Devil’s Pumpkin Brownie Muffins

I just found this recipe on the web, and tried it out for the first time. The photo of the results are little different than what I experienced, but they do taste wonderful!

I added about a ½ cup of chocolate chips as well since I was sharing with my co-workers.

The recipe makes 12 regular muffins or 36 mini muffins. 1 muffin or 3 minis are 3 points.

Devil’s Pumpkin Brownie Muffins

1 box devil’s food cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
1 can solid pack pumpkin (15 oz).
Chocolate chips optional (this probably raises the points, but oh well)

Mix the two ingredients together. The mixture will be very thick, don’t add anything else (except chocolate chips if you wish). Place batter into muffin tins lined with paper, or sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Holiday parties are all about the food

It’s a miracle. I just completed three days of holiday parties without gaining more than a pound. I don’t know how I did it, but I’m not going to argue with the scale.

Wednesday kicked off the start with a little “sweet” holiday soiree by a department at work other than my own. It was held in the afternoon and only had desserts and sweets which included cake, chocolate crème puffs, cinnamon sugar covered walnuts, cookies, fruit, ice cream and Ghirardelli chocolates. If you know me at all, I have a rather large sweet tooth, so I indulged in most of the goodies, and even included some fruit on my plate.

Thursday was my husband’s holiday party during the work day at his place of employment. Spouses were not technically invited, but I snuck in. Their spread of dishes included many healthy options like salad, sandwiches, vegetarian dishes, and of course the dessert tray with an assortment of lemon bars, cheesecake bars, cookies and other treats. For beverages they had smoothies, and for dessert they had sorbet! The main dishes were too delicious for me to know it was healthy for me.

Friday night was our company’s party, held at the Signature Theatre in Shirlington, where spouses were invited. Timed from 4-8pm, we got my sister to be our sitter, and arrived a little before 5pm. We each got two drink tickets, and beer and wine was served until 5, and then after the full bar opened.

Dinner was more of an appetizer/buffet style with two tables of food. It wasn’t ready until about 5pm either. One table had an Asian food theme going on with spring rolls. They were being hand rolled and the line was enormous.

The other spread was more American style with mini grilled cheese sandwiches that had salmon or ham inside. They also had glasses with chicken and a whole grain we couldn’t figure out at the bottom, followed by grilled meat of some sort and grilled mushrooms. This was the shorter line, so I started here first.

My main complaint, no dessert table to begin with. From 5pm – 7pm, it was drinks, and two tables of food. At 7, they brought out the dessert.

Now if I’m planning what I want to eat, I want to see all of my options in front of me! I didn’t know if the dessert would be fabulous or just average, and if I should hold back on my dinner choices.

In the end, the dessert was just slightly above average. They had fruit on kabobs, some mini spice cake/brownie things, but the best part was the servers who went around carrying trays of chocolates. My husband spotted them first, brought me two, brought me another one, and on my way out I grabbed two more. They were a variety of dark and milk chocolate on the outside and different crèmes on the inside. The only one I didn’t care for was the coffee flavored one.

Sure there were drinks and dancing, but for me it’s all about the food.

My two highlights of the evening, the chocolates and taking a snap shot of our VP doing the DJ Casper Cha Cha Slide dance.

Romance package plus workout

Saturday was husband’s 37th birthday, and we celebrated with a night away from home. My mother agreed to watch our girl.

I did a little research on some B&B’s out of town, but we finally booked the “romance package” at the local Sheraton in Tyson’s Corner. It included a bottle of wine, a platter of cheese and fruit, plus breakfast for two and a late check out.  This being a holiday weekend, we knew traffic too far out of town may be a disaster. My husband only wanted to get just the room (to save money), but I insisted on the romance package.

We arrived shortly before 6:30 p.m. to check-in, and I mentioned my husband’s birthday, and voila our room was upgraded! They asked what kind of wine we wanted, and my husband spoke up and said red. I’m not much of a wine drinker myself.

Up to the room we went, and within a half an hour, we were delivered a beautiful assortment of cheese, crackers, strawberries, and these other little fruit that resembled mini green apples. They sort of tasted like apples too. We had planned to leave the hotel for dinner, but after filling up on cheese, we decided we would share a bite of real dinner downstairs.

The lobby and the restaurant were pretty deserted, and we were the only diners. After Thanksgiving said the waitress, it’s dead. Husband wanted fish & chips, and I wanted a side salad, so we shared both. I mentioned to the waitress about my husband birthday, and after dinner she presented him with a slice of cake with a candle on top! Luckily, he shared with me. It was banana chocolate chip cake with a crème filling that was divine.

After dinner we did a quick tour to view the pool and fitness center. Our plan was to hit both. To our surprise, we also noticed three racquetball courts, but two were being used as storage, and only one was opened. A sign said to ask the front desk for racquets, but we never got around to asking if the one available court, was really open for racquetball or not.

We pre-ordered our breakfast for the following morning and choose the “All-American Breakfast” with a choice of eggs, meat, bread, juice, and beverage. I had scrambled, he had sunny side up. I couldn’t decide between a Danish or muffin, so we checked both boxes and decided to share.

