Hiking in Ocala is never dull!
While hiking in Orlando, we saw wild turkeys (who knew they can fly?) and deer. In Ocala we see bears and gators.
That freaky guy was chillin’ in the springs today!
See him?
Sadie was intrigued. Gators ain’t no thang!
Gators don’t phase Sadie and yet she is extremely freaked out by skateboards.
My friend Lindsey and I met up late this morning for a pre-lunch two-mile hike. I haven’t seen her in a few weeks, so it was great to catch up with a friend and exercise Sadie all at the same time.
The simple 40-minute break in my work day left me feeling rejuvenated!
Lunch
When I got home, it was time for lunch.
Lunch today was weird.
But it was also delicious!
I was craving so many different things today. A smoothie! Chips! Peanut butter!
Why not have them all?
Chips dipped in peanut butter? Suuure. Stranger things have been done.
I tried a new kind of peanut butter today, thanks to a sample I received from the kind people at Smart Balance.
The verdict? Fantastic!
The taste is exactly like traditional peanut butter but it’s all natural and doesn’t have hydrogenated oil or refined sugar. I am a fan.
Along with my weird chips ‘n’ peanut butter plate, I made myself a chocolate smoothie by combining the following in my blender:
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
- 1 spoonful Smart Balance peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 large handfuls fresh spinach
- One pinch xanthan gum (for thickening)
Drink up, buttercup!
Off to fill out some important paperwork (bleh!) and then put together a giveaway that is going to pop up on the blog this weekend. Runners, I have a feeling you’re going to like this one!
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ahhh i am excited the giveaway is running-oriented! cant wait!
Hmm..chips and peanut butter. That is an interesting combination for sure. I tried that peanut butter over the weekend and I didn’t like it all that much. I don’t know why. Maybe I’ll have to give it another try.
Haha, I love the quote from Sadie about skateboards 🙂 I’ve never seen a gator in the wild, I would definitely be freaked out!!
I can’t imagine seeing alligators and not being freaked out! It obviously comes with the Florida territory though! Were you freaked out by alligators when you first moved? I love Sadie’s quote lol who knew skateboards could be so scary?! 🙂
i’ve never seen one in a place where i actually felt in danger, so i’ve never been too freaked out. on our hikes, we usually see them from the boardwalk, so i’ve never felt particularly vulnerable. if they were along the trails, that would be another story!
My dog is afraid of strollers and wheelchairs 🙂 And I’m excited to find out what the giveaway is!
sadie is afraid of wheelchairs, too! and walkers…
PB + Baked Tostitos + Honey is the best/weirdest snack! Try it sometime!
Um, seeing a gator would freak the sh*t out of me! I don’t even know what my dogs would do! We see deer all of the time, and apparently there are bears around here (though I’ve only ever seen one). But gators? That’s a different story. I guess it’s just something you are used to if you live in Florida!
I just read about a new peanut buyer company called Wild Squirrel Nut Butter. The different flavors sound yummmmmy!
* peanut butter
i love that smart balance peanut butter too!! i used to buy it all the time until i found my new favorite – adam’s all natural crunchy PB! i love how your lunch is so peanut butter filled – my kinda meal. 😉
Yikes! That gator is big! Whenever we’re in Florida we always hope to see gators but have yet to see one in the wild .
That’s right, they ain’t no thing! You leave them, they will leave you!
That is so crazy!! The gator looks like he is grinning. And Sadie looks RIPPED!! My Sadie is freaked out by skateboards too hahaha! Love the randar PB on chips thing. Fun post! I’m excited for the giveaway BTW! 😀
I love Smart Balance peanut butter- my brother has been using it for years and he got me hooked. Yuuuuum. Sadie is amazing I want to meet her HA
PB with tortilla chips sounds a bit strange to me, perhaps PB with these http://www.foodshouldtastegood.com/#/chocolate/
oooooh wow. YUM!
I don’t think I’d ever be able to get used to alligators if they were anywhere other than in a zoo! Good luck with the paper work – I’ve got some of that to do myself and I’m certainly not looking forward to it. Can’t wait to hear about the giveaway!
Gators seem to calm and slow… until you throw something to eat near them.. watch out Sadie! hah.. But seriously they are pretty intense- but super cute when they are small.. really small.. Like just hatched, haha.
I think that peanut butter goes on and with everything.. I used to make a salad with romaine lettuce, sliced bananas, shredded coconut and peanut butter as the dressing.. In fact I should make that again sometime soon!
I notice that you use xanthan gum for thickening a lot; I’ve never used it before- how thick does it actually make a smoothie? Does it taste like anything?
Ooooh can’t wait for the giveaway then!
Looks like a GREAT lunch to me! I often have weirdo-foods just because my body wants ’em. Gotta love it!
