I Dance For Food

Another gorgeous day!  This is turning out to be a great fall!

I was out the door early getting the daughters off to school and had every intention of heading to the gym, but took one look at my “to do” list and decided to get started on that instead.  I decided to keep my running training schedule to every other week for now and technically, today is a rest day, so I tried not to feel too badly about it!  “Running” errands is exercise, right?!

Before racing out the door, I grabbed a Triple Berry Bran Muffin…

Honestly, I didn’t like these so much today.  They are nice and moist, but there seems to be a bitter spice in there somewhere.  I can’t put my finger on it.  I didn’t detect it yesterday, but I ate it steaming from the oven.  Hmmm…

Then I was off  to conquer the grocery shopping which ultimately takes up half the day!  Not only was I shopping for our family, but I also had a list of things to buy to donate to needy families for Thanksgiving.  My cart was F U L L!

I stopped home to unload and dig up some lunch.  I heated up a serving of Black Bean Soup from the freezer…

And made a nice toasty crostini with 7 grain bread, a wedge of Laughing Cow Light Cheese and one of my favorite toppings…

Delish!

After more errands and picking up the daughters, it was time to settle in for homework and a snack.  I was really hungry…

I also dug into some of this…

I have seen this all over the blogosphere since I began blogging last year!  I have heard the oooh’s and aaaah’s of bloggers around the world singing it’s praises, so you can imagine how excited I was to come across this in my local Fresh Market!  I was doing the happy dance in the aisle.  Ridiculous, I know.  I need a bumper sticker that says, I Dance For Food :)

I danced, dug and spread it on a little banana and (wait for it)….

It was just okay! Barney Butter lovers might think I’m nuts -no pun intended :)- but I like my Homemade Almond Butter much better!  I am now the proud owner of a $9.50 jar of Barney Butter that is just ‘meh’.  *random dancing comes to screeching halt* :|

Dinner was a “cook like Mom and Gram” recipe – Chicken with Potatoes and Olives.  My Mom and Gram are so good at whipping up dishes without following a recipe;  just a little of this and a little of that.  I don’t always have the confidence to do that, but I think my skills are getting better as time goes on and if I have a basic idea of what I want something to taste like, I can pretty much wing it!

Chicken with Potatoes and Olives

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cans (14 oz. each) petite diced tomatoes
• 1/3 c. dry red wine
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1/4 c. sicilian green olives

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large pot over medium heat, spray with cooking spray and add chicken.  Brown on both sides and remove from pot onto a warmed plate. 

Add oil and garlic;  cook about 30 seconds.  Add tomato paste and stir until paste begins to break down.  Add tomatoes, wine and stir until combines.  Add potatoes, olives and return chicken to pan.  Cover and cook on low until chicken is fully cooked about 30 minutes.

Easy peasy…

Thumbs up from the fam!

I made a side salad which included these addictive guys…

I know Italian and Asian don’t exactly go together, but I’m all about the fusion ;)

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the blogiversary GIVEAWAY!!!

Have an awesome day :)

Shaking In My Sneakers

I am freaking out a little.  I did something that I’m not sure I should have and I’m really nervous.  But, part of me is super excited.  Oh, sorry.  I guess I should spill it… I signed up for my first 5K race!  *insert collective screaming*  I know!!!  This is a huge deal for me.  I have wanted to do one for a long time, but wasn’t sure if I could with my hip issue and all.  But, it has calmed down a lot and the doc said if I pre-medicate with some Advil before the run, I should be fine.  I just feel like I have to do it.  I have to show myself that I can, push myself out of my comfort zone and cross this sucker off my bucket list.  So, I did it.  The date is October 17.  I will be totally flipping out the day before, so mark your calendars to come back for the entertainment!  More to come…

Needless to say, I was itching to get to the gym and run on the treadmill.  I fueled up before leaving with half of a banana (is it me, or does this look kinda pervie ?)…

I got to the gym, headed straight to the treadmill and huffed out a 3.1 mile run in no time flat.  Not really.  It took me 50 minutes!  50!  That is sucky, I think.  Will all the other racers be yawning and waiting at the finish line for me???  Aaaah!

It was errands galore after that.  Thankfully, I brought an after-run snack in the car.  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookies are yummy.  Recipe to come in Jen’s e-cookbook…

I finally made it home for a late lunch.  I made up Salmon Toasts with 2 slices of Trader Joe’s Organic Spelt Bread, a slice of Laughing Cow Light Cheese and smoked salmon.  YUM-O…

And had a nice little side salad with Kraft Light Cucumber Ranch (not as good as the Three Cheese Ranch)…

Since I ate so late, I didn’t feel the need for a snack.  I made it to dinner without incident, even though I made No Pudge Brownies while the daughters were doing homework :)

I was on my own for dinner, so to speak.  The husband was working late and the daughters were thrilled with mac and cheese.  I was still in a fishy mood, so I dug out some shrimp from the freezer.  I had some zucchini that was calling my name, so I paired them together for  Shrimp and Zucchini with Tomatoes and Feta.  Couldn’t be easier.  I cooked shrimp in a skillet with a teaspoon of evoo and garlic – did you know you can cook shrimp frozen?  No need to thaw.  Just saute in a skillet until done.  When cooking from frozen it makes it easier to not overcook it.  No rubbery shrimp is a good thing!  After shrimp was cooked, I removed them from the skillet and set aside.  Then,  added the zucchini and cooked until golden.  I added the halved grape tomatoes at the end and put the shrimp back to warm through.  Topped it off with reduced fat feta cheese.  It was awesome…

Dinner in 10 minutes!  Try it, it’s so easy!

Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank you to Jenn of Watch My Butt Shrink (don’t ya love that?) for sending me this Honest Scrap Award a few days back…

 

The rules of this award are to tell 10 things about yourself that people may not know, then pass it on to 10 others.  Insane!  I cannot pick only  10 – I have 100 blogs in my reader and love them all.  I feel every hard working blogger deserves this award, so if you’re reading, consider this passed to you!  Feel free to tell10 things about yourself on your blog.  You can add the link to it in the comments, if you like.  I know I’m bucking the rules, but that’s how I roll ;P

Here’s my 10 things…snore…

1.  My whole life, people have mispronounced my name.  My name is said Ma-ree-sa, but everyone says, Ma-riss-sa.  it’s frustrating!  I’ve tried correcting people, but they still say it wrong.  Now, I just answer to anything as long as it’s not a curse word.

2.  BK (before kids), I had 2 successful and completely different careers.  After college, I became a paralegal for a senior partner in a large law firm.  Three years in, he encouraged me to go to law school.  As I was taking my LSAT’s, I had a change of heart.  I came home from the exam and told my parents I was going to beauty school!  I went on to open and operate a nail and skin care salon for 6 years.

3.  When I was 23, my brother(20) was killed in a car accident.  He was my only sibling.  It devastated me and my family for a long time.  The pain of his death has lessened for me over the years and I am able to think of him with a happy heart now.

4.  I met my husband on a blind date.  He was so silly, but intense and very loving.  I couldn’t help but fall in love.  He had me at hello:)

5.  I got pregnant with our first child (big daughter) 9 months into our marriage.  It was an easy pregnancy and birth.  She was and still is a dream!

6.  When big daughter was 18 months old, I became pregnant again, however, it resulted in a devastating miscarriage.  I had 4 more miscarriages before finally giving birth to little daughter 4 years later.

7.  Twelve hours after little daughter was born, she was transported to a children’s hospital for emergency intestinal surgery.  Recovery was long and hard, requiring a 3 month hospital stay in a surgical NICU.  The husband and I still have mental scars from that time, but we learned the value of family, health and prayer.

8.  I am petrified of public speaking.  Anytime, I’ve had to do it (i.e. oral reports/presentations), I sound like I’m hyperventilating when I talk.  So pathetic!

9.  I am extremely close to my family and in-laws.  They mean the world to me and as crazy as they are, I couldn’t live without them.

10.  My career for the past 11 years has been Child Rearing Specialist (aka stay-at-home mom).  It’s a great job, but pays diddly and frankly, I should have been fired a long time ago.  And believe me, they’ve tried ;P

Have a great day, everyone!

ONE GOOD THING:  I am really learning my body’s signals of hunger and satiety.  I think I’m finally getting this!!!!

Anxiety

I've been a bit anxious today because tomorrow morning is my 1st "official" BLBE weigh-in!! Aaaahh!! My teammates have had a spectacular start! I have had some ups and downs with my eating, but all in all I have stayed within my alloted POINTS. I did end up using all of my Weekly Allowance POINTS, so we'll see how that all pans out tomorrow.

I tried to focus on lots of fruits and veggies today. I started the morning with a good 45 min. elliptical workout and then a nice hot breakfast. I made a serving of Whole Grain Cream of Wheat made with water and topped with 3 oz. blueberries and 1/2 banana. Yummy...




Breakfast held me pretty well. I ended up having a late lunch of 2 tbsp. hummus, 1 tbsp. Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with a handful of baby spinach. This was an amazing combo!! Definitely on my "repeat" list! On the side, I had a HUGE orange...


Sooo juicy and sweet, not to mention pretty and packed with Vitamin C...

For my snack, I couldn't help myself, I HAD to try the other Kashi Fruit and Grain Bar flavor that I bought - Raspberry Chocolate...

OMG, this is by far THE BEST granola bar I have ever had! Good for you and a nice chocolate fix for 2 POINTS!!! These are keepers for sure :)

The rest of the afternoon was crazy and basically spent in and out of the car schlepping the daughters. I didn't really have a spectacular dinner plan for tonight; the husband was working and the daughters opted for different things from the freezer. A-O.K. with me! I was in the mood for a salad. I searched around the fridge/freezer for a topping for it and I finally settled on it being a Cheeseburger Salad! I used giant handfuls of lettuce, chopped tomatoes, 1 oz. Cabot's 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar and a Boca Burger that I micro'd and crumbled on top. For dressing I used 2 tbsp. Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch and about 2 tsp. ketchup! Sounds strange, but it tasted great - just like a chopped up burger without the bun! It would have been awesome with some bacon crumbled in there, too! Next time...

I had some dessert tonight. Suprise, surprise ;) A decadent, potentially dangerous, Weight Watchers Peanut Butter Cookie topped with 1/2 tbsp. Nutella ...

So, I'm off to bed! I will spend a few minutes "visualizing" a wonderful weigh-in that I can be proud of tomorrow! Then, I will pray :) Is it obvious that I have a scale phobia????? Add that to the "therapy list" =)

Long List

I made a long to-do list for today. I'm trying to get organized and part of my agenda today includes finishing up Christmas cards and taking inventory of the daughters' unwanted/unplayed with toys so that I can give them to Goodwill. We'll see how that goes!



A low key breakfast was in order this morning. I don't know why I haven't had much appetite in the morning. I need that to be the case in the afternoon when I really like to munch! Anyway, I decided to get in my dairy requirement with 1 cup of plain nonfat yogurt (I do use a little Splenda in this, I can't stomach it plain), some sliced banana and 1/4 c. of my cinnamon granola...



The banana was nice and sweet. A tasty combo.

Time to "organize"; be back later...