Archives for 2009

Fresh Granola Is A Tropical Treat

Good morning everyone! My Sunday started off great with a 5 mile run followed by some strengthening exercises. I felt so energized after my workout and was super hungry. I decided to nosh on some Greek yogurt with homemade granola and fresh blueberries.

TJ's Greek Yogurt with RWC Pina Colada granola mix.

I started with a base of Trader Joe’s (or TJ’s) Organic Greek Yogurt in vanilla. If you’re a yogurt lover and have never tried Greek yogurt, you sooo need to try it. Whether it’s TJ’s or Fage, Greek yogurt is so thick and creamy, you may never want to go back to regular yogurt again. It also has a ton more protein than regular yogurt. Just be sure to buy the nonfat or lower fat kind because the full fat is just that – FULL of fat! The only downer is that it’s about 3 times the cost of regular yogurt – but it is well worth every penny!

To my creamy Greek yogurt, I added about 1/4 cup of Running with Cake granola – this time I used the RWC Pina Colada mix and it was unbelievable. It was almost a little too sweet, so I think next time, I’ll cut out the some of the brown sugar when making the base granola. I added about a cup (big handful) of fresh blueberries – my husband and I bought the industrial size blueberries from Costco so I’m adding blueberries to everything!

Trader Joe's Organic Greek Yogurt in Vanilla

The thick cream cheese-like yogurt (not watery like many regular yogurts) helps keep the granola crunchy. Although the yogurt already has plenty of protein (which is very important for breakfast) my granola mix included a few walnuts, which gave each bite an added crunch.

Super crunchy granola - yum!

And the dried pineapple and banana pieces really rounded out the taste. So yummy and super filling. Overall, breakfast came out to be about 250-275 calories (1/4 cup RWC granola only has 75 calories!) and I washed it all down with some of my favorite tea – Harney and Sons English Breakfast loose leaf tea. My husband bought the tea for me for Christmas and I’ve been savoring each cup!

My husband and I headed out to do a little shopping. I checked out Lucy – an awesome women’s yoga/running store near our house. I can honestly say I love Lucy – although she’s quite expensive so I try to only shop during the sales. Ha!

My yogurt-granola bowl can only keep me full for so long – especially when shopping. We headed into the nearby Go Roma for a little lunch.

Veggie pizza a la Go Roma

I am usually a pepperoni and cheese kind of a girl, but I’ve been trying to add more veggies to each meal. I decided to change it up by order the vegetable pizza with spinach, red peppers, mushrooms, pesto, and goat cheese. Holy yum! I’ve never had a veggie pizza taste this good – way to go Go Roma! Although the pizza was only the equivalent of two regular slices, I am so full from it. I didn’t even eat the whole thing. Now that’s good food.

I’m hoping I do not slip into a post-pizza coma because I have a ton to do today. I’m also hoping my pizza wears off in the next few hours (it’s already been 2 hours since I ate) because we’re making chicken fajitas tonight. Fajitas are one of my favorite dishes, especially in the summer when they’re made on the grill. I just can’t resist the grilled vegetables and the char-grilled chicken. Come to think of it, the only time I don’t like fajitas is when I’m too full to eat them – like now – ha!