Did you notice that bathing suits are starting to pop up in the apparel stores. I am pretty sure that I let out a loud ‘What?!’ when I went into Target the other day. Then I began to sweat.

Speaking of sweat and bathing suits, it is time for Backside Challenge #5: we will perform the Foosball Kick for 2 weeks, starting at 20 per leg per day (feel free to omit hand weights). The exact way to perform this exercise is found on FitnessMagazine.com.

Are you on Pinterest? Follow my boards and be inspired.

Get kicking! Wait, you haven’t committed yet? Well, sign up straight away!

*I am not a doctor, trainer or miss know-it-all so consult someone who is.

I really really wanted to call this a burrito however, the strict definition states that it needs to have a filing of meat, beans or cheese and since this recipe contains none of those, we will stick with ‘wrap’. Bummer.

I made this wrap after my newly slimmed down hubby came home from a late morning workout. I wanted to make him a protein packed meal he could grab and take right up to the office.

Ready for the super simple recipe? To assemble I simply scrambled an egg, grabbed a whole grain wrap, placed the eggs, some salsa, baby spinach, tossed on some leftover Quinoa Pilaf and Voila, an quinoa & egg breakfast wrap.

What is your healthy go-to breakfast?

Most of you know that I am a big believer in being fit and having exercise be an important part of your life and daily routine as well as your families.

You also may have noticed that I am including more fitness related posts (Hello, Backside Challenge! Have you joined yet?). Well, I am proud to announce that a few weeks ago I was asked to be a Fitfluential Ambassador!

Miss Kelly Olexa, the founder of Fitfluential LLC describes the Fitfluential Ambassadors to be the highest rank in our rapidly growing community of fitness fanatics. I knew I would be labeled a fanatic one day.

What is Fitfluential LLC you ask? FitFluential is a nationwide network of fitness enthusiasts sharing their journey both online and offline through multiple social media platforms and offers exclusive opportunity for members, whether they are bloggers or not and a new type of marketing for Healthy Living/Fitness bloggers.

Are you a fit-minded individual? You can sign up as well!

I am passionate about making cooking fun and easy and quick but with better, healthier choices.

What does that statement have to do with lasagna? Well, a few weeks ago, I was glancing at the Today Show while getting the kids ready for school and saw a recipe for ‘Skillet Lasagna’ by America’s Test Kitchen and I thought: ‘I am so going to make that fun variation of lasagna and it will rock our standard casserole lasagna world’

I studied the recipe, played around with ideas, drooled a lot and am now presenting the results.

It is ‘awesomesauce’. Yes, I have petitioned to have that word added to the dictionary.

I am pretty sure Webster’s is ignoring me and my request.

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**Since some of you have requested a bit more step-by-step photo guidance, I am giving it a shot. Hope it helps you out**

Onion and Pepper in first….

Then toss in the garlic, mushroom and zucchini….

And then the lasagna noodles, tomatoes, sauce and water…..and then baby spinach (not shown)

Without further ado, the complete recipe!

This past Saturday, I hosted a little peanut and book themed baby shower. Yes, we also just threw a Lego birthday party but I love to entertain so it is all fun!

The theme of the shower was ‘peanuts’ because Sarah often refers to her little baby girl as ‘peanut’ and since her family would soon be throwing her a traditional baby shower, I decided to make this one a book themed party. I asked the attendees to bring their favorite books that they have read their children.

We first enjoyed some chit-chat, then some games (word scramble and bingo) .

Then enjoyed some lunch.  We dined on mushroom crostini, a spinach and endive salad with apples, raisins and peanuts, peanut satay wraps, sweet potato wraps, fruits & veggies and to drink, strawberry lemonade before we moved onto opening gifts.

Our son has a bit of a crush on Sarah (and vise-versa)…..

Our daughter enjoyed helping.

The cupcakes were vanilla or chocolate with icing and topped with a circus peanut that I had spray-painted pink using Wilton food coloring.

You may have noticed the color theme of brown, green and pink. This special little girl has many neutral greens, browns and forest animals in her room. She will now also have the gorgeous wall flag you see above the mantle in some photos, that my friend Kim made. Gorgeous right? Adore crafty peeps!

