Confirmed. I like it green.

When in Rome. Isn't that the phrase they say about doing all the things that make the area what it is when you visit? Well, here in Austin the BBQ is apparently a big deal. If you know me at all, you know I'm not a huge meat person. I like turkey and chicken and that is about it...however, my dad was STOKED on getting some good BBQ in, and the rest of the fam was happy to oblige.

So...to The Salt Lick it was for din din tonight.

 I looked at the menu and was a little bit at a loss...

 Straight up meat. Ummmmm. If you know me you get the struggle there.
My mom, sis and I decided that we'd share the "vegetable plate" and some sliced smoked turkey.

 The vegetable plate was potato salad, cole slaw, and pinto beans. I guess we all define vegetables a little differently.

 

We had a great time, and my dad thought it was money. 

And so did this lil' guy...

 

 As we were walking out I made my fam stop to take pics in front of the meat pit. The worker quickly stopped me and asked if we wanted a better picture. Of course, we did.

Little did we know that they were going to lead us back through the kitchen to stand with all of the cooks. Right in the middle of the action. 

 

Would you look at that meat? Yowza. I think it would make most people's mouths water. I am not one of those people. 

 

I left confirmed that I am a definite veggies girl. Remember how hard it is for me to get my protein in? I was wishing I could pile my Pizza Factory salad to the ceiling.

Isn't my mom a babe? Love her. My fam is just so much fun.

Are you a meat eater or a veggie person? I don't think I could give you a vegetable that I won't eat, but do you want the list of meats I won't eat? Maybe I should just give you the short list of the ones that I do? Yikes.

We Shop. We Eat.

If there is one thing that we Smith women know how to do it is shop. My mom is a shopping extraordinaire and the apples did not fall far from the tree. Today we ventured out to get our shop on. We started out at Nordstrom Rack.
I ventured over to women's active. Let's be honest...I'm just naturally drawn there. One of my sister's in-laws started cracking up as she walked by and said, "we would find you in the work out clothes." What can I say. I wear them all day. Every day. I should probably stop buying real clothes. I ended up with a fabulous black Nike hoodie, (three favorite things all in one...black clothing, Nike clothing, and hoodies.)

After The Rack we headed over to the delicious Panera, for lunch.

I wish there was one in UT. They list the calories of the items ON THE OVERHEAD MENU. I wanted to take a pic, but I thought that might be going to far. As you know I am obsessed with knowing nutrition facts, and this made me so dang happy.

I ordered a salad with chicken, fruit, and a fat free poppyseed dressing with some whole wheat bread on the side. It was quite tasty, and the menu listed this item as 300 calories total. I got the dressing on the side and only used about 1/3 of it, so I assume my salad was a bit less.

 

My darling sister and her lil' guy are always great sports when it comes to my picture snapping. 

  

 He will even play the game..."make the face you'd make if you were..."

  

I can't get enough of this little man. I really just love him. 

Do you like to know the nutrition facts of the foods you are eating? I think a lot of people feel better about not knowing...HOWEVER...I also think that people make better choices when they do know. Knowledge is power people.  

Sandwich On Golden Bread

Remember the time that I had a layover in PHX yesterday? I do. I was STARVING by the time I landed. I packed some almonds and a protein bar with me, but that didn't sound so great. That was about all I could muster up in the three minutes I had to get ready to head out the door. Usually I am a little more prepared for my traveling. You can read some tips for road trip preparedness HERE and HERE. 

I needed something substantial, and I searched the airport high and low. Finally I found a place that would make me a sandwich on whole wheat bread. It was pretty basic; turkey, iceburg lettuce, some tomato slices, and the mustard I added to it. 

Come to find out the bread must have been laced in gold. The sandwich cost me $11.

Now, I know I promised I'd quit with the blackberry photos...but I just needed a second opinion. Tell me that doesn't look like an $11 sandwich? Geez. It tasted fine and all, but I am pretty sure I could have made it better by about three million times at home. Oh yeah, that pickle on the side must have really upped the value too. I told Benita I was tempted to just throw in the towel and eat the $4 Cinnabon instead. I swear they must put scented crack in those things to waft in the air as you pass by. It smelled purely amazing.

Oh well...sometimes we go to lengths to eat healthy. Do you do what you can to try and find the healthy options or are you easily discouraged, using it as a reason to just get the Cinnabon? It is amazing how hunger can make us think crazy things sometimes, and can often cause us to throw out all our hard work. What situations do you find cause you to lose your willpower?

Finding Happiness in a Healthy Balance

I gave a lesson in church this past Sunday about trying to lead a balanced life. It made me realize that so much of the happiness in our lives comes when we can find balance in doing a variety of great things. spending a million hours in the gym or obsessing over the food we eat all the time isn't balanced. They are important, and should be fit in to a healthy lifestyle, BUT they are not the end all.

I have written before about keeping your mind healthy, and I think this could go along with all of the good things we can include in our lives. I am a firm believer in moderation, and I think that too much of a good thing can make it a bad thing.

Finding time to do the things we LOVE to do is all a part of finding this happiness. I realized over the last few months that something that brings me happiness is letting my creativity flow. I love to create in many different forms. As you know I love to bake, and experiment with making recipes healthy and delicious.

