Better than expected

Hi all! I had today all figured out and left this morning thinking I’ve got this. Then, I remembered we had a birthday celebration – I’ve still got this. Cake isn’t usually my thing – I just want the frosting. When I walked in the door everything changed.

My coworker brought a piece of Georgia to us, I helped get the cake and couldn’t pass up the freshly baked, hot Brioche bread. I sampled away thinking man, my tracker is going to be so bad today. But, keeping with being real, I sucked it up and tracked everything. To my surprise, it wasn’t that bad at all reaffirming that tracking isn’t always such a bad thing.

My knife skills were challenged this morning cutting my nectarine. I went with it.

Healthy Eggroll (Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortilla, Sargento RF cheddar, Fried Egg, Sriracha) – 5 sp plus 1/2 a nectarine.

One of my coworkers just return from Georgia and she brought this Hot Peach jam.

Omg, it’s so dangerous. Sweet, mildly spicy and amazing on these Trader Joe’s stone ground crackers. I could just eat it straight from the jar, on top of cheese, in a sandwich….

I held strong at just 2 crackers like this. (3 sp)

Lunch involved another Teriyaki Chicken Asian Wrap. (4 sp).

I had planned a big bowl of watermelon for my side. But, I forgot all about it when I saw this Chocolate Chip Brioche bread from Whole Foods when we went to pick up the birthday cake.

It doesn’t look amazing but it might be one of the best breads I’ve had. That dark spot was melted chocolate chips.  (3 sp)

Isn’t the cake beautiful?! It’s a chocolate explosion cake from the Whole Foods bakery.

Layers of dark chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, vanilla buttercream and chocolate.

I usually skip the cake and eat the frosting but not today. This cake was not overly sweet and every layer added great chocolatey flavor.

My piece was really small but looks big. It was about a 1 inch slice for 5 sp.

This week is going to be such a delicious week thanks to Blue Apron. Tonight we had the Marinated Beef Pitas.

It was pretty simple to put together. I started by prepping all the veggies and marinating the meat. I would’ve never thought to use tahini as a marinade but it’s such a great idea.

Blanch the snap peas by boiling for 2 minutes then let them chill out in an ice bath.

This cucumber salad totally reminds me of Tzatziki. Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper. I added dill to boost the flavor.

The snap peas and radish salad is simply dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper.

This dinner was definitely The Husband’s choice. I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you all but I have kind of an aversion to beef. I used to love it but now I do not really – it’s just so “beefy” other than burgers. I try it here and there but if you ever look at my plate it’s like an ounce, eaten fear factor style.

But, this beef is another story! It’s marinated in garlic, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper then caramelized in the pan. It’s delicious, not beefy and I loved it – go figure!

The other trick I learned and never thought to do – heating up my Pitas in a skillet for 1-2 minutes per side. It makes them all soft and doughy.

I would totally make this again. I even liked the radishes which is another thing I don’t really eat. I measured out 2 oz beef with 1/4 of the cucumber salad and 1/2 a pita for 8 sp.

31 Daily Smartpoints, 18K+ steps with a 1 hour walk

Off to watch more Shark Week and eat watermelon.

Night all!