Prepping for Spring

Spring is less than two months away.  March 20th can't come soon enough.  I usually love winter, but I think I speak for everyone when I say it was just too cold this year.  I am ready to be able to be outside, take the dog to the park, go on walks, sit out on the balcony, go to the farm and there's nothing like a cold drink on a warm or hot day.  I know I am more active and healthy in the warmer months too because there's more to do, more day light and just more motivation to move.  Not to mention the smaller clothes so usually people watch what they eat more.  There's a lot I want to do before spring comes around though.

Here is my list of spring cleaning for myself and my home:

-- Donate, donate, donate!  Get rid of clothes and anything else in the house or garage that I don't need anymore, that don't fit and never will again or that I haven't worn in many years.
-- Pack away some things I still want but just don't have room for where we live now or just don't use never often right now.
-- Organize the garage so things are easily accessible so instead of going out to buy the item again I can just grab it.  I have a problem with buying too many kitchen towels based on the season or holiday.  They are all packed away but every year I seem to buy more.
-- Fully clean the entire house, from head to toe, using all cleaning supplies and not doing it half ass.
-- Reorganize my dresser drawers and closet.
-- Try to keep the house this way or at least keep up with it from time to time instead of just letting it become a crazy disorganized mess.
-- And something for me, just to make me happy, buy a basil plant for the kitchen window and a nice spring wreath for the front door. :)

All these things are mainly for my home but they will all make me feel good and refreshed to start off the new season on the right foot.  It's not a small list either which is why it's good to start early.  Make your own list and let the spring cleaning begin!

But for today I leave you with this list of things to do...

Best Part of Warm Weather: Grillin'

Shoprite got their first corn of the season!  They were on the smaller side though.  I should've took a trip to the farm, it would've been local and probably bigger.  Oh well, next time for sure!  The farmers market by me opens on June 23rd so I can also go too.  I can't wait for it to open!  That will be a nice Sunday tradition when I need good produce.

Decided last night was a good day for grilling.  We always grill burgers and that type of stuff, but I wanted to grill some fish this time.  We put a spice of our choice on the flounder, I picked cajun seasoning and grilled them up.  The corn was also cooked on the grill and I made a little salad to top my flounder.The salad just has chopped tomato, garlic and basil and the grilled corn.  I also added a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  I really wanted to add avocado to the salad but unfortunately I couldn't find a ripe one.

Healthy Sun-Day

Weekends make it tough sometimes to stay active and eat healthy especially for me, but since I have started to really make it a part of my lifestyle it's much easier.  I seem to have better control too.  I went grocery shopping last night and got a lot of healthy and clean eating items.  It's weird but I actually crave healthier foods now instead of the fattening foods filled with nothing good for your body.  At Wegman's last night I was surrounded by bagels, donuts and very sugary muffins, but I choose a multi-grain carrot and apple muffin.  Eating that and a cup of skim milk was a great way to start my Sunday.

I also bought some flatbreads at Wegman's which I have never seen before at Shoprite.  The brand is "Flatout".  They are only 90 calories, 5 grain flax, great source of fiber and 53% fewer net carbs.  They are small flatbreads that are a good shape so they can also be folded in half for sandwiches or panini making.  I highly recommend them.

After relaxing at home for a bit I decided to venture out, get some coffee and drive around looking at new hiking places.  I ended up stopping at the local farm to pick up a tomato so I could use it for my lunch.  Local produce is fresher, less likely to be contaminated, tastes better and helps support your local farmers.  Having farms close by is a huge plus, not only because of the fresh food, but also it's a great atmosphere.  I got to get some sun and see some animals that brightened my day...

The duck and roaster were both very vocal and cute.  The roaster was actually waking everybody up in this picture haha.  I also saw lots of goats, bunnies and an adorable pig.

The tomato I got at the farm was perfect for my flatbread pizza I made for lunch.  I put little bit of olive oil on the bread, added slices of fresh tomato instead of tomato sauce and then sprinkled some dried basil and part skim mozzarella cheese.  Delic!  Notice the shape I was talking about...

I headed to Shoprite after the farm because I forgot to get water last night.  I got a mini work out in by carrying the water to the car and up two flights of stairs.  Every little bit counts!  :) 

Have a happy healthy Sunday everyone!