Get Me Off This Ride

Sorry for being MIA yesterday.  I had a horrible dizzy spell in the morning that left me in bed for most of the morning and early afternoon.  It’s been going on for a while, but yesterday was the worst ever.  I’m not one for spinning amusement park rides, yet I felt like I was on one the whole morning.  It made me pretty sick and I felt washed out from the whole experience.  I did get to a specialist later in the day who diagnosed it as benign positional vertigo.  I have a few more tests to undergo, but in the meantime, have some medicine to take in case it gets the degree it did yesterday.  Today, I’m feeling better and not as ‘tilt a whirl’, so I should be back in action! 

Needless to say, when you’re feeling dizzy, food is not the first priority.  My eats were pretty random yesterday and I just picked here and there when my stomach could handle it, so I didn’t take any pics.  But, I’ll catch you up with the day before and a nice surprise from yesterday…

Tuesday

I was looking forward to getting back to the gym since it had been a few days and I was actually excited to run!  I hit the treadmill for 20 minutes at a decent pace (trying to work on that!), then continued for another 15 minutes walking at a 10% incline.  I moved on to weights – chest, shoulders and abs for another 15 minutes.  It felt like a decent workout, but in record time :)

Once in the car, I was ready for breakfast- a Cherry Pie Larabar and 2 clementines…

Then, it was errand time;  it never ends :)

Lunch was pushed back to later than I liked.  When I come in starved, I want to just grab the easiest thing.  Today it was an Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dog on a whole wheat bun, Tabatchnick Vegetable Soup and carrots.  All ready, thanks to the microwave, in under 5 minutes!

The daughters had a doctor’s visit in the afternoon, then we did some shoe shopping.  So sad to be leaving the flip flops behind and get into some real shoes :(  While we were out, I did cave into some more coffee (I’m glad my doctor doesn’t read this blog), a tall decaf nonfat latte from Starbucks which held me over nicely until dinner.

I was lacking a dinner plan tonight, but thankfully pasta always goes over well!  My brand of choice is Barilla Plus.  It’s a multigrain blend of oats, spelt, barley along with the addition of  lentil and chickpea flour.  Be not afraid!  It tastes terrific and the husband and daughters are none the wiser.  It really does resemble regular white pasta in both taste and texture.  Now, I do have to make it plain for them with either sauce or butter and cheese, but I decided to jazz mine up with some pesto!  I know I’ve been kinda hooked on that lately:)  Since pesto is pretty caloric, I only used 1 heaping tsp. to dress the pasta, along with some of the pasta water and added it 1/2 cup chickpeas and shredded baby spinach.  I topped it with some grated parmesan and couldn’t wait to dig in…

I puffy heart pasta!  And it was surprisingly filling due to the extra protein punch of the chickpeas.  Yum!

Then, it was off to bed only to be awakened by the dizziness in the early morning.  I felt badly because it was our 14th wedding anniversary and I wanted to make a nice dinner for the husband.  But, that didn’t work out.  We did get a special treat from my parents, though…

A gift basket filled with wonderful Italian-inspired treats.  Even though my stomach wasn’t quite up to it, I couldn’t help trying out one of the treats…

Who could resist that?!  Not me.  Dizzy or not!

So worth it :)  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Have a great day, everyone!!

Question of the Day:  Do you like amusement park rides that spin and twirl? Aaaaaahhhhh!

Spice It Up

It’s here!  I picked up my new laptop.  It’s an HP something or other.  I’m very technical, can you tell?  Anyway, the husband said it was a good one and the price was right which was the most important thing!  So shiny and new…

No more ghetto monitor hook-up :)

 

I skipped the gym in favor of meeting a friend early for coffee.  I had planned on getting a treat at the Starbucks, so I just had a Chobani nonfat blueberry yogurt before leaving…

At the Starbucks, you know what was calling my name…

I love Pumpkin Spice Light Frappuccino !!!

Lots of gabbing went on, then I had to leave for a call about some “blog stuff”.  More on that soon ;)  Tease!

