We had a lovely family weekend! Laughs were had, great food was eaten, and lots of celebrating was completed. Adam’s parents drove up Saturday morning to check out our Long Island life. The weather is just starting to get cold, but we kept things climate-controlled with driving tours of the city (Central Park and spins down Park Ave and Lexington) and the Long Island (the coast!). I’ve been dying to take pictures of our gorgeous, changing leaves so it was especially nice to have Adam behind the wheel.
breakfasts
Breakfast by buffalo.
A cup of coffee (a buttered rum blend from Target that had a rubbing alcohol taste we both hated) sweetened with SCM and lightened with skim milk.
And a very nice, pumpkin-pie-esque yogurt bowl.
TJ’s low-fat pumpkin Greek yogurt topped with some Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes and a dollop of sour cream whisked with brown sugar.
The cereal bites were my favorite.
Breakfast in the leaves and on the go.
Iced coffee with maple syrup and Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk. For some reason I enjoyed the buttered rum far better leftover the 2nd day.
Overnight oats.
A nearly empty Biscoff jar was filled with raw oats, almond milk, and chia seeds and then pumpkin Greek yogurt was stirred in the next morning.
Very good, but I finally decided that this yogurt is a bit too sour for me, and I’m glad it’s gone now.
I normally try to stop after 1 (large) coffee so I don’t lose sleep, but I couldn’t turn down a 2nd when I received this e-mail:
Free? Yes, please!
I got a non-fat caramel brulee latte and loved it before ultimately determining that this flavor is too sweet, even for me. When December rolls around I’ll stick to eggnog lattes.
Cereal squared.
A packet of Vanilla Blast Snackimals that I got “trick or treating” at Whole Foods. <– such a good marketing idea; I loved it and now plan on buying a box and if I hadn’t tasted it I definitely would not have thought to purchase this particular cereal
And a serving of Adam’s Boo Berry. <– not gonna lie, I liked this layer quite a bit too!
I topped my big bowl with raspberries and skim milk.
I almost went back for seconds, I enjoyed this so much.
lunches
Sunny side salad.
Baby spinach dressed with pink salt and 1 tsp each evoo and honey, topped with TJ’s 90 days aged crumbly Gorgonzola (a cow and sheep’s milk blend) and a sunny-side up egg.
I made that egg myself and was so proud, usually Adam has to make them if we eat anything but scrambled! And a Sweet Tango on the side.
This variety might be topping Honeycrisp this season.
I got a small Cobb salad. Baby romaine / Wisconsin blue / turkey bacon / hard-boiled egg / Hass avocado / grape tomatoes / raw red onion / buttermilk ranch
I had them sub in aged fig balsamic for the ranch, but I ended up not even using it because the salad was so good naked. I need to find better lettuce for salads at home!
Plus Adam and I split a side order of spicy pickle chips.
Out of this world, nice and crunchy. His parents loved their burgers as well; Bareburger is becoming our go-to place to take out-of-towners.
I ordered another salad. Iceberg (boo nutritionally but nice and crispy) topped with pico de gallo, lime, queso fresco, and avocado.
Plus a plate of Maduros which I shared with the table.
I love sweet plantains. We were all impressed with SN, and plan on going back.
dinners
Leftovers magic.
We turned our Halloween mac & cheese leftovers into something magical by burning cooking them in a skillet with evoo, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and eggs.
Topped with sour cream and Sriracha, the former of which was a big mistake.
I didn’t have to cook.
My MIL always brings Adam pot roast when she visits and this time she made me a dish too. Seasoned chicken on spaghetti with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.
For our vegetable component we ate the rest of my salad, topped with honey, evoo, and tons of blue cheese.
Those big chunks of cheese were outstanding.
desserts
Cookie monster ghost.
My MIL delivered sugar cookies that had been beautifully decorated by our nieces.
Cake(s). There was a lot to celebrate this weekend. My MIL’s birthday is today {Happy Birthday, Barb!} so Adam and I fulfilled her life-long tasting dream and picked up slices of cheesecake from Juniors.
Traditional and chocolate swirl.
But since they weren’t sure when we’d get together next, my in-laws also came prepared to celebrate Adam’s December birthday (plus Christmas and our anniversary!) too.
Look at the giant slice of cake Adam served me alongside my cheesecake tastes!
I left behind most of the cake, but you better believe I ate all of the frosting.
The new best thing ever. I reheated my leftover plantains in a skillet with a bit of butter and brown sugar and then cooled them down on a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s Honey Vanilla Caramel Frozen Greek Yogurt.
Surprisingly, this dish was Adam’s idea!
leaves
Eating Chalk 