Category Archives: bagels

pumpkin swirled brownies

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now you see it…

now you don’t…

it took all of about 4.5 minutes for me to scarf those down this morning. i was hungry! and i love bagels. 
{half a cinnamon raisin bagel and half a pumpernickel – both spread with some extra virgin coconut oil}

After breakfast I headed outside to get my blood circulating. The weather around here has been too gorgeous to avoid. Particularly in the mornings.
I was just going to do a quick 5 rounds of 10 push ups + 100 high knees w/ jump rope. However, on my 4th set during the high knees my rope decided to break.

poop.
It was my favorite jump rope and I don’t remember where I got it from. Time to go in search of a new one.

In the mean time, baking brownies makes it better.

I couldn’t decide what to make for my sisters golf team this year as their halloween treat. Too many choices does not bode well for an indecisive individual.  I knew I needed something that would be easy to hold, not messy, and doesn’t melt in the sun. So…I ended up choosing to make pumpkin swirled brownies, in the spirit of halloween.

As much as I love making baked goods from scratch, sometimes you have to take some shortcuts when you lack time.

I only needed three ingredients for these brownies:

1) ready to bake brownie mix

since when does brownie mix come  prepared in a bag? i had no clue this even existed, but i was glad to see it at the store because I didn’t have any eggs at home to make brownies with a mix. plus it means no bowl to dirty.

2) pumpkin cream cheese

3) pumpkin spice kisses

{which for the record, I didn’t think were that good…}

I poured the brownie mix in a pan, lined with sprayed parchment paper so the pan stays clean {purely a lazy girl trick}, and added the cream cheese,

swirled it around,

and topped it off with a couple rows of kisses.

Then I baked it for about 35 mins at 350F.

Easy peasy.

BUT, just in case it doesn’t taste good {since I’ve never tried the brownie mix before} I have backup.

gracie’s cake batter blondies, made with funfetti cake mix and halloween-ified with pumpkin sprinkles.

When I was looking for my pumpkin sprinkles in my upper cupboard, I knocked over a jar of white sprinkles that burst open the moment it hit the ground and just about splattered into ever crevice within a 10 foot radius.

double poop.

 and now i’m off to vacuum.

Do you usually bake from scratch or do you use mixes?

What’s your go-to quick and easy recipe? 

Labor Day Feativities

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Happy Labor Day to everyone in the states and a Happy Monday to everyone else! 

No labor day festivities for me…

Does an awesome early morning workout and an almond butter (justin’s nut butter packets are so convenient!) + banana whole-wheat bagel count?

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Other than that I’ve spent all of today in the car.

We’re making our way back to Texas after a couple days in Rhode Island/Massachusetts.

So far we’ve driven through Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and and made a slight dent into Ohio.

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That’s not the exact route we took, but pretty close. We stopped in White Plains, NY and somehow got re-routed. Our navigator has a mind of its own…

We’re now sitting at a Bob Evan’s somewhere near Akron, Ohio.

I’m a Bob Evans first timer and am actually surprised at the healthier options they offer.

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Spinach and tomato omelette with a side of broccoli.

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Next up! Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Then we enter into Texas!

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I’ve been switching off driving with my dad and hopefully between the two of us, we’ll be able to drive non-stop, except for gas, food, & restroom breaks, and make it to our destination by tomorrow early afternoon.

We made a stop in Connecticut at Trader Joes to pick up some snacks for the road. Some dried fruits and cat cookies made their way into my shopping cart, along with a couple – ok, ok – a lot(!) of other items.

Like these dark chocolate covered edamame:

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And these chocolate cat cookies:

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I’ve also decided these are a sleepy drivers best friend.

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They have a nice firm chew to them and they keep me alert! 

Especially during these intense rain showers we’ve been driving through.

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Let’s see if I can set a new record for most hours I’ve driven at once. Current record: 7 hrs, on a trip to California.

What’s the longest you’ve ever driven?

Running around RI

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We finally made it to Rhode Island yesterday!

Estimated arrival time: 1pm
ACTUAL arrival time 6pm

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The traffic from New York to Rhode Island was horrendous. Particularly New York. I’m not really sure how people commute from Pennsylvania or
New Jersey to New York. I’d be so irritated by the traffic.

The first thing we did once we arrived in RI was high tail it to the nearest Bed Bath and Beyond to finish shopping for my sisters dorm stuff.

I was kinda hoping to high tail it to the gym after having endlessly sat in the car 3 straight days and doing nothing but snacking, but no such luck.

Btw, these dried peach slices from trader joes are ahhmaze-balls. Seriously.

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And so is their vacuum-fried pineapple chips!

We didn’t finish shopping until 8:30pm and didn’t get to dinner til 9pm.

Was anyone else aware that Providence was such an up and coming foodie city? Because i definitely was not. They actually held their first food and wine festival this year and there are so many fun restaurants in this little vibrant town.

We had dinner at the highly recommended restaurant Gracie’s, a super cute restaurant that specializes in new american food.

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They cook mainly locally sourced foods and even have their own roof top garden where they grow their own fruits and veggies.

Finishing dinner at 10:30pm meant no gym time for me, but I did jump rope for a couple minutes in my hotel room thanks to the ultra high ceilings.

A jump rope is something I always pack with me whenever I go out of town. So functional and so portable.

This morning I did a quick run outside. I can’t get over how nice the weather is here! I was actually cold during the beginning of my run around 6:30am, but by the end it just felt amazing out.

I ran around the capital a couple times since it is right across the street from our hotel. I love the hills here!

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Running is such a great way to explore a new city! Then I went indoors to do some weights at the gym.

Breakfast was quick and easy – an egg white whole wheat bagel from Panera Bread down the street.

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Then we were off to move my sister into her dorm room. I still remember the day I moved into my dorm room and how excited I was. I’m glad my dorm room days are behind me – no more communal bathrooms for me, thank you :)

After walking up and down the stairs to her room many times, we worked up quite the appetite and headed to lunch. We ended up at a pita place where I had a dolma pita pocket – lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, hummhs, tzitziki, tahini, pickles, herbs, and stuffed grape leaves.

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I’m hoping to explore Providence a bit more and I’d love to see Newport – I hear it’s beautiful!

Favorite road-trip snacks? – I like to keep it on the healthier side and usually bring easy and portable finger foods like dried fruits and baked chips or crackers :)