I ended up way late for lunch again.  I was past the starving point and starting to get shaky.  The easiest thing that came to mind was a wrap, so I quickly threw together  turkey, chipotle pepper hummus and baby spinach in a high fiber tortilla.  Some POPchips and grapes and I was good to go…

Gobble, gobble.  I don’t even know if I tasted any of it, except for the hummus which, WHEW, did I say this was mild before?  It seemed pretty spicy today and basically overpowered the turkey.  I really do like it, though.  I’ve never been a fan of spicy things, but some do grow on me.  I just like to taste all the components of a sandwich or wrap, otherwise what’s the point of putting it in there, right?

Since lunch was so late, I didn’t feel the need for a snack and I kinda had a stomachache anyway.  Probably from scarfing down my lunch!

I decided on a simple dinner of Chicken Cutlets and Zucchini with Beans.  The chicken cutlets are always a hit with the husband and daughters, but I knew the zucchini with beans were going to be a tough sell.  For this easy dish, I pan-fried some fresh sliced zucchini and added in a can of Trader Joe’s Marinated Bean Salad.  Before serving, I added some sliced mozzarella (2 lite string cheese, cut-up) to try to entice the haters…

Very tasty!  I think it would make a great topping for pasta, too.  The husband was good with it;  the daughters not so much.  Try, try again.

I ended the night with THE HOMEWORK WARS and a few Trader Joe’s Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites…

Have a great one!!!

ONE GOOD THING:  I’m starting to think in terms of planning for certain treats.  If I know I want something, I cut back somewhere else to accommodate for the treat and I’m not doing it in a way that seems threatening or depriving.  It’s starting to feel like a natural progression.

Question of the Day:  Do you like spicy food?

For The Love Of Leftovers

This kitchen wallpaper removal/painting prep/nasty cold is not leaving me with much creativity in the food department.  The kitchen is a mess, so minimal “cooking” is going on.  So, I thought this is a good opportunity to stress the importance of “being prepared” with respect to staying the healthy eating course.  As the saying goes, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”!

During the weight loss journey, I have heard many people (including myself) say that they didn’t have time to cook healthy foods or didn’t have the right ingredients in their pantry, fridge or freezer.    This lack of time and staples makes it all too easy to opt for takeout, especially when you’re getting in late from work, activities or when your kitchen is a huge mess!  It is so important to have a basic stock of pantry staples, so that you are able to throw something together at a moments notice.  I always keep some canned soups for quick lunches or dinners paired with salad or grilled cheese.  Also, cans of diced tomatoes make great quick pasta toppings;  just saute with garlic and extra virgin olive oil, pour over some whole wheat pasta and finish off with some grated parmesan.  Canned beans are a good option, too.  You can add some chick peas or cannellini beans to a pasta dish for an extra protein punch or just add them to your salad for more staying power.  Some of my fridge/freezer staples are bagged salads ( I make my own by cutting up romaine hearts and placing them in large zipper bags), tortillas, baby carrots, apples, cheese, eggs, yogurt, veggie burgers (homemade or store bought), soups, precooked taco meat (turkey or beef), chicken cutlets and frozen veggies, just to name a few.

But, I have to say that my saving grace many days and especially during this kitchen project has been having leftovers in my fridge and freezer.  I used to balk at leftovers.  Why eat the same thing over and over??  Unless, it’s brownies, of course.  However, there probably wouldn’t be much of those leftover!  Now, I look at leftovers in a whole new way.  Leftovers allow me to have a quick and healthy option with minimal effort or fuss.  Knowing that I had those meals and fridge/freezer items made it easy for me to make good choices during this tiring project;  just heat and eat!  Gotta give props to the microwave!!!   Having these options, besides being a real time-saver, allowed me to “plan” to stay on track.  Failure was not an option!  Love it when a plan comes together :)

Onto the food!  Warning:  prepare to bored out of your mind.  Not much creativity here, just necessary eats!

Thursday

Started the day off with a hearty bowl of leftover oat bran.  I have to say, I wasn’t quite sure how precooked oat bran would translate, but it was just fine with the addition of a little extra water to thin it out while reheating.  I morphed it into PB&J Oatbran with a bit of grape jam and PB2…

Lunch was a Cedarlane Beans, Rice and Cheese style Burrito with a side of POPchips and a peach…

After tons more wallpaper scraping, I decided I needed a break.  I couldn’t shake another Starbucks craving!  The crack is back!!!  This time, I went for a Pumpkin Spice Light Frappuccino…

OMG!  Loved it and a Grande is only 150 calories, .5 grams fat and 3 grams fiber.  Heeeelloooo!!

