Fall Means Fall Cooking!

Wow, I think fall is officially here in the Windy City. Leaves on the Japanese Maple tree outside my window are finally starting to change color. It's also a little chilly outside and today was the first day where Ryan and I kicked up our thermostat. Here it comes ...

Happy Manic Monday, my dear readers! Tell me, what did you have for breakfast today? I'm always up for new breakfast ideas. Actually, I tried a new granola recipe this morning, Spark People's Low-Fat Maple Granola. It's a tasty fall dish with its mixture of almonds and pumpkin seeds. I had my usual iced coffee as well.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Ryan and I are heading to our old stomping grounds of New York City come Thursday. I seriously cannot wait! The Big Apple is so nice in the fall and I'm really looking forward to the daily hustle and flow. We are also meeting up with his family for his Dad and Aunt's birthday celebration and seeing a host of pals. Again, I am so excited!

Anyhow, with our upcoming trip, we're trying to use up as many ingredients in our pantry before we leave, which also means that our meals are going to be less involved this week. Who says low key isn't lovely, right?

Our lunch for this week is one of those meals: Curried Butternut Squash Soup. It's loaded in veggies and quite delicious. I had mine with an orange and a pickle on the side today. I also tried drizzling some non-fat plain yogurt, so don't be alarmed by my squiggly-like attempt in the photo below.

Dinner featured one of our old-time favorites, the very simple Spanish Rice. Ryan introduced this dish to me when we first started dating and we always bring it back into rotation when we're in a rush. It's a nice mixture of whole-grain rice, lean ground turkey, one can of low sodium black beans, and a can of diced tomatoes. We also season ours with a dash of oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. YUM! For tonight's dinner, we also had a mixed green salad on the side with cucumbers, tomatoes and freshly grated parmesan cheese. So quick, so easy, and oh sooooo good!

Later on, I was still pretty hungry and had a part-skin mozzarella string cheese. I also dived into the last of my Blackberry Pomegranate True Delights from Quaker.

Fab food for a fab day. To tell you the truth, I am exhausted! I am going to hit the hay tonight before 9:30. I haven't done that in what seems like a hundred years. I need to catch up on my sleep so I can attack Tuesday with full force ... and hit the elliptical too. 

Wishing you all a great evening! Thanks for reading xx