Love what Sarah deemed the ‘Rhode Island’ inspired diaper by The Honest Company!

Thank you to the Honest Company for sending sample sets to each guest and to Stonyfield yogurt for the Yobaby coupons and gifts for the mom-to-be.

Seeing that last week offered up a birthday party and Valentine’s Day, to say we have indulged in a bit too much sugar would be an understatement. Therefore, I decided to repent by making a quinoa pilaf.

Yes, I said pilaf and no, you will not feel like you are sacrificing flavor. I pinkie promise.

Speaking of repenting and sacrifices, I have been thinking about the upcoming season of Lent. Recall last year’s Lent adventures? I am racking my brain thinking about what to ‘give up’ this year. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, you run off and try this recipe. If you are wondering why I have orange slices in the photo instead of lemon slices, it is because, I did not have any lemon left after I squeezed it into the pilaf. Lesson: take a slice for the photo, then squeeze the remainder into the recipe. Doh!

In case you live on Mars or are a first time reader (welcome by the way), you should know that I love to add some sort of nutritional boost to recipes such as ground flax seed, whole grains or my newest love, Chia seeds.

Why Chia Seeds you ask? What the heck are they good for? Well, Chia seeds are rich in Omega 3′s, antioxidants and fiber and our bodies love those things. I thought about adding them into my favorite smoothies but since I know they can get a bit glutinous, I decided to add them as dry seeds (some folks soak them first) into the cake recipe.

You are intrigued aren’t you? Want to try some for yourself? Okay then, you can use your $50 Bob’s Mill Gift Card to order some Chia Seeds and whatever else you adore from their awesome selection of products (get the whole grain pancake mix, seriously).

To Enter: Answer this question in a comment on this post: What is your favorite Bob’s Red Mill product?

For additional entries (you must answer the question above & leave an additional comment on this post for each entry. If you don’t enter above, the entries below are void):

- Tweet this giveaway, “Win an $50 @Bobs_Red_Mill Gift Card from @savorthethyme http://su.pr/1O2BM8” (Be sure to come back and leave the tweet URL.)

- Subscribe to the Savor the Thyme RSS feed and leave a comment that you did so (yes, I verify).

- Follow @savorthethyme on Twitter

-Join the Savor the Thyme Community on Facebook

This giveaway will end on Friday, February 24th at 11:59 pm EST.  The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be contacted by email. The winner must respond within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Now, onto the recipe. Please note that this is not a light & fluffy cake, this is a stick to your bones and have with a glass of milk kind of bundt cake.

If you love winning useful and yummy stuff, DON”T MISS the Ziploc & Rachael Ray Giveaway!

It is cliche to say time flies so I will refrain however, last week our son turned 6! He requested a Lego party and so he got one.

We made Lego decorations and had bright balloons….

Naturally, we planned games and activities but we quickly learned that a group of boys just wants to run around and be loud. See, just run and chase….

I made Lego cakes: a vanilla with blue icing and a chocolate with yellow icing.

Thank You for the best party ever Mommy!

We love you Monkey!

Last month I attended the annual Soup Swap (recall from last year?) and absolutely fell in love with a recipe for an African Peanut Soup. Out of the five soups I brought home, I knew I had to thaw and share this one with my hubby immediately.

Since then we have made it twice and fine tuned our adaptations. If you like more spice, feel free to add in some curry or red pepper flakes.

Prepare to share because when someone smells a peanut butter soup, they will grab your bowl and dig in!

Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Soup (Yield = 10 servings)
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
1 tablespoons olive oil
¾ lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cooked chopped roughly into bite-sized pieces
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into ‘coins’
2 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter
Water, optional to thin soup

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes every minute or so. Place the chicken and sauteed vegetables into the slow cooker set on High 6.

2. Add the tomatoes, sweet potato, carrot, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper into the slow cooker and mix well. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low. If you notice the soup getting to thick, feel free to add a bit of water.

3.  When about an hour remains on the slow cooker clock, add in the peanut butter and stir very well. Serve warm.