I Play Sports Now!

Hi Everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend! I needed to unplug this weekend, although I miss not posting when I do! 

But, I had a fun time hanging out with the husband and daughters and the weather was beautiful so we got in a lot of outdoor activity.  I was able to get in both my runs – Saturday was 2 miles and Sunday was 3 miles.  After my runs, I joined the hubs and daughters for soccer drills and basketball. SO FUN!!! 

The best line of the weekend comes from the husband:  I can’t believe you play sports now;  this is great!!!

Yes, it’s true.  And I can’t believe it either!  I have never been one for playing sports.  Throughout my entire childhood, I hated sports.  With a capital H.   I especially hated gym class.  I always felt like the biggest, clumsiest and most uncoordinated girl in the class.  I felt embarassed and often feigned illness so I could sit on the sidelines.  It makes me sad to think that I may have missed out on so many good times, but I can’t get those years back.  Now, there will be no more sitting on the sidelines for me!  I’m not saying I will try out for some women’s sport team (I’m still laughably uncoordinated!), but I can run around with my family;  up and down the basketball court, back and forth on the soccer field and not feel like I’m going to die of a heart attack.  Being healthy and fit feels fantastic!

Before all of this outdoor fun, I started off with some tasty eats.  I have not been feeling breakfast at all lately.  Nothing seems to excite me and I'd happily eat a Chobani every morning, but I know that gets boring after a while.  I rummaged around and found this box of Triple Berry Bran Muffin Mix from Trader Joe’s and thought it would be a nice change…

These guys are hi –test!  One little muffin packs some serious fiber…

They contain a blend of whole wheat flour, wheat and oat bran, rolled oats, ground flaxseed, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries and some spices.  You need only add eggs and water and bake…

Perfect with coffee…

After church, we stopped home for lunch.  I was getting pretty hungry, but didn’t want to overdo it before my run.  I settled on a Health is Wealth Chicken Free Patty on an Ezekiel Hamburger Bun with a slice of asiago and spinach and a sweet Gala…

I let that digest a bit, then it was off to the trail/park.  The training schedule called for 3 miles and part way into the first mile, I was wondering if I was going to make it!  My legs felt weak and sluggish, but as soon as I hit the end of the first mile, I talked myself into the rest and finished stronger and faster than how I started out.  Why is that first 10 minutes so rough sometimes?!

We came home near dinner time and we were all starving from our outdoor fun.  Pasta was on my brain!  I made Angel hair with Ricotta, Zucchini and Asparagus.  My serving was huge…

Trust me, there was a ton of angel hair under those veggies!

I was full, but couldn’t help snagging a few more forkfuls while clearing the table because it’s pasta and I have a hard time with a “normal” serving of that!

Before I go, I wanted to share a few things with you all.  First, this coming week marks my One Year Blogiversary!!!  Wow, I can’t believe it’s  been a year!  I have a special GIVEAWAY planned of lots of goodies from my favorite place/home away from home (can you guess?), so stay tuned for that!  Also, I have some changes to the blog in the works.  It’s been a long time coming and I’m so excited about it!  There is so much more I would like to do here and I’m looking forward to being able to add more of my personal touches(recipes pages, FAQ’s, etc.) to the blog.  I am humbled by the fact that you all come here to read and as much as I blog for myself, I also try to provide information that you would be interested in hearing about or seeing.  As I’ve said before, I am always open to suggestions, so if there is anything that you would like to see more of (or less of – like my dopey attempt at trying to be funny!), please feel free to let me know!

Have a great day, everyone!

A Crock Of…

It was a rushed morning, mainly caused by me trying to fit in some things before leaving the house.  Gotta cross stuff off the list!!!  No time for a proper breakfast, but I wasn’t that hungry anyway and knew I wanted to run, so I didn’t want a whole lot in my stomach.  I grabbed a Chobani and bagged up an apple for later…

I got to the gym and went right to the treadmill.  I ran at a decent clip for 2 miles, then walked the rest at an incline.  I forgot to take some Advil beforehand and my hip acted up a little toward the end of the run, but seemed okay for the walk.  I’m trying not to focus on it too much because I think my fear that it will hurt and keep me from finishing the race is weighing on my mind and it’s almost like I’m making it hurt more!  It’s that psychological game.

