Tasty Tuesday: Tuna Patties With Summer Salad

     Well, I have fully recovered from the stomach bug which means Tasty Tuesday is back in full swing, just like I promised. This week's recipe is tuna patties with summer salad. This is probably my favorite recipe I have ever made, hands down. It is easy, healthy, and takes no more than a total of 50 minutes to prepare. Y'all are in for a treat. Here ya go:

Tuna Patties:

12 oz can of chunk white tuna in water

1 slice of torn up wheat bread

3 tbsp honey mustard

1tbsp lemon juice

2tbsp chopped parsley

1tbsp water

Sprinkles of salt, pepper, and Cavender's all purpose Greek seasoning to your liking

1 egg

2tbsp olive oil

• In a bowl, mix together tuna, torn bread, honey mustard, lemon juice, parsley, water, and seasonings. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

• Take a portion of the mix and form a patty, just like you would a hamburger patty. It should make 3-4 patties. Place on a cookie sheet and place in the fridge for 20-30 min to chill. This will help the patties stay together in the skillet.
• Heat up the olive oil in a non stick skillet, and place the tuna patties in. 

• Cook on each side for about 4 minutes, or until golden brown.

Salad Mix:

Spring Mix Lettuce (the darker the lettuce, the more nutritional value)

Feta 

Walnuts

Newman's Own Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

This is the absolute best dressing you will put on a salad. It is lite and healthy! I promise after you try this combination of a salad, you'll never want anything else ever again. It is lite, healthy, packed with nutritional value, and goes with EVERYTHING.

          Okay, there ya have it. Oh, and yesterday I plopped one of the leftover patties on top of this salad mix for dinner, cold, and it was just as good!

Hope y'all enjoy! Happy Tuesday!

Update

     It's Saturday night at 8:00, and what am I doing? Ohhh, just sitting in my bed watching E!, catching up on blogs, pinning, and online shopping. That's fine...right? I've been totally worthless today and I'm completely okay with it. One of my good friends, Sarah, came in town yesterday, so we went to happy hour and hit the town last night. We're kind of a dangerous combination. It's safe to say we had a fun, successful night...fun being an understatement.

     Today we grabbed lunch at Newks, and then proceeded to get our nails done. It really is amazing how getting your nails done makes you feel like a new person. Tomorrow it's back to exercising and eating healthy!  My thoughts are kind of all over the place, but I really can't wait to be home in a week. I'm really missing these 4:

     Hope y'all have a great rest of the weekend...

Tasty Tuesday: Sorry

     Hate to break it to ya, but due to the fact that I've had the stomach bug, the thought of food is still a tad repulsive. Not to mention, the recipe that was for this week is the last thing I ate before I got sick. It kind of makes me cringe to think about sitting here typing out a full out recipe. I promise "Tasty Tuesday" will be back in full swing next week better than ever!
    To make up for it, I'm going to share some happy things I've encountered this past week:

1. A quote from one of my devotions: "God's plan is far grander than any you could have imagined."

2. Fabulous new top I ordered(in white) from www.tobi.com  (thanks mom!) :

3. The fact that my 21st birthday is in 2 and 1/2 weeks. 

4. My morning walks=me time with a peaceful view:

5. Kick off is in 58 days, y'all! Go dawgs!

6. Last but not least, lots of these types of moments lately:

Happy Tuesday! :)

Out Sick

     Well, this is me this weekend...out sick.  Unfortunately I have been sick as a dog with the stomach virus. Miserable is an understatement. I will spare y'all the details, but lets just say that throwing up 9 times in one day is the absolute worst way to spend your Saturday. I finally fell asleep around 3:45 a.m. last night, and woke up completely drained with zero energy. I never want to get sick home away from home again. 

     On a happier note, Happy Fathers Day to my dad, and all of the dads out there! Love you!

     I'm cutting this one short due to lack of the ability to get comfortable, and sit in one place for more than 10 minutes. Happy Sunday!

Tasty Tuesday

     Well, it's time for "Tasty Tuesday" round two.  This rendition will feature Asian Cole Slaw, a healthy summer favorite. It's not what you're thinking...no mayonnaise (ewww). Personally, I cannot stand cole slaw one bit, and find myself forcing to get it down whenever I give it another chance. This asian cole slaw is a whole different story though, and the best part is, it packs half the calories and has positive nutritional value. If you are looking for a light healthy side dish to accompany some grilled chicken, fish, or steak, then you've hit the jackpot! Here ya go...

Sauce:
6 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp truvia or stevia (you can use real sugar if you please)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
-whisk together in a mixing bowl and add the ramen noodle seasoning (see below)
*If you want more sauce, just double this!

