One of the best things I've made.

Not going to lie, I felt very proud of myself as I took the first bite of this sammich.  It rocked. It's also healthy. And fresh. And you can do some of the work ahead of time so that it doesn't take so long.  And leftovers taste great with chips. Or tortillas.
There are really four recipes involved to make this big thang, but you can definitely add/take things away.  I think that grilled veggies or a slice of pepperjack would also be great to add (but there is already a lot of goodness involved, so good luck keeping it all together on the bread).

Mango Salsa

• 2 roma tomatoes
• 1 mango
• 1/2 cup total of chopped bell peppers (I used a combination of red, orange, and yellow)
• 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• juice from 1 lime
• dash of ground chili powder (to desired spiciness)

Chop up your vegetables, then combine everything! Easy! You could also add chopped onion, but we don't like onions and it tasted great without them.  This stores well in an airtight container in the fridge.

Black Bean Spread

• 1/2 can black beans
• dash of hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt, pepper, and chili powder (to taste)

Run all ingredients in a food processor until it reaches a hummus-like consistency

Basil Lime Spread

• 1/4 cup light miracle whip (or mayo)
• juice from 2 limes (or 2-3 Tbsp lime juice)
• 1 tsp basil

Stir all ingredients together. Taste, and add more basil or lime juice as desired.

Lime Grilled Chicken

• 2 Tbsp cilantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp lime zest (use additional lime juice if you don't have enough zest from your limes you used with the other recipes!)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

Whisk together all ingredients except for chicken.  Place in a large ziploc bag.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Place in bag with marinade and evenly coat.  Let sit at least an hour (or overnight).

Cook in a non-stick skillet until done.

To make the sammich (I prefer mine open faced)

• Toast, bean spread, lime basil spread, cooked chicken, salsa, spinach. You can also serve with chips and extra salsa and bean spread.

Perfection.

Spicy Thai Spaghetti Squash

This recipe is super easy, fast, healthy, and tasty!  It's probably my favourite way to eat spaghetti squash. Enjoy!

Spicy Thai Spaghetti Squash

• 1 spaghetti squash, cooked (about 2 or 3 cups)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce or aminos
• salt and pepper to taste
• green onions, chopped roasted peanuts, and toasted sesame seeds

Heat oil and red pepper flakes in a skillet.  Stir in honey and soy sauce. Add spaghetti squash and mix together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with green onions, peanuts, and sesame seeds.  

Makes about two servings (depending on if its a side or meal :)

Tofu Manicotti

I felt very, very sneaky making this manicotti.  It's one of those dishes that you don't tell your family what is actually in it-- or at least not until after they try it and say that it's good.  It is good.  You really can't tell that it's tofu.  Trust me!  But don't worry-- I'll post the "normal" recipe in the near future if that's more your style :)

Manicotti shells:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. water

Beat eggs with an electric mixer.  Slowly add flour and water.  Batter will be thin.  Heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray.  Pour a small amount of batter into pan and tilt to spread thin.  Cook both sides until spongy.

Filling:

• 1/2 lb tofu, drained and crumbled to resemble ricotta
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 lb chopped, cooked spinach
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients.

Tofu Manicotti

• Cooked manicotti shells
• Prepared filling
• 3 cups marinara sauce
• Additional mozzarella and Parmesan cheese

Pour 1 cup of sauce into a 9x9'' glass baking dish.  Take each manicotti shell, put in a few spoonfuls of filling, and wrap up like a burrito.  Place them in the dish with the seam on the bottom to hold together.  Pour remaining sauce on top, and sprinkle additional cheese on top. Bake at 325F for about 15-20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. 

Turkey Tortilla Soup

This soup was super easy and really good!  It was perfect for using up some of our leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but you could also just cook up your own chicken or turkey to use.  I added a bit more chili powder to make it spicier, but it was really good as is, too.  We ate it with a bit of sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips. This one is definitely going into the regular rotation!