Scrape, scrape, tape, tape, paint the trim.  UGH!

Dinner was a Dominex Eggplant Burger topped with leftover Hot Artichoke-Cheese Dip and baby spinach on a deli flat, a side of carrots and a Chobani nonfat strawberry yogurt for dessert…

Wallpaper on…

Wallpaper off ---thank, gawd!!!

Now to choose a color….

Friday

I felt a lot better this morning!  Still stuffy, but no fever and head throb.  Since I was on the mend, I decided to make a quick run to the gym.  The Arc Trainer was calling my name!  Brought my breakfast to-go…

The Arc Trainer whipped me good for 30 minutes which was all I had time for since I had a late morning doctor’s appointment.  On the way to the appointment, I munched on a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin (from the freezer)…

I went for a routine physical and all checks out, except for my hip which the doc thinks is bursitis and wants me to consult with a Sports Medicine doc for it.  Yikes!

I made it home for a “leftover” lunch before running out the door again to pick up paint and supplies.  I went with Chickpea Croquettes and the ever easy side of carrots and apple…

Later, a Peanut Butter Cookie Larabar was needed to help with the paint color choosing…

And dinner was leftover crock pot chicken with a side of sweet potato fries (pre-cut from Trader Joe’s)…

Thanks for hanging in there with this marathon post!!!  Hope you have a great weekend!  I’ll see you tomorrow for the “reveal” :)

ONE GOOD THING: Leftovers!!!!!!

Cooking In The Infirmary

The infirmary is open.  The husband and daughters are sneezing and snotting all over the place.  Won.der.ful.  Big daughter stayed home from school, but since the husband was home, I was able to get in a quick stint at the gym.  Before I left, I grabbed breakfast to-go:  Banana Walnut Breakfast Cookie topped with PB2…

I came up with the cookie recipe the other day and tried it out on the daughters.  They were a big hit;  big daughter ate 2!  They are quite large and very hearty.  I can’t share the recipe with you, yet.  You’ll have to wait to “buy the book” –LOL!  I’m submitting it for Jen’s awesome e-cookbook that she’s putting together for charity, so stay tuned for more info!

After munching down my cookie, I headed straight for the elliptical for a decent 15 minutes.  My friend, Coleen, wanted to bravely try out another contraption, so I went along for the ride.  And a ride it was… The Arc Trainer!!  I have aptly renamed it The Brutalizer.  It is one tough workout.  I did 20 minutes on it and was dripping with sweat.  It was great!  Definitely my new favorite machine.  I threw in a couple sets of lower body exercises with the weights and I started home to the infirmary.  Hack, hack, sniffle, sneeze.  UGH!  On the way, I couldn’t shake a strong craving for an old friend…Starbucks!  I know I shouldn’t have…I really, really shouldn’t…been doing so great being “off” coffee.  But, the Pumpkin Spice Latte was just too hard to resist…

I missed it sooooo much…

Yes, I realize that when you kiss your coffee cup, it’s 1) extremely weird and 2) a sign you have a major problem.  *cue Amy Winehouse*  I don’t want to go to rehab, I say noooo, nooooo, noooo.  :)  It was so good!  I spread the happiness by bringing big daughter a Mocha Frappuccino for her sore throat and she was thrilled!  See?  Spreading the love….

So, when I am stuck in the house with a bunch of sickies, what do I do??  Cook.  And Eat.  But, I mainly chose cook  and I decided it would be healthy, so that’s a step in the right direction!  Ever since seeing this amazing recipe for Big Batch Bulgur Chili on Just Sweet Enough’s blog,  I knew I had to try it.  It was easy, delicious and made a ton!