It arrived promptly this morning at the time we specified, the presentation was beautiful, and the food was delicious. We hit the mall and enjoyed a movie, Love in the Time of Cholera, and a small lunch afterwards.

Heading back to the hotel, we decided fitness center first, then the pool. The center had two treadmills, but only one worked. It also had two bikes, but only one worked. They also had weights so I decided to do cardio on the treadmill, while husband did weights. I did about two miles walking with one short run, plus put little time on the one working bike. We finished our workout, showered, changed, and jumped in the pool, and finished off in the hot-tub.

I’m not used to the royal treatment, and it was a great mini-vacation away. The best thing about my birthday present to him was that I got to enjoy everything too.

We may do this again for my birthday in six months.

Vegetarian for a day

I didn’t set out to be a vegetarian for a day, but that’s how my day turned out. Last night we grilled out Laura’s Lean burgers, and they were delicious, but I didn’t get all my servings of fruits and vegetables in for the day.

I love meat, especially Omaha Steaks, but only eat red meat two to three times a week. My main meat choice is chicken, followed by fish maybe once a week. I’ll also have the occasional turkey bacon, ground turkey in a dish or a turkey sub.

Today I started out with a breakfast of organic yogurt and a banana. Work was busy, so I didn’t get a snack. I choose a vegetarian lunch of Pad Pak at a Thai restaurant and a salad. My dinner consisted of a Robeks fruit smoothie, a chocolate Vita-muffin and a glass of milk. My evening snack during class was a cup of watermelon from Whole Foods.

I guess I got all my servings of fruits and veggies in for the day, plus my two milk servings. However, I probably did not get much protein. While at Robeks, I was struggling with my daughter and forgot to add my whey protein to my smoothie.

I’ll probably add meat back into my diet tomorrow. I’m going to bed hungry tonight.

Candy and Halloween

Only 15 more days until Halloween, but between now and then I have at least three parties to attend, two of them with my daughter. If you know anything about me, candy is a weakness of mine. Especially at this time of year.

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I don’t know if that’s because of the candy or dressing up. Even before I had a kid, Halloween was my favorite. Mark down candy for me as a reason. We have a friend who is a dentist, and you can guess the holiday that she hates.

My daughter’s first Halloween she was only 6 months old, and I dressed her up as a lady bug and took her trick-or-treating. Granted only to the neighbors that knew us, but I still got candy and ate it all since she couldn’t eat it. The next year she was Minnie Mouse and I allowed her a few pieces of candy. Who ate the rest? Guess.

Last year she was a cowgirl, and the prettiest little cowgirl you ever saw. By this time she was a great walker, and we covered a good deal of our neighborhood taking in one pumpkin plus a bag full of candy. I helped hold her stash. That year I found out she was a chocolate freak like me.

This year, she’s 3 and a half. Since I’m trying to get serious about this weight loss thing, I have to change my strategy. I’ve decide I’m going to let her dress up and take her trick-or-treating, but only to a few neighbors houses to show off her outfit. Then we will return home to watch a movie! I guess I’m going to have to buy her a new movie to make it more appealing than trick-or-treating, but I’ll do whatever it takes to try and keep a ton of candy out of my house.

Now the other dilemma is that I have children coming to MY house to trick-or-treat.  I don’t want to be a super downer and hand out pretzels and raisins, but if I end up buying candy to give out, who ends up eating it? A strategy I deployed one year was only buying candy I didn’t like. That doesn’t leave much available, but I think I bought Almond Joys and Mounds, about the only chocolate that doesn’t really do it for me. Not chocolate related, I’m not a huge fan of Skittles, but I will eat them in small quantities.

I also don’t want to hand out those cheesy little cheap toys or non edible things. What would you recommend I dish out to all the little ghouls and goblins that come to visit?

Las Tapas for lunch

Went to lunch on Sunday afternoon with two girlfriends/past co-workers. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen them, and we decided to meet at Las Tapas on King Street in Alexandria. My friend A had been there before, but the rest of us had not.

I arrived a little early and snagged two tables outside. It was in the shade and a beautiful day.

I got an iced tea from the server and waited for the others to join me. I had already decided I wanted the calamari (fried and oh so healthy), but was trying to decide between the gambas (shrimp) or a quesadilla.

To sum it up, the food was excellent but the service stunk. We had between 2 to 3 gentlemen serving us but they would often disappear for long periods at a time.

The pub across the street was crowded and every so often we’d hear a loud roar of cheering coming from inside. I theorized that our waiters were watching the game.

Waiter didn’t get a drink for A, but did get one for J. L’s soda was flat, and she had trouble ordering a replacement due to a language barrier (a bottle of sparkling water). Our tapas and entrees came out scattered in about 3 runs, 15 minutes between the first delivery and the second. J’s salad came with no dressing. We also had trouble getting silverware.

After getting my calamari, I realized it had no sauce, and had to ask for sauce which by the time I got it, the squid was cold. It only took two hours for the whole lunch. We felt very European.

