of some of the stuff I’ve noticed and noted for future reference so I learn to keep my body happy and balanced:

• Don’t eat dessert (tiramisu) a few hours before working out, especially when it’s heavy because it tends to stay in my tummy and make me feel sick and not able to workout as well as I normally would.
• Keep portions smaller and if I don’t feel full or satisfied after eating, I can add on more.
• Wear gloves during weight lifting.
• Don’t eat a sweetened pre-prepared yogurt granola parfait for breakfast.
• Don’t eat too much sugar-free chocolate.
• Don’t eat roasted garlic vegetable medley with hummus and spinach wrap from the cafeteria, it never sits well with my stomach.

So obviously these are my own notes that apply to my own body, everyone’s bodies are different so don’t go off of what I wrote for yourself. The point is, you should write stuff down and learn about your body as well. It’s helpful.

Anyway, today I had a pretty delicious breakfast. I didn’t feel like having eggs as usual and went the sweeter route. Healthy Banana Split! For breakfast! Amazing. High protein and and adequate carb, perfect for a post-workout breakfast. Bananas are also an energy fruit.

As you can tell, I am a topping fanatic. I can never have enough toppings. I’d like some banana with my berries, please. lol

Beautiful day for strawberries

We bought a box of strawberries yesterday at Trader Joe’s and today I decided to treat myself to a delicious breakfast. Yeah, I eat sweet foods all the time, so what I had for breakfast you could easily have as dessert.

I take a cup of 2% cottage cheese, slice up some fresh strawberries and add a bunch of raw honey. Deliciousness with a lot of protein and vitamin C! I love me some protein 🙂 I try to eat some at every meal.

Anyways, I’m so glad this week is spring break. Not only am I in the suburbs at my parents’ house all week, it’s also unseasonably warm. I spent most of today sitting outside in our backyard and reading while wearing a TANK TOP and capris. I even might have gotten a little color.. ahh, actually who am I kidding. I’d lay out for hours in the sun and I’d only end up maybe a little red. It’d all go away within a day anyways. But it felt good and I was definitely starved for some Vitamin D. Seasonal affective disorder has been becoming quite a bit more known to my presence this year.

I love seeing flowers bloom! Spring is most definitely here early and I’m loving it!