I had a hearty bowl for lunch…

with a side of Barbeque POPchips …

Yum!  And I have plenty left over that I portioned out for quick heat and eat lunches or dinners…

Little daughter had dance class in the afternoon, so dinner was a crockpot concoction.  I never have much luck with my crockpot meals (too dry/overdone), but I thought I’d try it again.  I pre-browned some chicken thighs and placed it in the crockpot with a little white wine, chicken broth, garlic, lemon zest, s +p and some chopped red peppers.  It was all ready when we got home.  I nuked up a steamer bag of red potatoes and organic corn and dinner was done!

My plate…

And again, I have some leftovers for another time when I don’t feel like cooking.  Which might be sooner rather than later because I think they got me.  The sickies.  I’m feeling a little…ACHOOOOO!  Boo :(

ONE GOOD THING:  Making extra food and freezing it leaves me with lots of good, healthy options for times I don’t feel like cooking or just need to grab something quick.

Question of the Day:  What are your favorite “cook and freeze” meals?

Enjoying The Day

It's been a nice low key Saturday. Despite the million things I need to get done before next week, I took the time to enjoy the day.

I started off on the treadmill this morning for a 45 min. run. I haven't run outside in a while, but it was too yucky out today, so the treadmill and mindless TV were a great substitute.

Breakfast was a simple bowl of 3/4 c. Trader Joe's High Fiber O's, 1/2 c. skim milk and 8 strawberries for 3 POINTS...



After tooling around on the computer for the rest of the morning, I got presentable and headed to the kitchen for lunch prep. I had to have another Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bun today. Looks like this will be my newest addiction! I love how hearty they are; they really do satisfy me for a while. I had one with turkey, mixed lettuce and dijon mustard and a side of carrots with 1 tbsp. homemade hummus. And that small square in the front is a "homemade Larabar"! I found this recipe here and I thought I would try the Very Cherry version. I really liked it! I have only tried a Larabar once and it was a long time ago, so I don't know how it measures up to the original, but it's great anyway! I'd love to try some of the other versions, too. When I put this recipe through the Recipe Builder, it came out to 4 POINTS. A little pointy for a bar, but I only ate half (shown below) so it was 2 POINTS and good for you! Altogether, a delicious and healthy 7 POINTS...

I spent the afternoon shopping and sharing some one-on-one time with big daughter. It was so nice to spend this UNINTERRUPTED (little daughter) time together. We had a great time! We stopped at Starbucks for a quick drink- she got a spring water and I got a nonfat latte for 2 POINTS.

We got home close to dinner, so I got busy cooking. Pasta was on the menu - raviolis and meatballs for the family; pasta with chickpeas and mozzarella for me. I made a quick sauce using 1/2 c. diced tomatoes cooked with 1 tsp. olive oil and 1 clove of garlic. While this was cooking, I boiled 2 oz. whole wheat pasta until al dente. I added pasta, along with 1/2 c. chickpeas, to the tomatoes and heated through. I topped it with 1 oz. mini mozzarella balls and fresh basil. Delish...

and a side of steamed broccoli...

A great 8 POINT dinner:) It did leave me feeling a little hungry though, so dessert was a definite. I went with an old standby with a twist - Double Chocolate Vitatop with 1 tbsp. Almond Butter!!! I loved this combo, too! It was very rich tasting and the almond butter was a sweet alternative to icing. I still love my PB2, but this was a nice change. And still 2 POINTS of goodness...

I'm off to cuddle with the daughters and watch some TV. Hope you're having a cozy Saturday!

Pizza And POM

Hey, happy Friday! This has been a fun weekend type of day since the husband and daughters were off today. We got to sleep in a little and mosy around. I went for an outdoor run this morning for about 30 minutes, then hopped right in the car to pick up some groceries for our pizza night with my in-laws. I didn't get to eat breakfast after the run, so I picked up a Starbucks coffee with sugar free vanilla syrup and some nonfat milk for 1 POINT to get me through...


When I came home, I made a yogurt granola bowl. I used a Fiber One Vanilla Yogurt topped with 1/2 c. of quinoa granola for 4 POINTS...