That Smart Balance peanut butter is so good. Probably because it has both molasses AND evaporated cane juice in it. lol
Chips and peanut butter doesn’t seem weird to me. What seemed weird to me was my brother when we were kids loving chocolate ice cream with cheesy Doritos…
I’m with you on the chips and pb! I love to dip regular Doritos in peanut butter! Don’t knock it til you try it!
I had a salad and a waffle for lunch and fro yo this morning. Random meal days are the best!
Omg I would freak out seeing that gator! When I lived in Florida my dad told me and my sister he was taking us to Sea World. Lies, he took us to gator world. It was horrible. During the show where they show off a live gator the guy dropped the gator and it was running around on the floor and we all had to jump up on our chairs. I cried.
THAT IS SO SMART TO PUT CHIPS WITH PB!!!!!!
peanut butter and tortilla chips is a combination I would have never thought of but now I am really intrigued and want to try it!
I seriously would have had a heart attack if I saw a wild gator near me. You are brave.
I bet those salty chips were great with PB! I would have been panicking if my dog spotted that gator. My luck, she would have wanted to befriend him.
Yeah, that alligator would have freaked me out! When we went on vacation to Florida last year, we let the kids feed the alligators at a place that had fences up and all that, and even that freaked me out!!
Wow – gators are serious business! Keep safe girlie!
I adore that peanut butter! When they say rich roast they mean it–the flavor is unbeatable!!
I know exactly what you mean, a nice break in the workday is so refreshing! I just took my pup for a walk/run around our neighborhood trail and it felt great. But now I’m checking out your blog and not working soo perhaps I should stop procrastinating and get back to it 😉
I am so afraid of Gators, they keep me from moving to Florida! Your dog is cute!
Oh dont tease me!! Can’t wait for the giveaway!! I’m going to be checking your blog like a maniac 🙂
A giveaway for runners?! can’t wait to see it haha!
Gators?! Yikes! I’d feel like I was on Animal Planet or something!
And I’ve tried that peanut butter before, it truly does taste the same…delicious!
I still have not tried spinach in my shakes, but I’ve been wanting to for awhile now! Maybe this weekend it will make an appearance 🙂
Sometimes those random lunches are the best! 😀
And I LOVEEE seeing the alligator pics that pop up here! Living in Chicago doesn’t leave much opportunity to see Gators every day!
Gators!! Ahhh I love seeing them… its kind of that scary but exciting kind of thing!
That is my absolute FAVORITE PB!!!!! I had my boyfriend mail it to me when I was teaching English in Spain (since you can’t find PB there!) I just love Smart Balance!
gators ARE a thing!!!!! i came home from work just now to a note on my apartment door warning that someone’s dog in our complex was killed yesterday by a gator, we live on an intercostal waterway in south florida 🙁 im so sad for the people that lost their doggie, and i’m terrified to walk my pup by the water now!
Smart Balance is my favorite peanut butter! I love that it’s natural and has omega-3’s. So good for you and it tastes amazing! I choose it over Jif any day :). I’m also a fan of Maranatha Natural Almond Butter (the no stir kind).
That picture of Sadie was so cute. I actually laughed out loud. 🙂 Love your blog!
As a Florida resident for the past 10 years, I have seen my fair share of gators. At this point, I am not phased by them, because I have been told by multiple “experts” that they are more afraid of us and will not attack unless cornered. HOWEVER, I currently live in Tampa and my boyfriend and I went kayaking in the Hillsborough River, and there were gators in the river RIGHT next to us. And the river was so low, my boyfriend had to get out multiple times and push our kayak when we got stuck on logs. If it wasn’t for his calmness, I think I would have totally lost it. I never realized Ocala had such beautiful hiking – lucky you 🙂
Julie… are you pregnant? LOL! Chips and PB…? Salty and sweet, I feel ya there.. but the combo is questionable. I wouldn’t mind seeing another set of PB Fingers around here! You two will make the cutest babies, I’m sure!!
Auuuuugggggghhhhhhh reason #23423 why I will never move south. Gators scare the crap out of me (as does anything with sharp teeth). I have no desire to ever encounter one of those in their natural habitat!
does anthem gum have any nutritional benefits? calories? vitamins? give me the low-down, sister.
My dog freaks at skateboards too. she tries to run after them it makes me crazy!
Nothing is weird with peanut butter in my books!
My Hubby eats Peanut Butter and cheese Doritos ALL THE TIME!! I have to admit though…its pretty good..salt AND sweet.
corn chips and peanut butter is one of my favorite ways to eat peanut butter! totally discovered that one night my sophomore year in college and it’s stuck ever since, haha! 🙂
Xanthum gum, so thats the secret to thickening a smoothie? I have to remember that.
Peanut Butter I often think can be good with everything. What is the best peanut butter you have ever had?
Oh my gosh love that your pooch is afraid of skateboards. Mine, parked motorcycles, go figure. Glad that I’m so well protected from “their” hidden dangers! Bless my ferocious beast of a lab.