Dashing Dish

Hey everyone! I’ve been soaking up these beautiful summer days here in Michigan, and yes…It’s usually humid or raining, but I can’t complain…It’s summer time! I thought I’d share a Daily Dish post that is filled with pictures of what I’m loving most about summer time! So Here We Go! :)

Making homemade frozen yogurt and ice cream with my ice cream maker! (How cute is this apron!?! my friend had it made for me with the Dashing Dish logo embroidered on it! Thanks Dayna I love it!!!)

Hey everyone! So, after explaining the details about how I prep for my wonderful work days, I thought I’d show you how I love to spend my weekends, (when I have off of work that is!)

One of my favorite ways to spend a typical Saturday off is in downtown Ann Arbor with my hubby! However, before I’m off doing anything with the hubs, I always start my Saturday with an 8am Body Pump class! It’s a blast and a great way to get the muscles working so my metabolism is revved up for the day!

I love to come home and spend time with the Lord, watch a bit of Food Network, and have a ‘Milkshake’ for breakfast, (Peanut Butter-Butterscotch Flavor…Of Course!)

This past week was my birthday~ My 26th birthday to be exact! I must say, the years ‘fly’ by, and I hear it only goes quicker as you get older…Which is why i’m trying to remember to enjoy every moment in the ‘right here and now’.  Sometimes I think we tend to think about the past or future more often than enjoying the present moment. If we’re not careful, we could spend our whole lives waiting for what’s to come, or even dwelling on what was… And miss the joy of this present moment!

Speaking of the ‘joys’ in life, my birthday was a day FILLED with all of the wonderful pleasures in life…all of the things I consider special anyways!

I started off my day by going on a walk with my husband and dog Zoey. We enjoyed the sunshine, and talked about some of the wonderful memories of our childhood. I came back home to have a delicious peanut butter protein shake (and yes, if I could have ANYTHING for breakfast, that is what it would be!) :)

Sean and I met up with my sister Emily for lunch, (it was her last day of her first year of teaching!) We went to our favorite restaurant Mongolian BBQ!

Memorial Day weekend marks the start of Summer, (At least that’s true in ‘my world’) ~ And I’m sure glad it does, because I am more than ready to let the summer begin! :)

To me, summer means days filled with sunshine, long walks with my sister, family BBQ’s, homemade ice cream (oh yes…recipes to come!), laying out by the pool, vacation, and bonfires at night!

This past Memorial Day was a great start to summer~ and it was spent just the way it should of been…With my family! My sister, husband and I all had the day off of work, so we started the day early with a ‘bootcamp’ workout at our gym.

We came home, and my sister and I enjoyed some coffee and a Peanut Butter Protein Shake together!

Hello friends! I hope everyone had an amazing week! I know I sure did…seeing as I’ve had the past 4 days off of work! You see, that is one of the perks of being a nurse…You can work 12 hour shifts, or a lot of shifts in a row, and then have a nice stretch of time off! It’s wonderful because it really does refresh you, and I think, make you a better nurse when you come back! :)

Speaking of 12 hour shifts…I thought I’d show what a 12 hour work day looks like for me! I generally try and take those days as ‘rest days’ from working out, so I might do a walk with my dog Zoey, but if I can’t fit in my workouts elsewhere in the week (or I work more than one 12 in a week), then I do a quick circuit training class in the morning, or a 30 minute Turbo Kick Kickboxing workout dvd at home.

This particular 12 hour work day, I started my day with a circuit training class at 8:30 am. I go to the circuit class with my husband Sean, which makes it more motivating!  Plus, we get to spend a little time doing something fun together before I head off to work. :)

When I start my day with a workout, I generally wake up at 7:50 am and eat a Fiber One yogurt (I freeze them and microwave them for 30 seconds… they taste like ice cream!) I always eat something really light before an early morning workout. It usually consists of some type of yogurt and maybe some frozen fruit!