I bet you're asking "what the heck is quinoa granola?" Well, I came across this recipe in Bob Greene's Best Life Diet Cookbook. I have never been a fan of quinoa, mainly because I didn't really know how to use it. I know it's a "wonder grain" being that it is considered a complete protein. I'm always willing to try something again, especially if has the word "granola" in it! I LOVE granola. So, I made this last night in anticipation of eating it for breakfast today. I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it a little more POINT friendly; basically I just dropped a tbsp. of the nuts to lose a POINT. I used a combo of dried cranberries, raisins and almonds. If anyone wants the recipe, let me know. I forgot to copy it down before I came to post! Too lazy to venture to get it ;) Anyway, I liked this and it stuck with me a really long time (about 3 hours)! After breakfast, I got in my Shred. I must be honest - this was a half-assed Shred. I was tired from my run and not in the mood to do it, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fit it in later tonight. I mainly concentrated on the strength training and sort of bagged the cardio. I think it still counts though, right??!!! Only 15 days left!

When I was finally ready for lunch, I was READY for lunch! Funny how it hits you all at once! I needed something quick, so I threw together a turkey sandwich using 2 oz. turkey, lettuce, tomato and a squirt of dijonnaise on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. I also had a serving of TJ's Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips (love these!) and a juicy orange. A fast 5 POINT lunch...

After lunch, we went for a "neighborhood clean-up" walk. I have been noticing during my outdoor runs that my neighborhood was getting "trashy" with random items that didn't make it into the trashcans or blew away, etc. We put gloves on, got a big trashbag and walked the whole neighborhood picking up all the debris. We filled the whole bag! It doesn't look like much when it's strewn all over, but it adds up! So, not only did I get another exercise in, I also did community service!! Two birds, one stone :)

The in-laws came for pizza night and to hang out with the daughters. I made 3 pizzas: 1 plain, 1 pepperoni and a whole wheat with lite mozzarella, baby bella mushrooms and baby spinach. I went with 2 slices of whole wheat and a salad dressed with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch for 8 POINTS...

Along with our dinner, I made everyone a fancy POM spritzer! Diana at POM Wonderful was kind enough to contact me and ask if I would be interested in sampling this POM Wonderful 100 % pomegranate juice. I have been intrigued after seeing it at many of the grocery stores, so I was excited to have the opportunity to try it! Our pizza party was the perfect opportunity to make these lovely spritzers...

Everyone loved it! It is not as tart as I thought it may be. The husband and father-in-law loved it straight up the best! After reading about all the health benefits of this "wonder" juice, they loved it even more! Especially the parts about prostate health and erectile function - you know how men are! LOL!! The website is full of amazing recipes, too (love all the cocktail recipes- see you can be healthy and have a few drinky poos!). An 8 oz. serving is 3 POINTS, which is a little POINTY, but when cut with some sparkling water, it's basically free. I only used 2 oz. of the juice and the rest was water; put in a wine glass and garnished with a slice of lime. Fancy and free!

For dessert, we had some amazing chocolate covered strawberries that my parents gave us for Valentine's Day! I had two of these guys. I'm not exact on the POINTS; I did some searching and came up with 2 POINTS. I don't know, but hey, I'm goin with it! They were DIVINE...

Well, tomorrow's the big day! The day that CHOCOLATE swirls all around you. Everywhere you go! The husband loves me and hopes to live a long life, so I'm fairly certain that he will NOT be giving me any chocolate ;) How about you??? What are your VDay plans? Are you worried about the CHOCOLATE???

I Won!

Not the lottery, unfortunately. But, this win was pretty good! Kristi at Healthy Living was having a fun Ghiradelli Chocolate Giveaway. You had to guess how many pieces of chocolate she had in her bag and I got the closest guess! I was so excited; I never seem to win anything, so this was cool! And it's CHOCOLATE!! Now, not eating them with be the hard part...



I am going for Day 2 of eating right. I started off this morning with Power Pumpkin Pancakes with a little low calorie syrup and some strawberries(5 oz.) with a dollop of plain nonfat yogurt(no Cool Whip!)...





Yummy and filling. If the midmorning hungries come, my plan is to stop by Starbucks for a Cafe Misto that fellow blogger, Kristi at Healthy Living told me about, also. Thanks, Kristi!! It just might save me from eating the wrong things, so that I have more room for your CHOCOLATE!!!