I roasted my first pumpkin yesterday

Hello my friends!  I’m boring this week.  I’m living for the little things.  I’ve been really busy at work (both jobs) so I have been looking forward to spending a minute at home.  Meal prep happened very quickly this week by eating some old favorites.  But I was looking forward to making something with my pumpkin that has been sitting on my counter since Friday.

Got a #pumpkin to make some pumpkin butter this weekend. What would you make with pumpkin? #fitfluential
Last Friday, we did the grocery shopping for the week because we went to Tyler for the race. We wanted to make sure we had our groceries when we returned. That’s when I decided to get a pumpkin. I’ve never done anything with a real pumpkin before so it was exciting.

Tip: Don’t get the big pumpkins because those aren’t for cooking. Those are more for decorating. Find the small sweet pumpkins or pie pumpkins.

#pumpkin in the oven. I'm making something but in not sure yet. Any suggestions? #fall #fitfluential #healthyeats
So last night I finally roasted the sucker. I Willie cut it in half and I scooped all the seeds and guts out. I saved the seeds for a nice roasted snack. I sprinkled it with cinnamon because I LOVE cinnamon and I let it roast in a 375 degree oven for 35 minutes. I think my oven was running hot yesterday because I didn’t have to scoop anything out. The skin just came right off. I’m not complaining.

But now I have a conundrum. I don’t know what to make with the pumpkin. I pureed it down and let it cool so now I have a pumpkin puree. I also have a butternut squash puree too. I took it to social media yesterday about what to make and I got a lot of soup suggestions. The only problem is, I live in Texas and it’s still hot. I’m not in the mood for soup. Any other suggestions?

I was thinking of making a pumpkin butter but if I do that, I’m going to need a lot more pumpkin to fill up my crockpot.  A lighter version of pumpkin butter because all that kind of stuff is soo good.

Have you ever roasted your own pumpkin? Do you like pumpkin at all? Willie hates it but I have a feeling he’ll end up eating it anyway.

The king of grocery shopping

The king of grocery shopping

I spent the weekend with my best friend in Mississippi while Willie stayed behind to handle the dogs!  He also had to handle the grocery shopping so that we could successfully handle the Sunday meal prepping. For the record, my husband is AMAZING! I got to enjoy views like this and he got to take the dog to get his shots. Remember ho I told y’all Willie came in under budget for the grocery shopping?  He did it again.  Maybe I should start sending him to the store instead of going myself.  He did a really good job.  Our fridge…

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I’m loving pumpkin right now. Try it …

I’m loving pumpkin right now. Try it in overnight oats!

How is everyone doing this week? How is your refrigerator feeling this week? It’s Thursday so our fridge is starting to empty out which got me thinking about some things I can’t get enough of lately. I love pumpkin, Willie hates it. That’s fine. That means I can eat all the pumpkin and not have to share. September came around and everyone went pumpkin obsessed. For some reason September triggers fall in people’s mind when it just triggers extremely hot and humid weather for me. I’m longing for fall though for “cooler” temperatures and more time with my running group.…

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Friday happys for a Happy Friday

Friday happys for a Happy Friday

This week I haven’t really be into anything.  My mind is on Denver next week which kind of made this week kind of blah for me. I haven’t been motivated to do much so I’ve kind of just been off.  I probably just needed a little a reality break though.  I’ve still done my weekly workouts and celebrated birthdays so that’s been a major positive.  It’s just been a really down week as far as enthusiasm but not in spirit.  I’ve been hanging in there LIKE A BOSS! Sadly the blog has suffered…just a tiny bit. Here are a few…

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Snappy Saturday: Mug cakes and big ole salad …

Snappy Saturday: Mug cakes and big ole salad bowls

Good morning everyone!  I hope the weekend is starting off just right for you.  Guess what I did this morning? I ran my taper run this morning. Taper is a blessing and a curse because I’ve been on a running high (mileage) lately but now it’s time to wind that down because the 26.2 is coming soon. I wanted to run more but I stopped for many reasons. I’m kind of battling some fatigue right now too. This week I attempted the to make my first “brownie” in a mug. It’s one of those things I don’t feel horrible about…

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It’s FOODIE PENPAL day!

It’s FOODIE PENPAL day!

At Fitbloggin I found out about this cool thing called a Foodie penpal.  It’s like a penpal but instead of letters you send someone food.  I was matched up with Terra this month and it was both our first times doing the program.  We talked about our dietary restrictions and then we were left to fend for ourselves. The main rule is to spend no more than $15, have you box in the mail by the 15th of the month and include something written with your box. This is what I got in my box: Fruit leather Peanut Butter Veggie…

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Recipe: Some carrot thing I made the other …

Recipe: Some carrot thing I made the other day

I hope everyone is having a good day.  I think I’m a little worn out from my workout yesterday.  I’m feeling a little lazy so I’ll take it. My mid-week long run turned out longer than I expected. Let me tell you, I didn’t feel like I ran 8 miles until I tried to sneak those extra two in and then it felt like my feet were bricks. Anywho, last week I ran out of strawberries for my oatmeal. I only had enough for one person’s oatmeal so I gave them to Willie because I love him so much. FYI:…

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I do fun things every now and again …

I do fun things every now and again and fail at meal prepping

Life is about finding balance right?  You may only think I’m doing active things or working out all the time but there’s more to me than just that stuff.  BUT working out and BEING ACTIVE are FUN things for me.  Everyone once and a while I have to take a break and just enjoy life though.  Life is that thing that happens when I’m not working out. This weekend I went to my best friend Shelby’s baby shower. I “hosted” it with my best friend Mandie, but I’m going to throw it all on her. I bought some decorations and…

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Tuna Chickpea Salad

Tuna Chickpea Salad

This past weekend I took my bestie to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods!  She had never been.  I was shocked when I found this out because I love those places.  Any health foodie loves Whole Foods, right?  Yes I know it’s expensive BUT you can find stuff in that store you can’t get most places.  It was taking kids to Disney World for us! One of my favorite things at Whole Foods is the food bar.  Remember that kale salad I was going nuts for last year? It’s so good.  I love the food bar because you can try lots…

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My quick lentil soup

My quick lentil soup

Yesterday morning was a crazy one.  I was running behind from the gym but I wanted lentils for lunch.  When I made it home from the gym at 6:05 am, I had about 45 minutes before I needed to leave for work.  I figured that would be enough time to cook up some lentils and I created something delicious. Lentils are part of the legume family and are a super healthy food.  In one cup of lentils there is 18g of protein which is pretty impressive. Also, lentils take on the flavors of what they are cooked in so you…

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Failing at recovery

Failing at recovery

This shouldn’t be an issue. I’m on Team Chocolate Milk. I should be mastering recovery, but I’m failing. I noticed after I ran the half marathon on Sunday that I was a bit more beaten up than usually. I just figured it may have been due to the fact I ran the back half of the race a little harder than what I’ve been running lately. I waited too long for my lowfat chocolate milk. I mentioned that it started pouring very shortly after I crossed the finish line so I didn’t have enough time to grab anything for recovery.…

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