I can honestly say that it has NEVER felt so good to be home. It was hard leaving Florida, but I definitely could’ve gone without the 2 day drive home :/ It wasn’t horrible, but everyone knows the way home from vacation certainly isn’t as enjoyable as the way there! We spent a solid 12 hours on the road yesterday, and ended up spending the night in north North Carolina. After another 6 hours of driving today, we’re safe and sound in good old Pennsylvania =)
My car ride eats were okay. I snacked my way through almost the entire day yesterday. I started with 1/2 a sandwich thin covered with peanut butter, banana, and almonds.
Vanilla Bean Almonds.
A fruit cup from the hotel topped with a McDonald’s Parfait. Yes, I said McDonald’s.
Nature Valley Granola Bar.
For dinner we went to Ruby Tuesday’s since it was right next to our hotel. I got the soup + salad bar combo. My salad was pretty good:
But the White Chicken Chili soup….
…was kind of gross :/ I rarely ever dislike something so much that I don’t eat it, but I just couldn’t stomach this.
I snacked on some (unpictured) peanut butter crackers later in the evening and called it a night. Would you believe we woke up at 4a.m. to head home this morning? Let’s just say I was pretty much a zombie for the majority of the car ride.
For “breakfast” this morning I had a Power Bar.
Then I passed out for about an hour. After sitting in some traffic and even getting lost in Deleware (ugh) my mom and I FINALLY arrived at home around noon. Clearly I made a bee line for the kitchen!
Let me just say that I’m just SO incredibly happy to have access to my own kitchen after 2 weeks of being away. And my amazing Daddio went grocery shopping for us last night, so I thankfully had some of my favorite staples on hand. Can you guess what I made? 
This baby was the GREENEST most MONSTROUS Green Monster I’ve ever made! I pretty much doubled the normal recipe, and every sip was nothing short of amazing.
For my “main course,” I couldn’t decide if I wanted loaded yogurt or oatmeal. So I went with what so many of you refer to as Yoatgurt. Er…Yoats? Oatgurt?
Whatever it’s called, it was TO DIE!! I’m going to go ahead and call it Peanut Butter Yoatgurt. First I made a small batch of oats, consisting of:
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp flax
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- cinnamon
I let it cool for a few minutes before stirring in a container of plain Oikos, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 2 tbsp peanut butter. It turned out perfectly fluffy, creamy, and peanut-buttery.
The rest of my day consisted of catching up on some 469286476 shows that I DVRed, unpacking my life, editing/adding to my massive to-do list, and snacking on a small bowl of Galaxy Granola with almond milk and a spoonful of raw almond butter.
Dinner came a few hours later and was quite heavenly, if I do say so. I had Easy Eggplant Parmesan.
ingredients:
- 1 eggplant, sliced
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- (kosher) salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on the sliced eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Roasted for 20 minutes. When the eggplant is done, layer with the tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese in an oven-safe bowl (eggplant, sauce, cheese, repeat). Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top, and broil for 3-5 more minutes (until the top gets golden brown). And then, dig in!
Have I mentioned that eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables? Because it is. And if you don’t think you like eggplant, you probably do.
I didn’t know what to expect with this dish, but I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it turned out! It was decadent yet not too filling. The one thing I’d probably do differently next time is peel the skin before roasting because it was a bit too chewy.
I mixed it all together casserole-style, and enjoyed every single bite. YUM
I’m signing off for the night to spend some R&R in my own little house. I seriously cannot WAIT to sleep in my own bed!
Before I go - you know that massive to-do list I mentioned earlier? Well I just thought I’d let you know that the majority of it is GMH related. I really want to shape things up around here and add even more content for you all, my lovely readers!
So while we’re at it, is there anything you’d be interested in seeing added to GMH? Any topics, ideas, or suggestions you would like to throw my way? Please feel free to comment or email me to let me know
Goodnight, lovebugs! xoxo G
What’s the worst restaurant meal you’ve ever gotten?
What do you look for most when visiting healthy living blogs?
If you’re bored, feel free to Ask Me Anything!
I love the eggplant parmesan for one recipe…I am totally bookmarking that. My husband hates eggplant but I love it so this is perfect! Glad you made it home safe and sound! That drive sounds brutal!
I had Ruby Tuesday once too. I got a salad and a broccoli cheddar soup. It was disgusting!
I looooove eggplant dishes!! I made a baked eggplant parmesan not too long ago!
So glad you made it home safe, sound, and happy! The yoatgurt looks amaaaze,a s does the parm. Love those single-serve casserole dishes. SO handy! And, I keep telling myself I need to try eggplant again - but have yet to get on that! ugh…
Worst meal was this NASTY new england clam chowder from a cutsey little diner we’d never been to. I am a new England Clam Chowder junkie and have high expectations, but lets just say, even if I had standards as low as Courtney Love, this clam chowder would not have sufficed. I honestly didn’t know until that night that a chef could mess up soup so bad. Worse part was, my whole family ordered a cup, and we all suffered.