Turkey Tortilla Soup

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 4 cups water
• 1 (10.75oz) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup salsa
• 4 cups shredded cooked turkey
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes 
• 1 (14oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained
• 2 cups frozen corn

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add minced onions and cook until onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

2. Stir in the water, tomato soup, diced tomatoes, salsa, turkey, parsley, and bouillon.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until bouillon dissolves.

3. Add black beans and corn.  Simmer 20-30 minutes

3.  Serve soup with sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, chopped green onion, or other desired topping.

Vegetarian Noodle-less Lasagna

This lasagna was satisfyingly awesome.  You use zucchini and yellow squash sliced thinly lengthwise instead of pasta, fat free cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and delicious spinach instead of meat.  Even Sam, who is a big fan of classic lasagna, enjoyed it.  It's filling, delicious, and healthy.  I loved it and will definitely be making it again!

Squash Lasagna

• 2 medium zucchinis
• 2 medium yellow squashes
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 small carton of cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 package of frozen spinach (or 2 cups cooked)

Slice squashes very thin, lengthwise, using a very sharp knife (be careful, it's tricky!), vegetable peeler, or fancy-schmancy tool.  Cook very slightly in a frying pan to remove some of the moisture.  In a 9x9 dish, make a single layer of squash.  Cover with sauce, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and spinach.  Make another layer running the other direction, continuing until you run out of squash.  On the top layer just put sauce and shredded cheese.  Bake at 350F for 1 hour, and then broil for a few minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Feel free to use whatever type of cheese you want, to add cooked ground beef, to add more or less of the ingredients to your layers (I had some leftovers of both cheeses!), or add other veggies!  The beautiful thing about lasagna is that you can do whatever the heck you want and it will probably still be good :)

Cajun Baked Catfish

Normally we don't buy meat, but Smiths was having an awesome sale on fresh catfish, so I decided to buy some to try since I have never had it before.
One 5.7oz (159g) filet of catfish has 25g of protein.  It has healthy fats (including 4g of monounsaturated and 114mg of omega-3) and healthy nutrients like vitamin E, B-1, and B-3 (among others!).  It also has less mercury than other fishes. (source)

I got the recipe for this dish from allrecipes.com (one of my go-to recipe sites).  I liked that it was a fairly subtle taste so that you could still taste the catfish.  Sam didn't love it since he doesn't like the taste of fish, though, and probably would have preferred something stronger to mask the fishiness, haha.  This would work well with other fishes too, such as fresh tuna.

Cajun Baked Catfish

• 1T canola oil
• 1t garlic salt
• 1t dried thyme
• 1t paprika
• 1/4t cayenne pepper
• 1/4t hot pepper sauce
• 1/8t pepper
• 2 catfish fillets

Combine the first seven ingredients in a small bowl.  Brush over both sides of the fish. Spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick spray and place fish inside.  Bake at 450F for 10-13 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

We had ours with peas and coconut lime curry rice :)

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cornbread

This little guy is an adaptation from Sugar Cooking.  It has a really subtle pumpkin taste, and is very filling!  I used whole wheat flour, I added wheat bran, and used apple sauce instead of oil.  I also used 3 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs.  

I had to leave before it was done baking so I got Sam to take it out.  While I was at my meeting, I got a text from him: "Wow, this pumpkin stuff is a keeper".  I got home and tried it with some honey, and it is definitely a keeper!  I would love to try this with a squash-type soup, but unfortunately it was gone before I got the chance! I guess I'll need to make more ;)

Pumpkin Cornbread:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbps wheat bran
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 c applesauce
• 1/4 c milk
• 1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400F and grease an 8x8 baking dish.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, bran, baking powder, salt, spices, sugar, and cornmeal.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and stir in pumpkin, applesauce, milk, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combine.  Pour batter into pan and smooth out as well as you can.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a fork tests clean.

Healthified Corn Chowder

I love soup, but especially cream based soup.  Unfortunately my slight lactose intolerance and general health do  not appreciate frequent indulgences.  The other day I found a recipe for corn chowder, and it saddened my heart to see the LARGE amount of butter, flour, and cream in it.  Then I remembered the leek soup that I made a while ago and how it was quite cream-like while using a cauliflower puree.  Thus, I decided to combine various ideas and come up with my own corn chowder recipe.  Tadaaaa!

