Weekend Warriors

This weekend was so much fun and productive, and now I am paying for it. 9PM bedtime for me sounds absolutely perfect. One thing I failed at this weekend was hitting the gym, this girl will be hitting the bag hard at 9Rounds at 6AM.

After our Friday roomie night-in, we decided the next morning to venture out to the newest Greenville brunch hotspot, Southern Culture. I am on the ever long search for the perfect brunch place in Greenville. After high hopes from previous patron reviews on the ambiance, food, and cocktails, I will admit I was impressed.  After gazing at the cocktail menu for quite sometime, lost in the large array of flavored vodkas for my Bloody Mary, I had to make the executive decision to pass on the alcohol for this time only. Although I fully look forward to going back and trying one.

For my entree I choose the DIXIE LAND POUTINE, a wonderful mix of a fried egg, bacon, Goat Cheese!!!, and of course hand cut French fries all smothered in gravy. Not for the calorie conscious, which I am (calorie fail). And of course I had to order a side of biscuits, any southern restaurant should be judged on their biscuits. They were good, not mind blowing but good. I usually prefer my biscuits more light than dense, but its a personal preference because my roommate really enjoyed them!

After a delicious morning, shopping was in order to burn off a few calories. I'm about to let you in on my biggest not so secret. I am an avid TJ Maxx and Marshall's Homegoods shopper. You get some of the best designer brands and quality items without having to pay top dollar. We purchased some great items for the kitchen and we are really pleased with how our apartment is shaping up. Our decor is a good combination of both our taste, as well as our personal artwork.

Step by step painting classes paired with good friends and wine, seem to be some of the best girls nights I've had. And hey at the end of the night you get to take home your own "masterpiece". And I use the term masterpiece lightly.

Ended the weekend at my cousins bridal shower. There's something about being in a room full of women who have helped shape my life and seeing how much everyone has changed. I even had the pleasure of meeting baby Bryce for the first time. Brantley is going to make a beautiful bride and I can't wait for the big day, it'll be a fantastic event.

All together it was a successful weekend! Happy Week!

What's for Dinner

My activity filled Friday night, has turned into a low-key movie night-in with the roomie, equally as fun.

As always in cold weather I turn to hearty dinners and today is hearty gone healthy.

Tilapia with Jasmine rice and stir fry veggies. After a SAMs trip I stocked up on frozen Tilapia filets for easy week night meals. They defrost easily overnight in the fridge.

Dinner:
Rice- Always takes the longest so I pulled out my handy dandy rice maker, $20 at Walgreens. 1 1/2 cup of water to 1 cup of rice. I also added 1/2 tbsp of butter for extra flavor.

Tilapia- Add a 1 tsp of butter in a sauté pan with one crushed garlic clove, I love garlic. Add in the filet and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Let cook on one side for 5-7 minutes. Before flipping add 1 tsp of lemon juice to the pan. Flip filet and season the other side. Before cooking finishes, flip filet one more time and add an additional 1 tsp of lemon.

Veggies- I used the steam in the bag veggies found in the produce section at your local grocery store. They only take 4 minutes in the microwave and finish them off with a little lemon juice for a fresh flavor burst.

Enjoy!!

Now roomie move night with "Just Friends" haha Ryan Reynolds was a great in this! Early to bed for a morning boxing session at 9Rounds. 

Day 1 Off of the Cabbage Soup Diet

Last week, I started the Cabbage Soup "Diet" to kick start my biggest loser challenge, Tough Mudder training, Bridesmaid weight loss, and more healthy lifestyle.

The Cabbage Soup Diet consisted of 7 days of eating various foods, to help deter from unhealthy food cravings and obscenely large portions. 

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a low-fat, high-fiber diet that will help you get into shape fast before you embark on a more moderate long-term eating plan. 

It went pretty well, it was tough not gonna lie, but effective in its own strange way. The soup was delicious and I'm thinking of making it again this weekend to have a supply on hand. One batch lasted the entire 7 days, which helped with my ever depleting wallet. Oh being in your 20's and living downtown.

I altered the soup a good bit by adding more veggies and sauteing to bring out the flavor. I also added in fresh roasted garlic (cause you never can go wrong with garlic).

Soup Recipe:

• 6 large green onions
• 2 green peppers (I switched these out for Zucchini)
• 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole) 
• The whole tended to not breakdown as much as I wanted. I'm going to use diced next time. 
• 3 carrots, chopped into bit size pieces
• 1 container mushrooms
• 1 bunch of celery
• whole head of cabbage
• 1 package spice only soup mix (In the US, Liptons is a good choice) OR 1 or 2 cubes of bouillon - I used Beef and Onion however try to use as low sodium as possible
• 1 48oz bottle Low Sodium V8 juice (optional). 
• Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc. (Little to NO SALT!)
• This was the hardest part.......

Slice green onions, put in a pot on medium heat and start to saute with cooking spray. Do this until the onions are whiter/clearer in color (about 4-6 minutes). Cut green pepper stem end off, then cut pepper in half to take out the seeds and membrane. Cut the green pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.

Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.

Clean carrots, mushrooms, and celery, cut into bite size pieces and toss them in. Add tomatoes now, too.

For seasonings, you can use a spice soup packet of your choice (no noodles!) or use beef or chicken bouillon cubes. 

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the 48 oz of Low Sodium V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. I added in additional water since my acid reflux tends to spike up when I have highly acidic foods like tomatoes. Let soup simmer for a long time – about 2 hours or until vegetables are tender.

soo hearty!

I weighed 2lbs down by the end of the week and felt my food cravings kicked significantly. However my sweets craving, strong as ever. whop wham...


With days like this...all I want is hot chocolate, warm apple pie, and my cabbage soup......