You know how sometimes you have random food cravings? Recently, I have been craving ranch dressing. So weird, right?

I picked up a bottle of natural (MSG/HFCS free!) ranch at the grocery last night and then made a big salad. It was everything I wanted it to be and more…arugula mix, green leaf lettuce, feta, olives, mushrooms, leftover roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts, croutons, golden raisins and toasted walnuts.  I generally prefer to make my own dressings so tackling homemade ranch is on the “to do” list.

I can’t even tell you how excited I was about this bowl of oatmeal. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy 7 days of green smoothies but I seriously missed oatmeal and overnight oats. I got a little crazy with this mornings oatmeal and added about 1/4 cup of cottage cheese at the end. I’ve seen other bloggers do this and it never really looked appetizing but I’ve been on a bit of a cottage cheese kick lately so I decided to try it. The verdict is that it was a nice addition for some extra protein but not something I’ll do all the time.

Speaking of the 7-Day Green Smoothie Challenge I would LOVE to do a final round up post. Please let me know if you have an especially delicious/creative recipe that you discovered and would like to share. Pictures are encouraged! Post recipes in the comments section or email me at peanutbutterrunner (at) gmail (dot) com.

Lunch brought the return of open-faced sandwiches. I think I went a whole week without eating them! Continuing with the ranch craving…I mashed together ranch and avocado and then topped it with spinach, tempeh, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. It was a great combination. And then I ate two chocolate chip cookies. Oops. I have since given away a huge plate of the cookies and am left with only a few to tempt me! 😉

I took a break from work this afternoon and wandered across the street to Reid’s to grab a tea. Reid’s is a cute specialty market that has a lot of local foods, wine, fresh meat, cheese, seafood, prepared salads, etc. While I was there I ended up picking up one of their house-marinated chicken breasts.

I had the evening off from teaching my normal Monday hot yoga class (ahh…it felt like vacation!) so I took Sullie for a leisurely walk before throwing the chicken and some zucchini on the grill for dinner.

The chicken was so good and a great value. I will definitely be trying Reid’s other pre-marinated chicken options out soon. I had Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend and some french bread on the side and enjoyed my meal on the patio. This is such a perfect time of the year for outdoor dining – perfect temps, no humidity and no skeeters.

Off to relax and say “Go Big Blue!” and cheer for Kentucky to win the NCAA tournament. I always have to root for the SEC and it used to be a life dream of mine to be a Kentucky cheerleader when I was in high school. Yes, I’m a nerd.