I’m so glad that the weekend has finally arrived! My Friday breakfast included coffee, 1 cup low fat Stonyfield Farm yogurt, dried cranberries, and 3/4 cup Heritage Whole Grain flakes.

Lunch was my usual salad – enjoyed outside in the sunshine!

In the mix:

• romaine, carrots, onions, mushrooms
• kidney beans, feta cheese, whole grain croutons
• Spoonful of cous-cous salad, spoonful of honey sweet potatoes

Afternoon snacks were: Newman’s Own Organic spicy pretzels (so good!), iced coffee from Starbucks, and some Raspberry, Almond, and Chocolate trail mix. Yum! Lots of energy foods to keep me goin’.

After work I headed to the gym – I’m still taking a rest from running, so I read Real Simple magazine while on the elliptical. I was able to go for 60 minutes without getting too bored. Woo-hoo! I finished up with 3 x 10 tricep dips, tricep extensions, and bicep curls. Once I got home, I was one hungry girl! I snacked on some olives as I prepared dinner.

We all know how I feel about fiber (love it!), so I was psyched when I received a package of goodies from Fiber Gourmet Light Pasta. This brand of pasta contains 40% fewer calories than regular pasta and 72% of your daily value of fiber (18 grams, to be exact).

Fiber Gourmet pasta comes in a zillion varieties and:

• Tastes just like regular pasta
• Kosher certified
• 2-year shelf life
• Classic pasta only has 3 ingredients: durum semolina flour, modified wheat starch, wheat gluten

As long as you’re not gluten intolerant, I’d highly recommend this stuff.

On Friday I followed the Fiber Gourmet Mac ‘n Cheese package instructions as directed except I added about 1lb of broccoli to the pot during the last minute or so of cooking. Then I added 1/2 cup skim milk and 2 Tbs butter when I mixed in the cheese packet. Next I added 1/4 cup shredded cheddar to the mix and poured this into a 8″x8″ buttered pan. I topped the mac with another 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar and about 1/3 cup bread crumbs (I used crushed fiber crackers). I popped the dish into a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes and YUM! I just made my boxed mac n’ cheese a little bit fancier. Nate and I were big fans Nate also thought the cracker crumbs tasted a bit like bacon bits. They were savory, crunchy, and a little salty so I guess I’d have to agree!

My apartment was quite warm from having the oven turned on, so an ice cream cone was the perfect nighttime treat. I had a little more ice cream straight from the carton

Happy Weekend!