The pancakes of choice for today were cashew butter pancakes that I made the same way I make almond butter pancakes, but with cashew butter in place of the almond butter.
Topped with some syrup, of course.
After breakfast and a quick change, Ryan and I headed out for the 9 a.m. service at our church. It took us a while to get there because the guy in front of us was driving like an ass.
Just kidding. His driving skills were just fine and you simply cannot beat that kind of a view on a Sunday morning. Yeah buddy.
Today’s service was a great one and Ryan and I had a good time discussing it before running some errands.
Our first stop took us to Gander Mountain at Ryan’s request. As the daughter of a hunter, I am all too familiar with Gander Mountain. Though it carries basic necessities for hunting, fishing, camping and hiking, Gander Mountain always has a few hidden gems to be discovered that are quite amusing.
Would you care for a lovely camouflage vest with a built in butt rest?
I told Ryan that I think there’s a huge market for vest/butt rest apparel in sports merchandising. I can see football and baseball fans who sit in the nosebleeds sections of the stadiums with the super-hard seats absolutely loving a vest with a built in butt rest. Plus, they’d look lovely with a matching beer helmet, don’t you think?
On our way out of the store, once Ryan was done looking at hiking gear, we found the real winner of the day.
A 3-D camo poncho! Can you see me?
Why they don’t sell these things when it starts to rain at Disney World, I’ll never know. Ryan and I are currently trying to brainstorm some kind of a Halloween costume that would allow us to wear these, aside from Weird Swamp Thing.
When we arrived home, it was time for lunch. I started out my meal with a smoothie that ended up tasting like banana cheesecake in a glass!
I owe it all to these little Laughing Cow cream cheese wedges.
The company sent me their new cream cheese spreads to sample last week and the cinnamon cream and strawberries and cream flavors are my absolute favorites.
I used the cinnamon cream cheese spreads in my smoothie this afternoon and they added a cheesecake-like flavor to the smoothie that I adored.
I combined the following in a blender:
- 1 1/2 frozen bananas
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
- 2 Laughing Cow cinnamon cream cheese wedges
Garnished with graham cracker crumbs!
The smoothie filled me up more than I anticipated, so I ended up waiting another hour or so until I fixed myself a salad for lunch.
Our waiter at dinner last night told me that the chef loaded up my salad with an extra portion of the ahi tuna which was awesome since I was able to box up a few of the remaining slices to enjoy for lunch today.
I topped my salad with the tuna, sunflower seeds, avocado, tomato, mushrooms and a ginger dressing.
I’m off to spend the remainder of the day working on a top-secret craft project that I’ll be sure to reveal to you guys within the coming two weeks. Should be fun!
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
Julianna @ Julianna Bananna says
that vest with a butt rest is hilarious!! who needs these kind of things?!?
Julia says
Haha, only your feet gave you away!!!
Alex @ Brain, Body, Because says
I never would’ve thought to put those wedges in a smoothie! Thanks for the idea 🙂
Jess @ JessieBear What Will You Wear says
Ahhhhh I need those cheese wedges. They sound so good. I’ve never seen them in the store before though 🙁
Miranda @ Biting Life says
Hahaha that camo poncho is priceless. The smoothie looks delicious! What a cool idea to use those in a smoothie!
BLue Laukhuf says
The camouflage pics are hysterical! The hubs and I just returned form DICKS SPORTING goods and there was a HUGE section with just gear like that! I even made the joke that “I almost didn’t see the section ..cause it was CAMOUFLAGED!!” Yes a somewhat cheesy joke that got a huge laugh!!
Craft project eh!?!? I cannot wait!
Tina @ Best Body Fitness says
I love the cinnamon one! Never thought to use it in a smoothie, though. Good thinking. And I’m dying over the camo poncho. I didn’t notice you were actually IN the pic until you said.
Julie @ Sweetly Balanced says
That smoothie looks amazing!!! I must try to make it right away!!
Tiffani @ Miles In Murray says
I never thought to add laughing cow to my smoothies! Yours sounds delicious!
I love looking at all of the camping/hunting/outdoors stuff. There are certainly some hilarious and head scratching finds haha.
Katie @ Peace Love and Oats says
Hahahaha I love hunting stores, they have the most amusing stuff!
Sarah B. says
Your ability to sneak cottage cheese into various concoctions and still make them look tasty is a true gift!
Samantha says
Ha! I loved all the gear and I agree, who doesn’t need a butt rest? Can you imagine if all hikers wore something like that?
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles says
Oh god, the 3D camo is ridiculous. Hunters are intense, apparently.
Ellie says
Whatta fabulous smoothie! 🙂 and thats funny you were behind a butt. Have a blessed day!
Alison says
Hahaha that poncho….at least it works, I could barely see you! And the smoothie looks so yummy!
Bek @ Crave says
Ohhh art project! How exciting 😉
Chelsie @ Balance, Not Scale says
Maybe I’m just extra hungry for dinner while reading this but OhMyGoodness your food looks exceptionally amazing today!! As in, “I need to get some of that STAT or I just might break down in tears” … Yum!!
