Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bowl

Greek Yogurt

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Mixed Berries

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Chocolate Granola

Run Forrest Run

And when all else fails... run like Forrest.

summertime mentality

July's Resolution

Having been out of school for a few months and into my new job for a little I've decided that an appropriate resolution for July is to start making more of an effort to stick to my budget. It takes a little while to adjust to life after school and it was hard for me to see where exactly my money was going. I downloaded Mint, a free app for budgeting, and it has helped a lot. It categorizes all of your purchases on your cards, allows you to make budets by category, and tracks your spending for you. Since I've graduated I have been looking at my spending patterns and trying to decide an appropriate budget for each month. It is also helpful to see where the problem areas are and where money can be saved

Things I've learned about budgeting:
1. The word budget immediately makes me think: not spending any money, not having any fun, and not shopping or going out to eat... but it doesn't have to be that way. If you allocate enough money to the important things then you can have room for the fun things too.

2. Going out to eat is expensive. It is SO cheap to cook at home. Going out to eat is a social thing for me and is the main time when I see my friends, making this especially hard for me. I bring my lunch to work each day and try to only go out to dinner a few nights a week. I make sure to ask what the drink specials are and try to order smart from the menu. It is even better when I can bring some food home and have it for lunch the next day.

3. Self control is hard. When my friends ask me to go to the beach, dinner, or to shop it is so hard to turn down the offer. I have to take a step back and see how much money I have already spent and see if it is worth it. I want to see my friends and do all the fun things they want to do, but sometimes it is easier to offer up alernative ideas to spend time with them. It doesn't cost any money to go on a walk and it is fun and affordable to cook dinner together. It's hard to get creative but if it will help you stay within what you can afford then it really is worth it.

Hopefully now that I have been working for a while I can finally stick to the budget I have made for myself. It's a puzzle figuring out what you need but I'm confident that this month it will come together.

Resolution Recap:
1. January - spend less time on my phone
2. February - take Denny to the park twice a week
3. March - avoid chips
4. April - dress like an adult
5. May - read 3 books for fun
6. June - try foods I normally wouldn't
7. July - budget

gather up some confidence

Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Shells

Since being home, my mom and I have been experimenting with new recipes. Both of us are wanting to change things up and we needed some "pin-spiration." I came across this recipe and it seemed like something the whole house would enjoy (it was). Served with a spring salad, these stuffed shells were delicious!

Here's what you need:  Serves 10
30 jumbo pasta shells
15 oz fresh spinach (steam until wilted and dry with paper towels and chop)
15 oz Ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 1/2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
3 C (12 oz) mozzarella cheese, finely shredded, divided
1 C (3.5 oz) Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
3 cups marinara sauce

Here's what you do:
1. Cook shells according to package instructions and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl blend the Ricotta cheese and egg, using a fork. Next, add in the basil and thyme. Then stir in 2 C mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and toss the mixture to combine. Next, mix in the prepared spinach and then season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Spread 1/3 C pasta sauce along the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
4. Stuff each pasta shell with cheese mixture (about 2 TBSP each).

5. Arrange the shells in the baking dish side by side and cover shells with remaining marinara sauce.

6. Sprinkle with remiaining 1 C mozzarella cheese.

7. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

I was lucky there were left overs because I can't wait to have it for lunch today!

June's Resolution

This is my 6th month of resolutions and I am pretty excited I have kept it up. It gets hard to think of ideas but resolutions should be challenging and get you out of your comfort zone!

Do you get in a habit of ordering the same thing when you go out to eat? I have a "favorite" at just about each restaurant I visit regularly. I always order it because I know I will like it. Well this summer is all about trying new things for me and I think I need to start by actually experimenting with these menus I so frequently never look at. So for June my goal is, when I go out to eat, to order something from the menu that I normally wouldn't try. What can you change up?

Last month my goal was to read 3 books for fun and I did it!! I read:

If you  need something to read this summer the Divergent series and each of these short books are easy reads and hard to put down!

Resolution recap:
January: use my cell phone less
February: take Denny to the park twice a week
March: avoid eating chips
April: dress like an adult
May: read 3 pleasure books