15 Min Dessert Recipe & Puppies Who Workout

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Number one, animals and fitness.

Don't they say dogs are a man's best friend? Well, I took puppy # 2 on a run last night. As soon as I got home from work, I had a short amount of time to blow before heading up to the burbs to do some Yoga with the Bonner (Mom) and bf. So, what did I do? Put on my runnin' shoes and took this girl on a quick 20 minute run. And you know what? She is #goddamncute. And my run was #freakingawesomesauce.

Look at that face! So full of love! Makes me smile :) You know what else is making me smile this morning? Animated gifs of dogs working out... (Gifs found here)

Number two, birthdays and last minute pudding pies

My little sister leaves for Boston today (she lives there for school, bleh), and it's also her BIRTHDAY! Last night, when I was up in the burbs, I actually decided to skip the aforementioned Yoga session in favor of throwing up some streamers and getting a birthday dinner together. I know, I'm the cutest sister ever. Don't tell me, tell her!

Anyway, turns out salad and chicken aren't appropriate for a birthday dinner if you don't have some kind of dessert to accompany the meal. So, I scoured my mother's pantry, but only had <30 minutes to get the darn thing made and clean it up and finish making a big salad. That meant cakes, cupcakes, and cookies were all out. I had to get a little fancy. 

I didn't have my camera, so these iPhone pics look a little like hamburger helper. Trust me, it was delish. I used the recipe for Skinnified Chunky Monkey (uses pudding instead of ice cream), and just put it all in a pre-made crust. So we'll call it Chunky Monkey Pie. You'd eat it, wouldn't you!? Here's the recipe, for then you're in a pinch.

15 Minute Chunky Monkey Pie Recipe

Ingredients: 1 package Jello Brand Banana Pudding, 3 cups Skim Milk, 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips, 1/3 cup broken Walnuts, 1 sliced up Banana, 1 pre-made crust

Directions: Mix pudding package and skim milk together with a whisk and let set in the fridge for 10 minutes. Stir in chocolate, nuts, and banana slices. Pour into crust and serve.

Number Three, Let's Get Efficient...

I had a hard time getting work done on Monday, so when I stumbled upon this Pomodoro timer, it was amazing. Basically, you work tirelessly for 25 minutes. Just 25. Since the end is near, it's not as hard to keep yourself going, and you find yourself trying to fit as much work as you can into your 25 minute block. Then, when the timer is up on 25 minutes, you get 5 minutes of break time. Get up, do a dance, go bother the hell out of your coworkers, do lunges, read a book, listen to music, whatever. Then, repeat. I got more work done in one hour (two cycles) of this timer than I sometimes do in an entire day. Boom!

The Ultimate Salad of Health

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Today, I'm sharing a crazy-good-for-you salad recipe. Justin and I make salad for lunch at work every day. This is one of our recent favorites.

Fat calories in this salad come almost exclusively from avocado. If you nix the avocado, you'd ring in at about 145 calories instead of 270 -- but, for someone who is active and working out, adding those healthy fats is a good thing (and a 145 calorie lunch just isn't enough, folks).

Items to incorporate into your salads (if you're not already doing it):

• Kale: Either raw or steamed, Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Kale also has at least two major chemicals (sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol) that are known as potent cancer-fighting and cancer-blocking chemicals. (Wiki for Kale)
• Scallions (Green Onion): High in fiber means Scallions will fight off bad cholesterol. They also score well on the fullness to nutrition scale (meaning they are high on the list for helping you feel full while also being high on the list for nutrition!). Scallions are also a strong anti-inflammatory, which helps for sore muscles! (Nutrition Data for Scallions)
• Spinach: As far as any salad base goes, Spinach is by far one of the most nutritious, while also being easy to handle and rip. Replacing iceberg or romaine lettuce with spinach for more vitamin C (an antioxidant), iron (helps prevent anemia), magnesium (can help protect against heart disease) and vitamin K (good for bones and blood). (The Tribune on Spinach vs Romaine)
• Egg Whites: Add some protein to your salad without overloading on calories! One hard boiled egg white packs 3.6 grams of protein in just 17 calories. Other awesome nutrients in an egg white: Selenium and Riboflavin! (LiveStrong on Egg Whites)

The Ultimate Salad of Health!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Chopped Spinach
• 1 stalk Chopped Scallions (Green Onions)
• 1 leaf Chopped Kale
• 3 rinsed and sliced strawberries (or other berries)
• 1 large Egg, hard boiled, egg whites only
• 1/2 Avocado, without skin or seeds
• 1 tablespoon Feta Cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon Diced Walnuts

Directions:

1. Combine
2. Toss with low-fat dressing (such as Newman's Own Asian Ginger)
3. Serve!

Don't Judge Me For This Video!

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Today is my birthday! Here's my enthusiasm:

P.S. No, I'm not at work on Saturday! I made this on Friday afternoon, as I was getting pumped for the festivities :)

Music: Vampire Weekend's Holiday