I hope everyone had an amazing Easter and enjoyed time with their family and friends!  This year was the first Easter that I had to work, so my family and I planned to spread out some of our Easter traditions throughout the week!

It also happened to be my older sister Sarah’s birthday this past week, and my younger sister Emily had Good Friday off, (she’s a 3rd grade teacher), so turned out to be a wonderful week with lots of time spent with my family!

Since I had so many ‘celebrations’ this week, I decided to share a weeks worth of ‘highlights’ on this Daily Dish post, as opposed to just a single day! So here you have it…The Daily Dish~ Easter Week!

Because I work the afternoon shift at work, my family and I were able to spend Easter morning together! We attended the early church service, which was awesome, because it was truly a celebration of our Savior Jesus~ (Hey thats what Easter is all about after all!)

I hope everyone had a blessed week! I personally had a very busy week (as usual), which at this time of my life it is my job that keeps me the busiest, which is SO rewarding.  So, I have to say that every bit of ‘hard work’ is worth it (especially when I keep my focus on working for the Lord!) :)

This week I worked a 12 hour shift and a few 8 hour shifts.  And let me tell you…I have to get pretty creative with my workouts and meal planning when I work a 12 hour shift!  However, I must say that it’s proof that you can still eat healthy/exercise no matter how busy/long your days are…It just takes a little extra planning!

So, how do I do it you may ask!?! Well…I always take a few minutes somwhere in the beginning of my week to plan my workouts and pack my meals for the week. I always take (at least) 2 rest days a week, so I try to plan my workouts on the days that I’m not working, and/or on the days that I only work 8 hour shifts. I also take about 30 minutes somewhere in the beginning of my week to pack my lunches and snacks for the week! (I discussed this in more detail in my Healthy Lunches To Go video post!)

It’s been quite the year for me and Dashing Dish! I have been completely blown away by the feedback, letters and emails I have received! I have a true passion for helping others find a healthy balance when it comes to diet, exercise and nutrition, and this blog has allowed me to do just that! I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read and comment on my recipes and posts! I am so grateful for each and every one of you and want to make sure that you know how much I appreciate your support! To help celebrate, I am hosting a GIVEAWAY to thank all of my amazing readers!

I will be giving away TWO amazing prizes to ONE lucky winner!  The prize will include two of my favorite things:

a Kitchen-Aid Blender and a $50 gift card to Williams Sonoma!

The winner of the giveaway will be announced on April 1st, so tell ALL of your friends to come celebrate Dashing Dish turning ONE years old! Thank you again to all of my wonderful readers for all of your love and support!!!

Click here to enter!

Hello Everyone!!! I just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Norwegian Epic Ship, where we traveled to Cozumel, Rotan, and Costa Maya! It was amazing- to say the least!!! I went with my husband, my younger sister Emily, and my parents, and we had a wonderful time! We did a lot of eating, relaxing, and of course~ playing under the sun! This Daily Dish will be filled with the week’s worth of meals and activities I enjoyed on the cruise!

In general, it is very difficult to eat healthy on a cruise ship, but I tried to make healthy choices when possible. Breakfast usually included an egg white omlette, a high fiber cereal of some type, a low sugar yogurt and fruit. For lunch I had some type of salad from the salad bar almost every day, and chose turkey or chicken as a topping (for protein). I almost always followed it with an soft-serve ice cream cone for a ‘snack’ which was definitely a highlight, (especially because it was self-serve frozen yogurt!!!) :) And for dinner I had whatever I wanted…Meaning it generally wasn’t healthy, nor was the dessert…But I was on vacation, so I enjoyed myself! :)

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, and I had a big surprise awaiting me (and didn’t even suspect a thing!) I started off my day by doing a circuit training type workout, and came home to a Frozen Hot Chocolate Protein Shake with a Crushed Cone on top! :) (It’s one of my favorite toppings, because it has 20 calories, low in sugar, and gives the shake even more of an ‘ice cream’ appeal!)