And in terms of healthy living blogs, I guess I look for someone relateable, or at least brings a personal aspect. I don’t want JUST foodie pictures - I want to know the person behind the food, too! Every time I’ve followed someone who JUST posts “heres what i ate,” I end up getting bored. And yumy pics and creativity and inspiration is always a plus :]
Yoatgurt makes me SO FULL!! Seriously I can rarely finish an entire bowl!
That eggplant dish looks absolutely incredible!!! How creative of you!!!
The drive home is always.. blah. It’s kinda depressing. Except when you just can’t wait to get home!!! The GM looks delicious and so vibrant!! And the yoatgurt…yum!!! I used to eat it all the time pre-blog but I haven’t had it in forever.
Is it sad that I actually love Mcd’s yogurt parfaits?! It’s nice to have healthy options anyways!
I actually like your blog as is a lot! You have a nice balance of foodie pictures and personal touches.
And as for your comment, I LOVE Chik-fil-a ice cream! Their milkshakes are the bomb but you are right, the calories are not so fun. Their ice cream has MUCH less calories and I actually like the plain vanilla even more than the shakes!
Love ya girl!
Mmmm, oats are the perfect comfort food to refuel with after a long drive!! Glad you made it home safe, that trip must have felt like forever!! And that little eggplant parm…yum
Have a great and restful night girl!!
Hey girlie~
Wow, your massive green monster and loaded oats look AH-MAZING!! It must feel wonderful to have full access to healthy foods in your kitchen!
I’m super excited to see what changes you are going to make to your website. I’d love if you posted a section on your favorite products and reviewed new products that you try. Also, maybe you could have a Q&A section or combine all the answers from “Ask Me Anything” in a section.
From your title, I thought you made yogurt oats with eggplant parm. Ick. But I do love eggplant parm, too. Last time I made it I thought the same thing: The skin has go to go!
Glad you guys had so much fun in Florida! it’s been fun seeing all of your highlights.
The worst restaurant meal I’ve seen wasn’t my own, but a friends. A year ago when I lived in FL I had awesome neighbors- they were a cute young couple mine and Ryans age. We went out to dinner one night to get to know each other and NO JOKE- the guys food came and had a dead fly on it!!! So gross!
~Christie http://rollerkoesterrun.wordpress.com/
hey lovely! mmm YAY for green monsters! your dinner looks amazing too! AND YOATGURT-my fav snack EVA
I have never thought about egg plant parmesan. That looks really good!
I’m glad you made it home safely!! Riding in a car for that long can be draining!
I love eggplant too! It’s so good!
That eggplant parm looks really really good!
And as for what I love in blogs…I love reading about REAL people that many can relate to. I like to know their struggles as well as their triumphs. What they are passionate about. Ways they plan to grow and change in various endeavors. As well as tips that anyone can use or be reminded of.
Your dinner looks amazing!
I love your healthy adaptation of an eggplant Parmesan. I so love fried eggplant parm and wow that looks awesome.
Glad you had fun on your vacation. P.S. Powerbar Harvest bars are my absolute favorite bars then Kashi.. basically I am obsessed with your snacks today.. and McDonald’s parfaits are so good.. but tiny!
Hey girl!! Glad you made it home safe and sound! That eggplant parm looks SO BOMB - need to make that asap! I also have to try a Green Monster, I’m so intrigued
McDonald’s?? No kidding! And bummer on the last Florida orange
But you’ll be back again, right
The worst restaurant meal I ever had had to be a fried fish thing on my honeymoon. First of all, the menu did not say “fried” and second, it was just disgusting. *shudder*
Your Eggplant Parm looks amazing, as does your Green Monster! Glad you got home safely! As for your blog, maybe more of your thoughts? I think it’s perfect just as you have it!
Barbara
that eggplant parm for 1 sounds and looks so good! what an easy recipe!! love it
I would probably throw in some meat there for PROTEIN but wow looks amazing!
i have gotten the fruit parfait form micky d’s too! its probably the only thing I have order, well the ice coffee too
yay for sleeping in your own bed! is there anything better?!?!
@Christie - EWWW!!! How did the server not notice that?! It makes you think the dish had been sitting out for a while. Yuck :/
Tracey @ I’m Not Superhuman - hahaha….I’m all about experimenting with food, but yogurt oats with eggplant parm would NOT be pretty
[...] numerous vegetables). For example I planned to make an eggplant Parmesan tonight based on this recipe from Gracie (love her new blog). Yet after work and gym time, I threw together a salad [...]
Eggplants are awesome….but it’s not a vegetable.