Allison says
Okay that Banana Cheesecake smoothie looks to die for! I will definitely be trying that one. The Ahi Tuna salad looks amazing too. I LOVE Harry’s! We live in Jacksonville, FL so for our date nights sometimes we drive to St. Augustine to enjoy Harry’s and the night life there. Adore your blog! You have killer yet simple recipes that are up this mamas alley. Thank you for sharing.
xo,
Allison
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
Haha! I am sure someone, somewhere in the world is using that butt rest vest as we speak! Hilarious 🙂
Annette@FitnessPerks says
HAHHA. Yep, the feet gave it away.
I too enjoy those cinnamon triangles of cheese–sooo tasty with nuts & crackers and apples too, actually 😉
Alyssa says
AHHHH I NEED to try that smoothie! I’m a fan of basically anything involving cheesecake…thanks Julie 🙂
Jen@HealthyFoodandFamily says
I had no idea they had cinnamon cream cheese wedges, I’ll for sure be picking some up tomorrow, this smoothie has my name all over it!
RunEatRepeat says
I still cannot find those cinnamon wedges. Boo.
Laura Lea says
Omg adding that Laughing Cow to your smooth = pure genius! I bet that tasted so decadent and fabulous!
Jordyn says
Tried the smoothie with honey instead of the Laughing Cow wedges and it was still cheesecake-ish. Very yummy!
@pluvk says
I couldn’t even tell that you were in the photo! Until I noticed your shoes… but if you hadn’t of said anything, I would’ve kept right on scrolling/reading through!
Smart idea, packing up the rest of the fish! I like to do that with dinners that come with salad bars. I fill up on the salad, and then make my entree an extra meal for the next day!
Julie says
This sounds so good. I just used a Laughing Cow wedge for my veggie burger and can’t wait to use it in desserts.
Jenica says
Looks like you two had a great day! It’s so nice for you that you take all these photos of your day to day life. Great for the memory keeping.
Natalie says
Oh Gander Mountain! I much prefer a stop at Dick’s Sporting Goods. At least I can go luck at work-out wear! My husband is an avid hunter/fisherman, so we frequently are visiting the golden 3…Ganger, Bass Pro, and Dicks!
Andrea @ Andrea Out Loud! says
haha! you really are hard to see in that poncho! besides your feet! 🙂
and i have never seen the cinnamon laughing cow yet… yum!
Julie says
At least hunting could be more comfortable with a butt rest 😉
Andrea says
You have super intrigued me about blogging. Well, you and the Pioneer Woman – which you wouldn’t think go together, but in my world they do. I love to eat and am a 40-ish mom of 3. I also hate to diet and therefore have added fitness into my lifestyle, proving it’s never too late. I don’t know if I will blog or not. My husband says “Go for it!” Proving yet again why we’ve been married for 21 years. Anyway, all this to say I really have been enjoying your blog! Thanks! 🙂
Dana says
Are those new Laughing Cow flavors? I’ve always wanted to try Laughing Cow but i’ve generally only seen savory flavors that I don’t love. How exciting!
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers says
yes! i think the strawberries & cream is the best. it’s so, so good!
Sabrina @Work It Ms Jackson says
That smoothie sounds AMAZING! I must try this whenever I find the Cinnamon Cream Cheese. I have been looking everywhere for months for that stuff with no success.
But the strawberry is great!
Elaine says
Putting laughing cow cheese in a smoothie is genius! I’m going to have to try that. I’ve been adding cottage cheese to my smoothie for a while, so I can definitely vouch that it is the secret to a great, creamy smoothie (even for non-cottage cheese lovers!).
Destiny says
Immediately after reading this post I wrote down this smoothie recipe and plan to try it later today. (I only have the plain cream cheese, but figure a little added cinnamon will be comparable.)
I logged onto Facebook this afternoon and what do you think Laughing Cow has posted on their page? Your post!!!
Eva @ Committed2Nutrition says
I had no idea LC was coming out with new flavors..this is awesome!! great post. and LOVE the look of those pancakes 🙂
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
Oh, I need to try the new laughing cow flavors! They sound great!
Smoothie Maker says
Creative smoothie idea, I like it!
Brooke says
That salad looks so delicious! Love tuna!
Joy says
That ammo their sounds amazing
Joy says
So what I wrote but iPhone auto correct didn’t like was
That smoothie sounds amazing
Stephanie @ My Freckled Life says
Cheese in a smoothie… how interesting! I haven’t tried these “sweet” cheeses from laughing cow yet, but now I’m intrigued!
Jay Scott says
Genius about the Laughing Cow in a Smoothie! Good thinking – bravo! Unfortunately I only have French Onion Laughing Cow right now – I don’t think that’s gonna work. I’m going to look for the sweeter varieties next time I’m at the grocery!
Jay
Jenny Travens says
Smoothie looks delicious Julie.. so as your tuna salad 😛