I also love to create artistically as well. It is such a release for me, and Pinterest has really sparked that bug. If you haven't jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon yet DO IT. It seriously is the best thing that ever happened to me. So many healthy food ideas, fashion finds, great decorative and DIY ideas...it's the bomb. Click HERE to follow my Pinterest boards.

Here are some of my latest creations...don't mind the awful lighting in my dark condo.

I love everything striped these days.

 Elaine would be proud I busted out the old Bernina for these guys :)

 And a canvas painting for the kitchen...

What do you love to do that keeps your life balanced? Do you have hobbies that keep you loving life?

Pesto Chicken Salad

As You know I am always looking for new quick meal ideas. I am also always looking for high protein options.  I saw a meal similar to this from Real Simple, and I decided to take my own, healthier spin on it.

Pesto Chicken Salad
Serves: 1

 Ingredients:
- 6-7 oz of cooked, shredded chicken. I used one can of Costco chicken, but you could use a rotisserie chicken or your could cook up your own chicken breasts.
- 1 Tbsp low fat miracle whip
- 1.5 tsp pesto
- a dash of pepper to taste

Combine all those items together and serve over a bed of fresh lettuce. I added some garden fresh tomatoes into my salad as well. You really could get creative with different vegetable options added in. This chicken was so tasty and flavorful I didn't even consider putting any sort of dressing over it. I love me some pesto, and this new swing on my favorite healthy chicken salad did the trick. High protein, low calorie, and lower carbohydrate count with some veggies added in. YES please.

P.S. Tomorrow I go to Austin, TX. I can't wait!! I'm hoping LINDSEY
P.P.S Don't forget to enter the September Sweat Songs Mix Giveaway if you haven't already.
P.P.P.S (Can you have that many P's?) I'm working on some new workout methods that have left me more sore than I've been in a long time. I can't wait to share!

Do you like pesto? I am a huge fan. I think I could eat just about anything covered in pesto. Have you ever been to Austin, TX? Anything I HAVE to see while I'm there? Aside from the darling and fabulous Mrs. Lindsay Cotter, of course?

Moist Healthy Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

I purchased a larger than life zucchini when I went to the farmers market a couple weeks ago. I'm still trying to use it all. I looked forever to try and find a good recipe for zucchini muffins today, but to no avail. So, I decided to combine what I liked from three or four different ones, and I came up with a recipe that I really, really like!

I first thought I'd make zucchini bread, but decided I wanted to make muffins because I am all about the portion control.  I like knowing exactly how much each muffin calculates to be calorie-wise. I know. I am crazy.

The result was moist, fluffy, zucchini muffins with a hint of cinnamon. I of course had to add in the chocolate chips because that is what makes the world go round, but I think the bread would be delicious without them.

Healthy Whole Wheat Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
makes 20 muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup splenda (or no calorie sweetener of your choice)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz plain fat free greek yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350. Mix together brown sugar, splenda, egg, vanilla, and greek yogurt. Combine baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and flour. Add in grated zucchini, and chocolate chips. My zucchini was actually more pureed than grated because I did it in the food processor. You can make it the consistency that you prefer.

Spray your muffin tins with non-stick spray. Fill muffin tins about half full. Cook for 15 minutes in oven, or until they pass the toothpick test.

ENJOY!

Nutrition Facts:

Have you been using the fresh produce from your gardens or local produce stands? I have been loving all of the fresh goodness! Do you prefer quick breads or muffins? I love breads, but I like being able to freeze muffins and have them portion controlled for me!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my September Sweat Songs Mix Giveaway! 

September Sweat Songs Mix Giveaway

September. What? Seriously? Ugh. Really? Ok. Well if it's gonna be September I guess we better have some good tunes to get us through right? So, here it is...September's Sweat Songs Mix Giveaway.

It Girl - Jason Derulo
Teeth - Lady Gaga
Cheers - Rihanna
Jet Lag - Simple Plan
Mr. Saxobeat - Alexandra Stan
Save The World - Swedish House Mafia
Motivation - Kelly Rowland
Better With the Lights Off - Chris Brown feat. New Boyz
Undivided - Blush feat. Snoop Dogg
I'm Not a Gangsta - J.O.B.
Just Can't Let You Go - Omarion
Do You - Iffy
Headlines - Drake
Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay - Big Sean Feat. Roscoe
Otis - Jay-Z & Kanye West
Dancing in the Dark - Dev
Lay It On Me - Kelly Rowland feat. Big Sean
Got 2 Luv - Sean Paul
Collide - Leona Lewis
Mohombi - Bumpy Ride

There you have it! A BOATLOAD of new tunes that are SO much fun! What is better to motivate than some new beats to sweat to? 

To enter to win...you know the drill...
1) For one entry become a Muncher Cruncher follower, and leave a comment saying you are! If you are already a follow, just say so. :)
2) Tell me what your favorite September sweat song is! 
 3) For an additional entries blog about it, tweet it, pin it, or facebook it...leave a comment for each!

You have until Sunday September 11th at midnight to enter. The winner will be announced on Monday September 12th! Click HERE for previous workout playlists.