Easy Dinner

I’m back on my mission to have a healthy and satisfying breakfast so that by the time I get into the office I’m not starving. This morning, I had a bowl of Cream of Wheat (remember that stuff?!) while Mack enjoyed a bowl of banana oatmeal. We had to hurry and finish our breakfasts in time for the Hot Dog Dance.

After dropping Mackenzie off at preschool, I stopped in at QFC to pick up some healthy snacks for the week, including the supplies to make my Monkey Bars oatmeal.

Small container of Quaker Oatmeal - $3.99
Bag of Mini Chocolate Chips - $2.89
Bag of Shredded Coconut - $2.99
Skippy Peanut Butter - $3.59
(I already had Coconut and PB at home, but I was interested in the overall price for making this treat)
Grand Total - $13.50

The best thing is that all of these items are relatively non-perishable. I’m guessing I have the goods to make this recipe about 20-25 times. That’s roughly 70 cents a serving! Thrifty!

The other thing I was looking for at QFC was Chobani yogurt. This stuff has been popping up on blogs like crazy and lately it seems like the craze has reached Seattle. I’ve seen so many billboards and fliers in windows telling me where Chobani is “now available.”

I’ve had quite the set back in trying to get my hands on this yogurt. First we saw it at Costco on demo - but the lady had no spoons and while Nick and I were more than willing to slurp it out of the taster cup, the lady was having none of that. Because the yogurt is a little pricey and were in the land of “by the case only” there was no way I was buying anything without knowing if I even liked it. I had my mind set to grab some at QFC and try it first. Unfortunately, the entire three rows devoted to Chobani were sold out. Seriously?! What’s the deal with this stuff?! It must be freaking amazing. I know its got tons of protein but still…

I settled on a carton of “Greek Gods” Greek Yogurt in Fig flavor.
This yogurt was vile. It was “bad color” and a “bad texture” with an even worse taste. After eating it, I checked the nutrition facts to justify to myself that the health factor outweighed the ick factor. NOPE! This yogurt has just as much protein as regular Yoplait and let me tell you, Yoplait is a kazillion times better. “Greek Gods” and I will not be tangoing again in the future.

Luckily, I had to run to Costco for work today and I was able to grab a case of Chobani and I’m looking forward to trying it out in the morning!

Because I had Italian class tonight, I didn’t get home until a little before seven. Knowing that Mack needed something healthy but also something quick for dinner, I threw some frozen ravioli into a pot of hot water. Together, Mack and I made pasta sauce by combining two ounces of tomato sauce with 1 cup of diced tomatoes, 1 tsp of “Hot Italian Herbs” from Market Spice, and a pinch of Splenda to take off the acid of the tomatoes. While the ravioli was cooking, we also warmed up some green beans and corn (both Mack’s choice!).
Our dinner might look like something served at daycare, but it hit the spot! Mack and I both filled up on the yummy cheese filled pillows as well as a fair share of veggies.

Now, I plan on watching Celebrity Apprentice from Sunday. My mom got us into this show a couple weeks back and now Nick and I are hooked! I never thought I would like it, but the dynamic of the teams is just so entertaining! The show is two hours long though so I DVR it and watch it when I get a chance to catch up. Tonight is that night!