Healthified Corn Chowder

• 3 cups cauliflower
• 1 can of corn
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 medium potato, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped

Place cauliflower and liquid from the corn in a microwave safe dish and cover with saran wrap.  Cook for about 9 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.  Carefully transfer cauliflower and liquid to a blender.  Add about 1/4 cup of corn.  Puree until smooth.  Transfer puree to a medium saucepan.  Add broth, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and gradually whisk in 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour. Return to a simmer.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cook for about 15-18 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 

Notes:
You can garnish with basil or more thyme or serve with garlic toast!
You can use corn starch instead of flour if you're going for GF.  It's just for thickening :)

And here is my crappy picture =D

Banana Poppyseed Muffins

These muffins are special because there is no egg, no dairy, and you use avocado as the fat.  They’re also tasty!  They’re kind of the bomb!  I’m also pretty proud of myself because I came up with the recipe from scratch ;) 

Banana Poppyseed Muffins

1/4 cup mashed avocado

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup stevia

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 tsp wheat bran

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 T poppy seeds

Cream together the avocado, lemon juice, stevia, and honey.  Add flours, wheat bran, baking soda, and salt and stir until just combined.  Stir in banana and poppy seeds.  Bake at 325 until center tests done (about 20 minutes).

Keep in mind that avocados in baking will cause more browning, so the outside might look done while the inside isn’t.  Just test one after 20 minutes and wait longer if you need to!

Breakfast Quinoa

here

This is another recipe that I found on pinterest. We tried it out tonight, and I was very impressed!  Sam loved it too!  It tastes very creamy, it's quite filling, <350cal (without adding agave, which it really didn't need), and it's very healthy!  The original recipe called for pecans, but I switched it for slivered almonds.  It also had both regular and red quinoa, but we only had regular and that worked great :)  Give it a try! (Picture/original recipe found here)

Breakfast Quinoa

1 cup quinoa

1 cup skim milk (almond, coconut, whatever)

1 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups berries

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 Tbsp coconut

Agave or honey, if desired

Combine quinoa, milk, water, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Let cook 15 minutes, stirring often.  Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes.  Stir in cinnamon.  Top with fruit, almonds, coconut, and agave.   

(We actually had it for dessert, it’s that good!)

Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas

Such a yummy snack, full of fiber and protein!  Better for you than S&V chips ;)


Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas

Recipe from “Oh She Glows”

• 1 can chickpeas
• 2(ish) cups white vinegar
• sea salt
• Non-stick spray (canola or olive oil)

Rinse chickpeas, then place in a pot and add enough vinegar to submerge well.  Add about 1t of sea salt.  Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 425F.  Drain chickpeas, then place in a tinfoil lined baking dish.  Give them a quick spray with the oil, then sprinkle more sea salt all over, stirring to cover well.  Bake for 45 minutes, making sure to watch carefully after the 35 minute mark (they can burn quickly!).  Roast until browned and crunchy.  

Ranch Cream Cheese Veggie “Pizza”

Ranch Cream Cheese Veggie “Pizza”
(courtesy of Pillsbury :)

makes 4 servings, 325 calories/serving

• 1 can reduced fat crescent rolls
• 4oz (1/2 a block) fat free cream cheese
• 1/2c low fat sour cream
• 1/2 pkg ranch dressing mix
• Chopped veggies (cucumber, broccoli, peppers, carrots...)

Preheat oven to 375F.  Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangle.  Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool.

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch mix.  Spread on cooled dough.  Place chopped veggies on top and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Risotto and Roasted Veggies

As sad as I am to see most of my favourite fruits and veggies going out of season, I'm excited for all of the yummy squashes that will be coming around!  The other night I made "Butternut Squash Risotto and Roasted Veggies", and let me tell ya, it was DANG good!  Even better, we have a ton of leftover squash so I'm going to make some butternut squash soup this week too!

