Ice Cream (Day) Dreams

Another super hot day! I spent today working from home in the AC, avoiding the HOTTTNESS (triple T) outside, and thinking about ice cream. Who doesn't spend the summer daydreaming about ice cream?! That's what I thought.

We'll get back to that in a bit...

I didn't get up early enough to run this morning, and it was still way too hot to run outside by the time I was done with work...so I hit up the treadmill for some indoor miles. I watched the weather for the latest on Hurricane Earl (which better veer off course soon so my friends can fly in on Friday) and ran a little over 4 miles. Every day my runs have been feeling better and a little bit easier, and my elbow doesn't throb anymore, so that's promising! I ran 4 miles in 36 minutes (started at 5.5 mph and ended up 8.0) then had a nice long cool down so I could stop panting.

Its too hot to cook or spend much time in the kitchen, so I made chicken salad on salad and broccoli cole slaw with apples. Cold and refreshing!

I started with a piece of grilled chicken (we usually grill a bunch of chicken in the beginning of the week to use on salads and in sandwiches).

Chop up the chicken into small pieces:

And then add the rest of the ingredients:

• Greek yogurt (instead of mayo)
• Dried cranberries
• Chopped walnuts
• A sprinkle of fresh ground pepper

Mix it all together and put on a bed of greens with tomatoes and cucumbers:

Voila! Chicken salad on salad!

And for the broccoli slaw...the ingredients are:

• Broccoli slaw
• Apple (chopped)
• Champagne Pear Vinaigrette (low fat from Trader Joe's)

The broccoli slaw is really good for you. Tons of vitamins A and C, some fiber and protein, and very low in calories.

And the finished project:

This is so good! Sometimes I make it with dried cranberries or other dried berries, which is tasty too!

My run was sweaty and satisfying, my dinner was filling and delicious...but there was still some unfinished business (ice cream, you with me?). Its pretty typical for me to think about ice cream, but today it was on my mind even more because my friend Chrissy and I discussed IN-N-OUT (the best fast food chain, located on the west coast) at length. We used to work together and had the same account in California together, so we've spent many weeks working, pool lounging, and IN-N-OUT eating. We even got hats. That's how much we love it there.

One of our favorites is the Neapolitan shake (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream). Its not posted on their menu, but they have a secret menu you can order from, and its on there. Anyway...ever since talking about IN-N-OUT today, all I want is a Neapolitan shake. And since I can't go to California, I decided to make my own, extremely delicious and also more nutritious shake!

Start with Edy's Slow Churned Neapolitan ice cream (half the fat and a third fewer calories of their regular ice cream):

Blend with skim milk and some fresh strawberries:

Pour, and add some dark chocolate shavings on top:

Oh mannnn that's good! Chrissy I wish you were here to drink these with me!