-preheat oven to 350
1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4cup walnuts
1 head shredded cabbage
1/3 cup shredded carrots
3 chopped green onions
-spread uncooked ramen noodles, almonds, and walnuts on a pan
-sprinkle with a tad bit of salt
-let them bake for 10 minutes
-mix everything together in a bowl and...

Walah! There ya have it. Enjoy!

Happy Tuesday :)

P.S. sorry, I forgot to take a picture! Forgive me? Great!

Weekend Update

    What a wonderful, relaxing weekend I had. I spent the weekend in Jackson, and it was perfect. Friday night my mom threw some chicken on the grill and whipped up some broccoli salad (one of my favorites). We sat and chatted on the couch over some good wine...what could be better? Finally, we made a decision to run up to the mall where we bought 4 of the same shirt, same size, different colors(black, royal blue, and 2 neon orange). Y'all, it is the most brilliant casual shirt I have ever seen, and I'm certain that I will be wearing the stew out of it this summer. Anyways, I went to bed at 9:30, and  I was totally okay with it.
     Saturday was the PERFECT rainy day. I woke up around 10 and realized it was raining, so what did I do? Grabbed one of mom's homeade blueberry muffins and got right back into bed with all 3 dogs...yes, all 3 dogs. I stayed curled up on the couch for the majority of the day watching TLC and E!. It was raining, what did you expect me to do?

     My mom had a wedding that night so I went on over to my uncle's house to see baby Avery, and let me tell ya---this was the highlight of my weekend. She got in her precious baby pool and was infatuated with the water coming out of the giraffe's mouth. I just can't get enough of her!

     My mom came over after the wedding, and we sat over there for a good long time with 2 of her friends enjoying wine and fun conversation. When I am my mom's age, I hope to have a group of friends like she does. They could have their own reality T.V. show...no joke, the ratings would be out of this world.
    Sunday was fabulous. There is nothing better than a good ole traditional Sunday morning at FBCJ followed by a classic lunch at Char. My mom and I went into Char banking on getting our all-time favorite, the tuna melt. However, once we got in there we immediately changed out minds and both ordered the chicken and waffles. If you haven't tried this interesting dish, it's a must! Clearly we strayed away from our healthy eating kick, but I will admit it was worth it!
    I'm back in Starkvegas now with my 8 a.m. class just a waitin' on Friday to get here. To get my week off to a great start, I just got to skype with my bestie, Meredith, who is in Italy for 6 weeks. Y'all should go check out her blog: http://www.meredithbrabec.blogspot.com/ Oh, FYI---3 1/2 weeks until this girl is 21. Brace yourselves.

Happy Monday!

Dog Heaven

   What a week. 8 a.m.'s every day for summer school (much less a physical science class) is having a large impact on this girl. It's fine though...I can do anything for a month, but you bet I will be sleeping into the latter hours of Saturday afternoon morning. Oh, and to make it even better, I will be doing so from home. There's nothing quite like a lazy Saturday morning at home when the only thing on the agenda is to get out by the pool or work on some crafts.

    Okay, so you're probably wondering why the title of this post is "Dog Heaven." Well, it's something I've wondered about ever since childhood, and I thought I would share my thoughts with y'all. If you know me, you know I am a HUGE dog-lover, and that's an understatement. Anyways, I had a book when I was younger titled, Dog Heaven. Ya know how you have those few books that are your childhood favorites that you practically have memorized? Well I must admit, Dog Heaven was one of mine. I was constantly nagging at my mom to read me that book...over and over. Okay, you get the picture. So when my first dog died, that book is what gave me the assurance that Ziggy was in heavan, and that I would, in fact, see him again one day.

    However, my mom got the opportunity to ask a preacher if he thought dogs went to heaven, and when she did, he blatantly laughed in her face. Rude. When my mom told me this I was distraught, and became reluctant about being certain that my dogs went to heaven. Surely the dogs that I've loved so much and grown up with will be in heaven with me one day...right? Indeed. Last summer I read the book, Heaven Is For Real, and let me just tell ya, heaven is for real...and there are dogs, horses, cats---everything (It's a true story about a little boy who has an experience in heaven when dealing with a serious medical issue that nearly kills him...amazing). By the way, if you haven't read this book I suggest you do so asap. It is incredible, and an easy read that is perfect for Summer.( It really affirms your faith too. :)

