One Year + My Favorites Giveaway

Today is the day!  One year ago, I decided I would start a blog.  I had lost quite a bit of weight and people often asked me what I was doing to lose the weight, how I was doing it, what I was eating and how often I exercised.  I thought that by starting a blog, I could keep myself accountable while on my journey toward my goal weight and also, show others that it is possible to eat well while losing.  Little did I know how much this blog would change my life.  I’ve learned so much about myself, my body and what I’m capable of.  It’s been a great experience, with ups and downs along the way and I wouldn’t trade a second of it!

I am so thankful to all of my family, friends and “blog friends” for reading my blog, giving me such wonderful feedback and support and sharing in this journey with me.  Each of you has spurred me on in times of frustration and gave me the motivation to keep trying…every day.  Thank you, thank you!

A quick recap of yesterday’s eats and then, we’ll get to the GIVEAWAY!!!

I’ve been having a hard time with breakfast, lately.  Nothing is exciting me.  Time to look for some new breakfast recipes, I guess!  I finally decided on a bowl of Trader Joe’s High Fiber O’s with skim milk and freeze dried blueberries.  It was great!

I headed over to my parents’ house to help them with some home improvement projects they are working on.  After getting dirty, my Dad and I took a lunch break.  I dug around their fridge and found a cool new product – Sonoma Jacks Cheese Wedges…

They look just like Laughing Cow …

But with even less calories!

I decided to use it as a topping for my Boca Burger and light english muffin.  Fab!  So was the honeycrisp apple and the Jenny Craig brownie that my Mom had stashed in the freezer.  If there’s a brownie to be found, I’ll find it ;)

I was able to fit in a quick stint at the gym while little daughter was at dance class.  I knocked out 30 minutes on The Arc Trainer and called it a sweaty day.

Dinner was another quick and easy meal- Shrimp Fajitas over Spelt Couscous.  This dinner took all of 15 minutes to make from start to finish…

• red and green bell peppers, sliced
• thinly sliced onion
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 9 jumbo frozen uncooked shrimp
• 1 tsp. taco seasoning
• 2 oz. whole spelt couscous, cooked (I used Shibolim brand )
• 2 tbsp. salsa

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onions and peppers in olive oil until tender.  Add frozen shrimp;  cook about 4 minutes each side or until shrimp turns pink.  Add taco seasoning and stir to coat.  Serve over cooked couscous mixed with salsa.  Serves one – of course, no one else in this house would eat it ;P

Okay….ready????

It’s no secret that many of the items I eat on a regular basis come from my favorite grocery store, Trader Joe’s.  I know it’s frustrating that many of you don’t have one near you, so I thought I’d bring a little Joe to you!  You don’t know how badly I would love to buy up the whole store for a giveaway, but I had to be reasonable and limit myself because I am opening this up to EVERYONE (yes, Canada peeps!) and I would probably spend a zillion dollars to ship it all!  Anyway, I was able to control myself and pick out some of my all time faves for you…

A better view…

All this for one lucky winner!  What will I make you do for a chance to win this??  Just leave a comment on this post telling me what you like best about my blog!  That’s it!  I’ll announce the winner on Monday, November 16.  If you don’t have a blog, please make sure to leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you .  Good luck everyone!!! 

Thanks for reading and making this a great year!!!