After the gym, I ate my bagged up breakfast in the car and headed to the supermarket.  I picked up something new to try for lunch- Gardenburger Portabella Veggie Burger…

I thought it would taste great with some of this topping…

And it did!  I served it on an Ezekiel Sesame Seed Hamburger Bun (love) with some Trader Joe’s Sea Salt and Pepper Rice Chips and 3 darling clementines…

The afternoon was a blur of picking up and dropping off and waiting and driving.  Yay for afterschool activities :(  I made sure to bring my “car snack” so I wouldn’t be screaming come dinner!  I found one of these Kashi TLC Pumpkin Pie bars in the pantry (a little past date-okay, a lot past, but I’m still alive!) and thought it would be just right for EWD (eating while driving) <---  that was very “Rachel Ray” wasn’t it? …

I also needed a little pick me up.  I chose a little bubbly.  No, not that kind.  This kind…

I grabbed another Zevia before I left.  This flavor was black cherry and not my favorite, although I find anything black cherry flavored to be too medicinal tasting in general!

We finally made it home at dinner time.  I had planned ahead, so dinner was waiting in the crockpot.  Or as I like to call it “The Crocker”.  I have a love/hate relationship with The Crocker.  I want to love it;  I really do.  I feel it would be an excellent time saving/ meal prepping tool.  HOWEVER, nothing and I mean nothing, I make in The Crocker ever comes out very well.  It’s overdone, overdry or has a  weird texture.  When I take The Crocker out and put it on the counter, the husband and daughters run.  They know nothing good can come of The Crocker.  But, my middle name is perseverance and I keep trying!  This dinner disaster came in the form of Balsamic Apricot Pork Tenderloin.  It had the potential for greatness.  I used a 1 lb. pork tenderloin and put it in The Crocker with 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar, 1/4 c. apricot preserves, garlic, thyme, s + p.  I put it on low for about 4 hours.  Dry and tough.  Yes, it broke apart leading me to believe it would be succulent pieces of deliciousness, but it had a dry texture to it.  Unappealing.  You can imagine the response from the peanut gallery ;P  The saving grace was the roasted diced sweet potatoes (I pre-roasted earlier in the day and reheated at dinner) and green salad with evoo and balsamic…

This lackluster dinner left me wanting dessert.  I was in the mood for coffee, too, so I decided to mix the two!  I made up another version of a Mock Mocha Frappuccino, this time using some Silk Heart Health Vanilla Soymilk…

I was sent a few coupons a while back to try this out.  We are already Silk soymilk fans;  little daughter has been drinking  the plain Silk since being diagnosed with a milk protein allergy at 8 months old.  Thankfully, she has outgrown that allergy and some others, but continues to drink the plain Silk because she likes soymilk better!

To make  my Mock Mocha Frappuccino, I used 1/2 c. Silk Heart Health Vanilla Soymilk, 1/2 c. Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate Ice Cream (for some reason, I have 3 containers in my freezer!), 1 tsp. instant espresso powder and blended it up with about 5 ice cubes.  It was awesome!  I topped it with a tiny squirt of light whip…

This tasted just like the real thing!  And for about the same calories – mine came to 145 calories with whip!  This might be a daily thing now, just warning ya!

Since I like to share, I have 4 more Silk Heart Health coupons for a free half gallon in my possession, so I’ll be glad to give them to 4 lucky winners!  Just leave a comment here and you’ll be entered.  If you don’t have a blog, make sure to leave your email address with your comment so that I can contact you.  I’ll announce the winner on Friday morning, October 16th.

Have a great day!

ONE GOOD THING:  I made sure to have my snacks with me so that I wouldn’t be tempted to overeat at other meals:)

Question(s) of the Day:  Do you use a crock pot?  What the heck do you make in that thing that comes out good??!!

Eating In Two’s

Hey, everyone!  It’s been a crazy busy weekend and I’ve got some catching up to do, so I’ll get right to it…

Friday morning started off with a buzz.  With no time for a “proper” breakfast, I decided to grab and eat in the car.  On the way to the gym, I chomped on a Clif Mini Bar…I like brownies in the morning ;)…

I decided to try out the “less and longer” exercise strategy with 1 hour on the recumbent bike.  I didn’t “feel” like I worked out, yet my back was sweaty when I left, so I guess it did something.  And thanks for commenting on the “less is more” vs. “pump your heart out”.  I liked hearing your experiences and some of you brought up some really good points about high intensity interval training.  I’ll definitely look into that more, too.