     Of course I've always known that heaven is for real, but ever since my mom told me about her encounter with the preacher, I had always worried about my dogs. However, at the end of this book the little boy talks about seeing dogs and all kinds of other animals in heaven. This book confirmed my thoughts about dogs going to heaven. I really do believe they're there, that one day I'll be reunited with Ziggy, Clancy, Lucky, and Max.
      The first thing I thought after I finished reading this book was, Wow, grandaddy really is with Max right now. Let me explain... my grandfather who died when I was in 2nd grade absolutely loved our golden retriever, Max. In fact, Max ended up being his dog. They were inseperable...Max rarely ever left his side(except for his little escapades exploring the neighborhood). They brought hapiness to each other. When my grandfather died, Max literally greived and came back to live with us. It is the most comforting thought knowing that when Max died, he ran straight into my grandfather's arms up in heaven. I can't even begin to imagine the joy they felt on that day, and what a beautiful sight it must have been.
     Sorry this post may seem a little bizarre, but I just felt like sharing. After all, that's what blogging is for...right?

Happy Thursday :)

Tasty Tuesday

   So, I'm starting a new thing: Tasty Tuesday...lets just hope I follow through with it. Anyways, every tuesday I will post a recipe that I have cooked recently that I feel is worthy of sharing with y'all. (hince the name, Tasty Tuesday) Come on, who doesn't love a delicious summer recipe? If you say no then your brain is tricking you.  Most of the meals will be pretty healthy so no worries! For the first rendition of Tasty Tuesday, I am going to share one of my mom's traditional summer meals... tilapia with roasted sweet potatoes and squash. Y'all, this is like my favorite meal...no joke. I could eat it for dinner every single night. I whipped this dinner up on Sunday night with ease...there's nothing to it. It is simple, healthy, and flavorful.  Here goes nothing...

So for the roasted veggies you'll need a sweet potatoe, squash, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. (You can use any type of vegetable such as brocolie, asparagus, carrots, etc...but the sweet potatoe/squash combination is my all-time favorite)

• pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
• peel sweet potatoe
• slice sweet potatoe into cubes
• slice the squash
• put all of the veggies into a bowl along with about 3 tbsp of olive oil (depends how many veggies you use) and toss it all together

• spread the veggies evenly onto a pan, and sprinkle salt and pepper on top...yes that's it! just salt and pepper

• put the veggies in the oven and let them bake for about 50 minutes, or until the edges look crispy/golden

Okay, now onto the fish. You'll need tilapia, (I get mine from Sams..comes in a bag with like 10 individually wrapped pieces at 100 calories per piece) lemmon pepper, and Italian dressing.

• thaw out your tilapia
• place it on a pan, and sprinkle it with lemon pepper
• add italian dressing onto the fish (not too much---use your best judgement) and let it marinate before cooking for about 30-45 min



• put the fish in along with the veggies when there is 20 minutes remaining on the time, and turn oven up to 425 degrees
• when the fish flakes off with ease, your food is ready!

Dinner is served...........

I know I know, my veggies got a littleeeee brown...still tasted great :)

   Well, there ya have it...the first Tasty Tuesday. And yes, I know this is such a simple meal, but y'all it's wonderful and super nutritious! A very special thanks to my mom for teaching me how to cook, and for letting me share her traditional summer meal. It's always better when Mom cooks it. :)

     I'm going to take a complete 180 degree turn and leave y'all with this picture I snapped this weekend. If this doesn't get you ready for football season then I don't know what will!

Happy Tuesday and Go Dawgs!

5k bound!

     So I woke up this morning and thought to myself, I wanna run a 5k. I whipped open my laptop and started researching different 5k runs along with how to train for one. Naturally, I immediately texted my best friend, Meredith, and enlightened her about my idea. Of course she was all for it, so you know what that means...we will be training to run a 5k together when she gets back from Italy in July! As of right now, we're thinking the St. Jude 5k in Memphis on December 1st is what we'll be shooting for. If you know me, you know I absolutely love kids. That is why I am leaning towards this particular 5k, because it benefits the children's hospital. What better feeling is there than knowing you are helping someone out through your actions? I am super excited, and can't wait to get more details! In the mean time, I'll be using a website I found to begin training.The couch to 5k is what we'll be using..here is the link if you want to check it out: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml Can't wait!

   Anyways, I have been in Starkville doing a whole lot of nothing...literally...and have loved every second of it. It's okay to be lazy in the summer...right? I start summer school on Monday...physical science...and can't wait. (sarcasm) This weekend I plan on starting the final hunger games book (and finishing it) along with beginning a craft from my previous post...oh, and maybe getting a little sun. I hope y'all have a fun, relaxing weekend! I'm going to leave y'all with a few encouraging words to keep in mind this weekend:

Happy Friday!