Butternut Risotto

1 cup cubed butternut squash

1 tablespoon Smart Balance

1/4 onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

2 1/2 cups hot chicken stock

1/3 cup almond milk

seasoning salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Place squash cubes into a steamer basket in a saucepan. Add water, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to steam until the squash is tender (10 to 15 minutes), then drain, and mash in a bowl with a fork.

Melt smart balance in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.

Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock and almond milk, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE: You can use regular rice (which I did) by adding all of the ingredients after sautéing the onion and cooking at a low boil until done.

Roasted Veggies

• 2 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• several red potatoes (or other) halved
• 1 sweet potato, cubed
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1T thyme
• 1T rosemary
• 3T EVOO
• 2T balsamic vinegar
• Seasoning salt and pepper to taste

Put all veggies in a bowl.  Combine spices, EVOO, and vinegar.  Pour over veggies and stir to cover.  

Fall Oatmeal

This morning I had my favourite oatmeal yet!

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1T wheat bran
• 1T chia seeds
• 1/4t cinnamon
• 1/4t pumpkin pie spice (can use cinnamon instead if you don’t have it)
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 apple, chopped
• enough boiling water to make it the desired consistency
  
  It was like pumpkin and apple pie! Seriously, so dang good.  Annnnd if you are wondering or care, it was less than 300 calories and like 15g of fiber for a LOT of food that fills you up really well and keeps you going all morning! 

Green Smoothie

Smoothies can taste great, but often the ones that you buy from Jamba or Booster Juice are so full of sugar and mysterious base mixtures that it kind of cancels out the point of having a healthy snack.  Depending on if you think the convenience is worth it or not, they're also pricey!  If you make your own, you can make just the way you like it and you know what's going into it.

Personally, I think it's pretty easy to get all the fruit you need in a day, but that's not always the case for veggies. Many people just aren't big fans of veggies (especially raw, or sans ranch or cheese sauce).  But with the right ingredient combinations, you can't even tell that there are veggies in your smoothie!

Here's a handy chart for making a great Green Smoothie:

Pick 1 from A, 2 from B, 1 from C, and add 1 cup of ice.  Blend it up, and you're set!
Pro tips:

• You can use frozen fruit in place of ice
• Blend up your greens with the liquid first to help get rid of the chunkers
• If you really want to mask the veggie taste, use strong fruit (raspberries>apple or pear, for example)
• Greek yogurt is the bomb.  I could rave about it all day.

Black Bean Cupcakes!?

Yep. Black Bean Cupcakes.

Even if this sounds gross, just hear me out.  I've heard for a while that you can use beans in cookies, but today I learned that you can also make purees and use it in cakes!  I decided to test out this theory.  Result: totally works and tastes just like the real thing.  For reals.  Sam couldn't tell the difference. I also used egg whites instead of whole eggs, making it even healthier.

To make the bean puree, just rinse beans then put in a blender with just enough water so that it will mix.  Substitute equally with the oil.

For the Betty Crocker Supermoist Milk Chocolate cake mix, I used:

1 package of cake mix
1/3 cup black bean puree
1 1/4 cup water
5 egg whites

Just mix by hand until combined, bake 'em up, and there you have it! You can do the same thing with white beans and yellow cake mix.

Let's compare:

black bean/egg white version on left, regular on right

Is it worth it?  Your call.  I figure that you had might as well make little changes here and there because they can add up.

PS: If you want to use the extra yolks, check out this site:
http://www.squidoo.com/eggyolkuses

Baked Tortilla Chips

These tortilla chips are great!  For one thing, they can be way healthier than bagged chips- baked rather than fried, you can add less salt, use whole wheat tortilla shells... They're also a great use for leftover tortillas.  Sam and I seem to have a hard time using a whole bag before they go nasty, so this time around I made these chips and had them with chili!  They are also great with quinoa and black beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) package torillas (corn, flour, whole wheat, spinach...)
• 1 T oil 
• 3 T lime juice
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t chili powder
• 1 t salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Cut each tortilla into chip sized wedges and arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet
• Combine oil and lime juice.  Brush onto wedges
• Combine dry ingredients. Sprinkle on chips. 
• Bake about 15 minutes total.  Rotate the pan halfway through.  Only bake until the chips are crisp but not too brown. 