After the gym, I ate part two of my breakfast…

in about two seconds.  I’m really sucking at taking my time and acknowledging what I am eating.

That held me over for about two more seconds.   Well, really longer than that, but I was ready for lunch very early (11:45).  I had lots of running around to do, so I figured, why fight it?  I heated up a Cuban Black Bean Patty and put it on a hearty Ezekiel Hamburger Bun with guacamole and salsa.  DELISH!

I definitely needed some munch, so I paired it with a serving of Trader Joe’s Sea Salt and Pepper Rice Crisps …love ‘em…

Then, I was missing a fruit, so I grabbed a nectarine while heading out the door…

I ran around getting some last minute things for the husband’s birthday dinner (Sat.), came home and starting prepping.  I needed sustenance;   something to get me through this harrowing afternoon of food preparation.  I decided on …

Okay, this technically doesn’t qualify as nourishment , but they sure were delicious!  They are thin crisps (think Pringles chip) with puffed rice pieces in it to give you that Nestle Crunch bar feel.   They’re not too bad in the calorie department, either…

I had one…

then, another…

These have “stop the insanity” written all over them.  Consider yourself warned :)

I had late dinner plans with my two best buds and knew if I didn’t eat something beforehand, I would devour the bread basket as soon as it hit the table.  I chose a better form of nourishment this time…

That did the trick!  I met up with my girls at a cool restaurant called Spence Cafe.  We were seated and hit the menu right away…

Actually, we hit up the wine first ;)

We started with an antipasto platter with veggies and Maytag blue cheese stuffed artichoke hearts…

and an assorted cheese plate with fruit and toasted baguette…

My plate…loved the cranberry pistachio cheese!

For my entree, I chose from the Light Fare portion of the menu.  I opted for the Eggplant Napoleon with sauteed spinach, mozzarella and ricotta fritter and tomato coulis.  It was anything but “light”.  Other than the 'fritter’ part, I wasn’t expecting this to be a “fried” dish, but , alas, this is what came…

I ate the spinach, half the fritters and half the eggplant.  I was satisfied, but I hate when you don’t get what you expect.  You think you’re making a good choice, then BAM!  Note to self : ask how something is prepared even though you hate to do that and think it’s a pain.

I had a great time catching up with my girls.  We are all so busy and it takes forever to schedule a night out, but when we do, it’s always fun!

I plopped in bed way past my bedtime, but thankfully fried food makes you feel like crap and I fell into a deep fat coma.  Nice :D

ONE GOOD THING:  Spending time with my good friends!!!

I’ll be back later for a recap of hubby’s bday! 

Dodging Disasters

Morning came fast!  My head hit the pillow and before I knew it, it was time to get up, even though it was still dark outside at 6 a.m. –Boo:(  I got up and dressed in my “gym clothes” to prepare for Day 2 of my new gym experience ;)

First, I ate my power Yogurt Bowl breakfast:  Chobani nonfat plain yogurt, 1 c. blueberries, sprinkle of Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal …

Sadly, I was disappointed in this one.  I decided to try it using organic frozen wild blueberries and while they made a nice “syrup” when I microwaved them, they weren’t very sweet or flavorful at all.  Ugh.  Now, I need to find something to do with the GINORMOUS bag of them that I bought at BJ’s Wholesale.  Any suggestions??

After my lackluster breakfast, it was off to the gym again.  I hit the elliptical for 50 minutes and did a 15 minute lower body weight workout with a few ab sets thrown in at the end.  What I’m liking about the gym is I am extending my workout time without it seeming like it;  it’s fun to be exercising with others and goes by so much quicker than when I’m in my dreary old basement :)

I couldn’t wait to get to lunchtime!  I was craving eggs, so I put together a “kitchen sink” scramble.  Every leftover veggie in the fridge went in there:  spinach, broccoli, red pepper and red onion.  I also threw in some diced ham and 2% cheese…

It was perfect with a small slice of Seven Grain Bread…

After lunch, I was able to get a little house cleaning done.  My list  of “to do’s” is a mile long with things I want to get accomplished before the holidays and I’m stinking with time management, lately.  I have to get better at being more efficient!