I had a nice visit with my friends, and we caught up with each other, so that was the highlight. I raved about the new show Pushing Daisies, and plan to watch the second episode tonight.

Of course, the food was really good, so maybe I’ll give them another try sometime with the husband and the kid. That will really put them to the test.

I miss exercise

Had a rough week at work, several days stuck at work later than usual with some last minute (surprise!) projects. Monday and Tuesday nights I have grad classes, but I did get to the gym Monday and walked on the treadmill for 2 miles.

Tuesday, no gym, Wednesday got stuck at work, Thursday was busier than hell and I missed my step class. Today, Friday, I was going to go to body pump, but after the week I had, went to happy hour with a few coworkers. I didn’t drink, but I did eat a few wings and some crab & artichoke dip with bread.

Frankly, I miss exercise. Never thought I’d say that, but I do. I have a busy day tomorrow, but I’ll try to get into the gym at least once this weekend.

Hopefully next week won’t be as bad with the work load, and I can get back into my exercise groove. Who would have thought I would ever miss exercise?

Queen Noor and ten thousand steps

It’s not everyday that you get to see and hear a Queen. Yesterday I saw her majesty Queen Noor of Jordan at a woman’s conference sponsored by Congressman Jim Moran. She was lovely and her speech was eloquent and relevant. I’ll have to get her book at the library sometime.

I took a few pictures, but it’s too bad I didn’t have as nice a camera as the professionals. They served pastries and bagels for breakfast and Pizza Hut pizza for lunch. I had two pastries and two slices of pizza.

Today I did over 10,000 steps according to my pedometer. Not surprising since I took a Step Interval class this morning.

What was even more surprising to me this week was that I did over 13,000 steps on Thursday! I think that’s my highest day yet.

Thursday is the day of my normal step class, and the day I usually hit 10K, but I must have done more walking than I thought. I went out for lunch and did a little walking, and my step class was about 5,000 steps itself. Then I took my daughter out for dinner and we did a little walking around from the grocery store to the restaurant.

In the past month, there have only been 7 days I’ve racked up over 10,000 steps. My daily average is about 8500, and on the low end of daily steps I get at least 4500 a day.

Husband and daughter went to pick apples yesterday at Homestead farm in Maryland. They brought back a huge bag, so today we made apple pie. I used Betty Crocker’s recipe, but used half sugar and half splenda. It’s delicious, and that’s what I ate for dinner.

Although, the apple pie probably cancels out my ten thousand steps for today.

Three desserts and several gallons of water at the Renaissance Festival

We sweated like pigs out in the heat at the Renaissance Festival on Saturday. We dressed in shorts and t-shirts, while some dressed up in pants, long sleeve shirts, gloves, boots and hats. I think they were crazy.

We took a few bottles of water with us, but we sweated out everything we drank anyway. Luckily I avoided the port-a-potties thanks to the heat.

We had turkey legs (which I shared with my daughter), an apple tart alamode, an apple dumpling alamode (which I both shared with my mom), some cinnamon roasted pecans and almonds, a cone of mini chocolate chips cookies (which we all three shared) and some frozen snow balls (which my daughter stole from me). We also had a couple glasses of lemonade and a few more bottles of water. Drinks were only $1, including bottled water.

Everything was delicious as expected, and there were hardly any lines compared to when I went last year. We think most smart people stayed away due to the heat.

The only thing I was disappointed in was that there were no recycling cans next to the trash cans. I saw so many plastic water bottles in the trash it wasn’t funny.

We saw a few shows, shopped in a few shops, and tried to stay cool which was nearly impossible. The girl rode a pony, for free no less, but did not ride the elephants which were taking a break when we went by, and cost something. She liked the mother goose nursery rhyme show and the Pirate Queen show where she got to participate in both.

We arrived before it opened at 10am, and stayed till almost 4pm. I’m surprised we lasted that long. Kids 6 and under are free and we used our CVS card and got a $4 discount off admission price.

Then we went home, showered and went out later for dinner where my mom and I shared chicken quesadillas. 

It was a nice day, and I’m glad I shared my food instead of eating it all myself. At least I wore my pedometer, and clocked over 7000 steps.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry at the Maryland Renaissance Festival

I gained a pound this week. Tomorrow I’m going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival with my daughter and mother. She lives in Annapolis, and the festival is right around the corner in Crownsville Maryland.

They have the best food including turkey legs, ice cream croissants, mini chocolate chip cookies, BBQ and lots of beer. I won’t be drinking any beer, but I’ll be eating a lot of food.

Since I knew I was going to the fair this weekend, I’ve worked out on every day of the week excluding Monday. I ate a little too many points early in the week, but made up for it towards the end of the week. Anyway, I may not have enough points for all the delicious food I’m going to eat, but I’ll work it off on Sunday and next week.

It’s supposed to be in the 90’s tomorrow, so I’ll be bringing a lot of water with me. I may post a picture of me pigging out too. I do love those turkey legs, but I hate the port-a-potties.