I love the weekend so much – I was able to sleep until nearly 11am on Saturday morning. I think its been years since that happened! I started off my Saturday with an iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts and a yogurt bowl. I mixed 1 cup of Fage 2% greek yogurt with Tbs PB2, tsp jam, 1 sliced banana, and 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch. The caffeine and the power breakfast got my weekend off to a good start!
After fueling up, I embarked on my latest baking adventure. A few weeks ago I was intrigued by a NY Times article about olive oil granola. Sounds a little odd, right? Well folks, I made a big batch of this stuff and I can attest that it is phenomenal! I know, I know, I say that about a lot of stuff, but you seriously NEED to try this recipe. You can’t really taste the olive oil, but it definitely adds a little somethin’ special and makes the flavor pop. I couldn’t stop tasting the granola as it was cooling…mmmm. Sweet and Savory.
Ingredients (Megan’s version)
- 3 cups oats
- 2 cups walnut pieces
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
Directions
- Mix all ingredients except apricots in a large bowl
- Pour oat mixture onto a large greased baking sheet (I used a silicon baking mat)
- Bake for 45 minutes at 300 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes
- After granola is done baking, pour into a large bowl and add apricots (don’t add while baking – the fruit will get too dried out!)
- Enjoy plain or with yogurt. Yum!
After I finished the granola, I headed to the wine store to procure a gift. Nate and I were invited to a fancy dinner party/50th birthday on Saturday evening, so I wanted to select a quality bottle. An employee at the wine store helped me pick out a red Chianti Classico from Tuscany. I liked it because it was produced near where I studied abroad (Florence, Italy) and since the store buys in bulk, the bottle was pretty affordable!
After I finished my errands, I completed a mini-workout (no time for the gym today!)
- 3 x 10 lunges & calf raises
- 3 x 10 push-ups & tricep dips
- 3 x 25 jumping jacks
- 25 mountain climbers
- Core routine (crunches, bicycle crunches, reverse crunches, planks)
- foam rolling for my IT band
I got pretty sweaty in my apartment, so I re-hydrated with a POM Wonderful + seltzer combo and some sliced green pepper.
The dinner/birthday party that Nate and I attended was not the time or place to snap photos, but the food was amazing! My eats for the evening included: 2 glasses of white wine, a cracker w/ goat cheese, olives, strawberries, mini cocktail weiners with mustard (love these!!), salad, grilled peach, portabello mushroom, grilled asparagus, and chicken tangine. I had little tastes of everything and left the party feeling satiated, but not stuffed.
We arrived home pretty late, but it’s never too late for my sweet tooth – I tried the NEW coconut m&ms. Ahh! If you like coconut and chocolate, you’ll love these. I felt like I should be sitting by the pool drinking a mai-tai while I was eating the m&ms. Thanks to Nate who discovered these gems and surprised me with a bag :-)
I love the weekend so much – I was able to sleep until nearly 11am on Saturday morning. I think its been years since that happened! I started off my Saturday with an iced coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts and a yogurt bowl. I mixed 1 cup of Fage 2% greek yogurt with Tbs PB2, tsp jam, 1 sliced banana, and 1 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch. The caffeine and the power breakfast got my weekend off to a good start!
After fueling up, I embarked on my latest baking adventure. A few weeks ago I was intrigued by a NY Times article about olive oil granola. Sounds a little odd, right? Well folks, I made a big batch of this stuff and I can attest that it is phenomenal! I know, I know, I say that about a lot of stuff, but you seriously NEED to try this recipe. You can’t really taste the olive oil, but it definitely adds a little somethin’ special and makes the flavor pop. I couldn’t stop tasting the granola as it was cooling…mmmm. Sweet and Savory.
Ingredients (Megan’s version)
Directions
After I finished the granola, I headed to the wine store to procure a gift. Nate and I were invited to a fancy dinner party/50th birthday on Saturday evening, so I wanted to select a quality bottle. An employee at the wine store helped me pick out a red Chianti Classico from Tuscany. I liked it because it was produced near where I studied abroad (Florence, Italy) and since the store buys in bulk, the bottle was pretty affordable!
After I finished my errands, I completed a mini-workout (no time for the gym today!)
I got pretty sweaty in my apartment, so I re-hydrated with a POM Wonderful + seltzer combo and some sliced green pepper.
The dinner/birthday party that Nate and I attended was not the time or place to snap photos, but the food was amazing! My eats for the evening included: 2 glasses of white wine, a cracker w/ goat cheese, olives, strawberries, mini cocktail weiners with mustard (love these!!), salad, grilled peach, portabello mushroom, grilled asparagus, and chicken tangine. I had little tastes of everything and left the party feeling satiated, but not stuffed.
We arrived home pretty late, but it’s never too late for my sweet tooth – I tried the NEW coconut m&ms. Ahh! If you like coconut and chocolate, you’ll love these. I felt like I should be sitting by the pool drinking a mai-tai while I was eating the m&ms. Thanks to Nate who discovered these gems and surprised me with a bag :-)