This is similar to mt recipe for cinnamon chips (with fruit salsa!).  Coming soon ;)

Morning Glory Muffins

I've been on a healthy kick, so many of my new recipes in the repertoire are very healthy.  I save the hearty eating for when I visit home or for special occasions.  I think that the healthy stuff is great too, though.  I also try to use original recipes from my family and adapt them to be a little healthier.

Some of those "healthy versions" of recipes end up not all that good.  After all, it's the fat and sugar that is the best part, right?  Well, guess what: these muffins are seriously fan-freaking-tastic, and very healthy.  They have a lot of great stuff in them, and they will keep you going for a long time (hence the name).  They even got me featured on a blog. Dang right.

Morning Glory Muffins

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup sugar (or honey)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 apple – peeled, cored, and chopped
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 1 tablespoon flax
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or almonds
• 2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, sugar, applesauce and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl, stir together flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins, 1 T wheat germ, and flax. Stir in wet mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
4. In a small bowl, combine nuts and wheat germ; sprinkle over the muffin tops.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

Frozen Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

They're like drop cookies, but healthier!  And they're a great cold treat!

I got the original recipe from Oh She Glows, which is a website that I'm pretty much in love with right now.  There are so many neat recipes and other posts on her site, and her story is pretty inspirational!  Anyway, check it out! Some of the recipes are a little "out there" to me (she is vegan and uses a lot of ingredients that I haven't even heard of) but I'm stoked to experiment!

Anyway, she had this little dessert recipe that I decided to try. I made some changes to what she did, but if you want to see the original click the link above.

Frozen Oatmeal Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 large banana
• 1 T peanut butter
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1/2 c oats
• 1/2 c granola
• 1 T mini chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 T sliced almonds (optional)
• coconut for garnish (optional)

Mash the banana. Mix in the PB and cocoa.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Divide into lined  muffin tins (about 7-8).  Freeze for an hour until firm but still chewy ;) Eat right away, because they will get melty!  I also liked it without freezing.  They would work as drop cookies too. 

The recipe I did is about 121 calories per cookie and 11% fibre intake

I think they would be great with other nuts, dried fruit, etc. You could pretty much add whatever you wanted. You could also add things like flax or chia seeds if you want to make them extra healthy.  If you want them to be sweeter, add 1 T maple syrup (but I don't think its necessary).  

All Smiles

This week has been an "I LOVE EVERYTHING!" week.  I keep wanting to hug people and tell them how freaking awesome they are.  Including people I don't know, so I mostly just save that for Sam.

Reasons that everything is awesome:

• We got the work/travel visa
• The weather has been pretty nice
• I saw Sam TWICE on campus (when it's usually zero)
• It's the rugby game/colour festival/anniversary weekend of when Sam and I started dating
• One of my lectures is over so now I just get to SEW in lab (and no more samples!) 
• I ate one and a half Cadbury eggs and it was fantabulous (Sam and I split 3 different kinds. Gotta try them all)
• I'll be in CANADA in one month's time!
• I got 2lb closer to my goal- woo hoo!
• It's almost fresh fruit season- hello massive flats of raspberries, strawberries, nectarines, and peas-in-the-pod
• I got sick- but it went away after like 5 days. Yesh.
• I totally bombed my test. Oh wait, that's bad... Well, I bombed my test but felt so good about everything else that I didn't beat myself up about it too bad.  I'll just have to work my butt off!
• My final that was scheduled for the LAST day of finals (suck!) got moved, so now I have only two scheduled on the FIRST day of finals, then two testing center ones, and the rest are projects that are in the next week or so.  So great! I can be done WAY early!
• I can just taste summer.
• And so much more!

So, most of those things are super small things.  Find joy in the little things and you're set!