Chocolate Fro Yo!

i'm embarrassed to admit how many times i have been to bops in the past month... it's just so gooooooood!!!!! well, i thought it might be a good idea to look for a lower-calorie alternative to the delicious custard. i came upon a recipe for a peanut butter cup protein frozen yogurt on pinterest and decided to give it a try!

i decided to just make a straight-up chocolate version because it sounded tasty and would be less calories. but to make it "peanut cup" style like the original recipe, you can add in some peanut butter chips and peanut butter. 

 put all ingredients except the chocolate chips into a blender and blend until smooth. it's important to make sure it's completely smooth and that all the cottage cheese chunks are mixed in. stir in the chocolate chips and sugar just before putting in ice cream machine. 

 sierra kept asking, "is it done yet?" and "when will it be finished?" it took about 20 minutes in my mom's fabulous ice cream maker. this machine is great- super easy clean up, and it just shuts itself off when the ice cream is done. 

sierra didn't end up liking the frozen yogurt afterall, but the grown-ups did! it was a little bitter, so maybe i'll add in a little more sugar next time. but the consistency was just like frozen yogurt! if you served it to other people, i don't think they could tell a difference! this recipe makes about 2 cups and is only about 250ish calories for the whole thing (depending on if you use fat free ingredients, how many chocolate chips you add, etc.) and about 40g of protein. 

the only downside i see is that you have to pretty much eat it all immediately. wait, did i say "downside"? i'm pretty sure that if you tried to save some in the freezer that it would just turn into a solid block. the recipe was perfect for three of us to have a modest sized bowl and curb our cravings for something sweet! i hope you'll try it-- i'll definitely be making it again!!! 

::Chocolate Frozen Yogurt::

1c fat free or low fat milk (i used almond milk, which has fewer calories than regular)

1/2c fat free or low fat cottage cheese 

1/2c fat free or low fat plain greek yogurt

2 TBS cocoa powder

pinch of salt

optional: 1-2 TBS sugar free instant chocolate pudding (might be interesting to try different flavors), chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, sugar or sweetener

Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend until completely smooth. Stir in any optional ingredients, and pour into ice cream maker according to the directions for your machine. 

If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into a tupperware container and freeze for one hour. Don't forget because you'll end up with one solid block if you leave it in too long! 

girls' road trip to atlanta!

last weekend mom, sierra, and i went on a road trip to atlanta for a few days. it's so strange that going to atlanta is not the same as going home now. i was even a little fuzzy on the once familiar drive to atlanta from starkville. we left early sunday morning, stopped for brunch at the waysider restaurant in tuscaloosa, and made it to atlanta just in time to fit in some shopping before the mall closed. we even listened to "highway 20 ride" by the zac brown band twice so we could be singing it as we crossed "the georgia line". 

Sierra made a "nest" in the backseat for the 5-hour drive. And for some reason, she decided she would growl at the passing cars when we got in Georgia. I asked her what she was doing, and she said she was pretending to be Norwood! Too funny! 

we stayed at my uncle tim's house in brookhaven, and sierra thoroughly enjoyed the pool! mom and i were so thankful for steven (my cousin) who played with sierra. they took turns jumping, flipping, and diving into the pool. steven threw her around a little and helped her climb all over the rocks. needless to say, she slept very well that night! 

you would think that starkville is siberia by the way we were ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the abundance of shopping and restaurants. we went to our two favorite shopping malls in atlanta and ate at many of our favorite restaurants! 

yummy french onion soup from brookwood grill in roswell- one of my favorites!! 

 it also happened to be national ice cream day while we were in atlanta, so we had to pay homage to my favorite dessert! who knew coldstone had a salted carmel ice cream... yum!! 

please check out the ice cream on sierra's nose! 

 on our last day, we went to six flags! i "tricked" sierra into going on her first upside down roller coaster, the mindbender. she was very scared at first, but she loved it and went on it twice! we went on one other upside down ride and a few other roller coasters. she is one brave girl! 

sierra tried her luck at this ladder game at six flags. she has amazing balance for a 9-year old, but it always ended up flipping her off. 

 you may think we are crazy, but we drove straight home after a day at six flags. it was a fun, productive trip, and it was very enjoyable to have just a girls' trip! 

New Chapter: Starkville & Long Distance

June ended and Zach and I started our month apart. But not before we spent some good quality time together. After Zach's school ended in the middle of June and I left my job in Gainesville, we went on a cruise to the Bahamas.

We enjoyed some beach yoga on our 2nd anniversary!                                            See our cruise ship in the background. 

After the cruise, I packed up and we both headed to Pensacola to see Zach's parents for a few days. Before we knew it, it was time to head our separate ways. I was moving to Starkville for 6 months, and Zach was going back to Gainesville for the month of July to start off his 4th and last year of medical school with a rotation in Orthopedic Surgery. It's been a very time for him, and he has already worked a 38 hour shift at the hospital. I'm glad I chose to come to Starkville this month because I would not be seeing him even if we lived in the same state with that kind of schedule! In case you're wondering, Norwood came with me to Starkville! 

She insisted on riding on my shoulders for the majority of a 5 hour drive from Pensacola to Starkville. 

 I started working for my Stepdad, Tom, and help out Mom around the house by cooking and cleaning. Sierra is also here for the summer, so I've loved getting to spend time with her as well! She loves going to the pool and can't get enough of playing games. She is a lot of fun! My college roommate, Karen, had a precious little boy, Emmett, on July 2nd. One of our other roommates, Krystina, and I surprised Karen and Emmett in the hospital on the 4th of July. He is so precious, and Karen looked beautiful! She is doing great, and I'm so glad that her husband, Jared, helped us to surprise her!

Krystina, Me, Karen, and Emmett

 As for Norwood... she has adjusted quite well! She fits right in with the 2 older cats and the resident old man, Jazz, the dog. My mom says that it's so different having a younger cat around the house because she is so energetic and is always all over the place!

Cat or Stuffed Animal? 

 Things in Starkville have been great so far, and I look forward to the rest of this summer and into football season! I am going to try and blog more often, too! I've been trying out some low-carb recipes for my family- some have been great, some have been not so great. So far, the favorite has been this no-noodle zucchini lasagna. It was wonderful! There is also broccoli, cauliflower and spinach in it in addition to the zucchini that you use in place of the noodles. Sierra, my 9-year-old niece saw me making it and was certain she wouldn't like it, but after she tried it, she had 3 helpings! Trust me- it's a crowd pleaser, full of flavor, and completely guilt-free!