Today started off with a redo of the cocoa oats. I got it right this time!

1/3c. oats + 2/3c. vanilla rice milk + 1 small banana + 2tsp cocoa + 1 glob of pnut butter on top = Cocoa Oat perfection!

Chris and I took off to the mountains today for a little boarding action. The dogs came with too. We have to hook this net into the top of the car to block them from jumping over and getting everywhere when we’re out of the car. Then cover it with a sheet so they don’t get tangled in the huge holes. There were no nets with hooks with smaller openings…so it’s pretty shifty looking =)

Chai Tea from NOVO coffee…mmm delish! I just go this vest..and I love it! It’s an Obermyer down vest and a GIRLS size 16 =) I found it on the sale rack for $23.99, originally priced at $80…s.c.o.r.e. Pretty excited!! Always check the kids’ sales racks!!

morning fun w/the hubs

drivin’

I got hungry. Insert pumpkin cornmeal muffin…literally! These muffins are addicting!!! Aaaand, their slightly chewy exterior improved overnight =)

almost there…

Dakota looks so noble here…Kenna is trying to escape…

It was SO nice out, even though the temp was around 25*. The sun was HOT. The vest kept me perfectly warm.

HUGE pet peeve!!!!!!!! Kids at the mountain wearing 10x larger than normal clothing. I didn’t know clown stores sold snowboarding clothes. You look reeeediculous and I can’t help but stare and rub my eyes in disbelief =)

In the morning, I am in charge of snack packing, and Chris loads up the car with all of our gear. This is my favorite brand of yogurt, by far! I only eat this, or Stonyfield Oikos, for the extra 7g of protein. The non-fat Wallaby is on sale at WF for $.50!! It’s normally $1.00, so I stocked up!

Guess who forgot to pack spoons!!?? This girl. Chug-a-lug.

Still famished…LARAbar time. I know I say I don’t really like these…but I keep eating them. I’m confused about this, haha.

It was one of the new pnut butter and jelly bars, which I think I actually do like! I also for sure like the chocolate coffee bar.

We took the dogs to Loveland Pass to let them romp in the snow. They LOVED it.

Look who else was chuggin’ yogurt!

…

Dinner time x2! I had stuff in the fridge since last week to make this Asian millet salad recipe from Kath’s blog. I wanted to make it to keep in the fridge for healthy snacking and/or lunches. I finally made it and it was excellent!!

I was also going to make a taco bake for our actual dinner. I had a lot of chopping to attend to!

This is what I changed: 1c. millet [instead of 1/2c.] – no mushrooms – no corn – no jicama – 1 red pepper [instead of 1/3 green] – 2 garlic cloves [instead of 1] – red cabbage [instead of green]

A little fuzzy but oh.so.yummy. Can’t wait to dig into this tomorrow!

Real dinner – I did a variation from the taco bake I made a few weeks ago.

Ingredients:

25oz. can black beans
1lb local 96% lean ground buffalo [can use ground turkey or beef]
1 1/2tsp. ground cumin
1/4-1/2tsp. cayenne pepper [optional for spice]
1tsp. cajun seasoning
appx. 1c. frozen corn
1 red pepper
1 small can mild green chiles
1/2 poblano pepper [leftover from the millet salad]
2 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos [optional…this made it quite spicy!!]
1 1/2 jars salsa [I used a chipotle…nice and smokey]
2 avocados
1/2 package whole wheat tortilla
couple handfuls of tortilla chips
4-6oz sharp cheddar cheese

Salsa too liquidy? Strain it with a fine mesh strainer [can do this for pasta sauce too].

Heat oven to 375*
Chop and sauté peppers [not the jalapeno] and garlic for a few minutes and then add in the meat. Season and brown thoroughly.
Chop all other veggies, shred cheese, strain salsa, slice 1/2 of the pack of tortillas into about 2” squares, drain black bean liquid, mash avocados.
Layer in a 9x13 dish: light layer of salsa + cover salsa with a layer of the tortilla squares + 1/2 of the black beans + 1/2 of the meat + layer of salsa + green chiles + corn + 1/2 of the cheese + tortilla layer + spread the 2 mashed avocados on the tortillas + rest of the black beans + rest of the meat + jalapenos + salsa
Cover with foil and bake for 45min.
Take out, set oven to broil @ 500*, sprinkle rest of the cheese, and crush a layer of the chips on top.
Broil appx. 5min

Cut tortillas

2nd layer of meat with the green chiles.

Broke into the Yellow Corn, Food Should Taste Good chips, from the awesome box of samples they sent. These are THEE best yellow corn tortilla chips ever. Super crunchy, perfect saltiness, and a lot of corn flavor.

All done!

My plate…super filling + delicious. Chris asked if we could have this every week…I think it went over well ;) It was full of flavor and not greasy [from the meat] or watery [from the salsa] at all. mmmm good