Some thoughts and discussions from me.
Turning off the Oven for the Summer
Hey, hey! Happy Wednesday 
Did any one you give the Soldier of Steel workouts a try (and live to tell about it?) heh. I took a day off from resistance training yesterday, and went to an early morning hot power yoga class instead. Can you believe I rolled out of bed at 6:18 and made the 6:30 class? I got skills. And I got a yoga studio within a 60 second walk from my house 
The grilling is still is full force around here. Since getting the grill late Sunday morning, we’ve cooked FIVE meals on the grill. That means three dinners and two lunches. I don’t think we’ll be seeing much of the oven this summer I thought today for What I Ate Wednesday, I’d share with you guys just how excited Shane and I were to get our ‘grill on’ on Sunday.
But first, we need to go back to the time of B.G. (before grill.) Sunday morning before church, I woke up, read a little of my book, and then got started on some breakfast.
I love how crisp and cool mornings are here in Colorado, despite the intense sun during the mid-part of the day. We ate our breakfast alfresco, which consisted of two eggs, spinach, sauerkraut, sausage, toast with butter, and of course, coffee.
Then we headed to church, and shopped around for a couple hours. On our list was a grill and some patio chairs, and we came home successful on both accounts. We need a table, too, but we had to order that. We ordered a table with a propane pit in the center, with rocks on top, and a fire down the middle, kind of like this one:
…but more in a square shape.
Of course, when we got back, lunch had to be cooked on the grill, naturally. Since I was already hungry and Shane still had to set it up, I decided to make a snack. Can you believe it’s been at least 7-8 months since I’ve made a smoothie? I just haven’t been craving them. And then somehow the blade broke when we made the move to Colorado. Luckily, Vitamix rocks, and sent me a new container, and now it’s good as new!
So, I made a smoothie to hold me over until lunchtime:
In my glass: frozen cherries, protein powder (vanilla grass-fed whey,) avocado, canned coconut milk, and some ice.
And then a couple hours later, the grill was ready for grillin’! And burgers were on the menu:
I had two patties with cheese, ketchup, and avocado, along with some carrots, chips, and hummus. Yum! The burgers grilled up perfectly.
It ended up being after 2:00 when we finally had lunch, so by the time our usual dinner time rolled around, we weren’t hungry. Plus, we had a few friends over for wine to break in the new furniture. Then around 8:00, neither of us wanted to do much prep work, so we agreed that hot dogs would be a good option.
I had two dogs (Applegate organic) with some ketchup, and a Japanese sweet potato with some butter, sea salt, and cinnamon. Delicious.
And then despite our late dining hour, I still somehow craved a snack about 45 minutes later.
Full fat plain Greek yogurt, granola, almond butter, and chocolate chips. My acupuncturist actually recommended that I choose something a little less sweet and with more protein after dinner. I compromised by adding some protein (Greek yog) and keeping the sweet…
Do your meals tend to involve the grill more once summer hits?
How often do you eat meals outside at home?
Love your WIAW posts! You always have the best meals. Everything looks delicious 🙂
Danielle recently posted…Why I Started Losing Weight When I Stopped Dieting
All your meals look delicious!
Caitlyn @ City and the Cubicle recently posted…Tuesday Things
For sure! I hate heating up the house on hot days, though so far we have not had any of those. lol.
Love that table you got, I want to get one similar, would be nice to sit around it in the evenings and enjoy the backyard more.
I love having plain Greek yogurt with berries and almond butter as a bedtime snack 🙂
Lindsey recently posted…It’s a….
The bugs and humidity here in Atlanta make eating outside kind of miserable in the heat of the summer. Fall and Spring are pretty much the only times we can eat outside. Love grilling in the summer though. Definitely keeps the oven off for the most part…you know I have to bake too!
Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) recently posted…Low Sugar Cheesecake and NuNaturals Give Away!
I love the grill! We actually grill pretty much all year long because our grill is hooked up to natural gas and it’s so easy to just turn on and light.
Natalie @ Free Range Human recently posted…Heartbroken
I want that fire pit/ table thing! One day when I have a house I will be purchasing! I like your idea of not using the oven in the summer. I need to try this, the only problem is I like to bake!
Kaitlin @4loveofcarrots recently posted…Soldier of Steel™ Wokouts
That table is SOOOOO cool! I’m thrilled to be cooking more on the grill. Makes dinner feel so much easier. And smoothies? All about it! I just ordered more protein so my smoothie intake is about to fly through the roof!!
I love to eat off the grill. We have to share one with our apartment community, but we still use it quite a bit.
You fire pit table is amazing! I love that idea!!!
Kacy recently posted…City Hiking
Ahhh I so wish I had a grill. Burgers and hotdogs in the same way? That just sounds ideal. And I try to keep my nighttime snack high protein too, but there is definitely sweet stuff involved.
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles recently posted…WIAW: Getting My Snacking On.
We are ALL about the grill over here during the warmer months! It’s delicious, easy, doesn’t heat up the house, and requires little clean-up! We sit outside on our porch a couple times a week when it’s not windy or too hot.
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries recently posted…WIAW #86: Keepin’ It Short & Sweet
Great looknig eats Paige! We haven’t even had a chance to use our BBQ once this year yet. It just hasn’t been summery weather and we haven’t even thought of using it! I also haven’t had a smoothie in weeks, finally made one for lunch today as a treat 🙂
LOVE the fire pit table by the way!
Christa @ Edible Balance recently posted…Pumpkin Plantain Bread ~ WIAW {Recipe}
We’ve been using our grill so much too! I love your new outside fire pit table. That’s going to look great!
Kim @ Hungry Healthy Girl recently posted…Sensible Snacking on Fruit
What is the grass-fed Whey that you use?
We have been grilling out like crazy this summer. I used my oven today for a sweet potato, and I won’t be doing that again. It made the house way too hot!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables recently posted…WIAW: Back to Normal
Applegate Farms hot dogs are SCRUMPTIOUS! 😀 I am obsessed!!!!
GiGi Eats Celebrities recently posted…Jurassic Stomach Problems
I love the style of the tables with the fire pit in the center! Mmm, and your night time snack looks delicious.
Gina @ Health, Love, and Chocolate recently posted…Nursing My Sweet Tooth
How fun!! I love that table! We bought patio furniture recently as well, and we’ve been eating a lot of dinners outside. It’s awesome 🙂 We got our grill last Labor Day weekend, and we definitely use it whenever the weather is nice! Enjoy!
Catherine @ A Two Storey Home recently posted…Jillian Michaels and Fresh Green Beans