School let out and snack time was imminent.  Even though I wasn’t very hungry, I decided to eat to avoid the potential for disaster!  I opted to snack smart with an apple and PB2 which I ended up sharing some of with little daughter…

 

This snack worked out well in holding me over until dinner.  Yay, no disaster!!!

I had a nice, healthy dinner planned of barbequed pork chops, grilled sweet potatoes and salad.  Faces were made by the daughters.  Faces were made back by me.  Everyone ate…or else ;P  

Thankfully, to save them from this horrendous dinner, I made these dinner rolls that I was obsessed with making after seeing them on Zesty’s blog.  I did fool with the recipe by using half whole wheat flour.  They didn’t look as professional as Zesty’s, but tasted great!

I picked on a few more pieces, then packed them up to dodge that potential for disaster! Whew!

Hope you have a Happy Friday!!

ONE GOOD THING: I made it through after-school snack time with just a healthy snack and no other munching!!

Good Things To Go

Wow everyone!  I loved all your ONE GOOD THINGs from yesterday’s post!  Thanks for sharing those and let’s keep spreading the positive vibes!

I’m gonna be quick tonight, so I can hang with my family.  My first order of business this morning was to register for FitBloggin ‘10!  I dropped by Roni’s site and saw that registration is open, so I jumped on it!  The tenative schedule is up and it looks like a great time;  so looking forward to it!

After much dilly-dallying, I ate some breakfast.  I was pretty shaky at this point, so I grabbed the first easy thing I saw in the fridge – Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins.  I heated up two and had some honeydew on the side…

It’s good to have some “go to” stuff hanging out waiting for you!

I came across an old Weight Watchers Member Board (no idea who the poster was –sorry) recipe while looking through some of my recipe binders this morning :  Cuban Black Bean Patties.  They sounded great, so I decided to make them for lunch with a few of my own twists to it…

• 2 cups rinsed and drained canned black beans
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. dried cilantro (or 1 tsp. fresh)
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 c. reduced fat monterey jack or cheddar cheese (pepperjack  would be good, too)
• 1/8 c. diced red onions
• 1/4 c. cornmeal

1. Place 1 1/2 c. beans in a medium bowl with garlic, cumin , cilantro and salt.  Mash with a fork , slightly to break up beans.
2. Place remaining 1/2 c. beans in a food processor with the egg and puree for 30 seconds.
3. Add bean puree to mashed beans and stir until combined.
4. Add cheese and onion;  combine well.
5. Form bean mixture into 4 patties about 1/2 inch thick.
6. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish and carefully dredge each patty in cornmeal.  There will be some cornmeal leftover.
7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Coat with cooking spray, add patties and cook for approximately 4 minutes per side. 

I served my Cuban Black Bean Patty over a salad made up of romaine, chopped red and green peppers, diced tomatoes and topped with a squirt of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch, guacamole and light sour cream…

The bean patty was so flavorful!  Crunchy on the outside from the cornmeal and creamy on the inside…

And I have 3 more left that I wrapped up and popped in the freezer for another “go to” option.

The daughters and I went shoe shopping this afternoon (for them, not me – boo!) and scored a good deal at Payless Shoe Store.  Love their BOGO’s!

Then, it was back home for snack time.  I couldn’t resist another one of Jaime’s amazing Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bars…

I still felt a hankering for something, so I chomped on an apple, too…

Dinner was Chicken Fajitas seasoned with Homemade Taco Seasoning from the Clean Eating Club site.  It’s way better tasting than the packet stuff.  I served the fajitas with a store brand high fiber tortilla, guacamole and light shredded 3 cheese blend…

More leftovers packed up for another time…

ONE GOOD THING today:  As I was finishing my last bite of lunch, I was still yearning for something more.  I decided to look at my watch and give myself 10 minutes to let everything settle and if I still wanted something when the 10 minutes was up, then I would allow myself to eat it.  I got up from the table and busied myself cleaning and doing other things.  After the 10 minutes, I reassessed and decided I really didn’t want anything else after all=)

* I have myself locked in the home office so that no one would disturb me while I hurried to write this.  Little daughter just picked the lock to ask me something!  Guess it’s time to sign off!   Juvie here she comes…

Have a great night, everyone!

Twenty-Four Seven

Fall is in the air.  At least it felt that way this morning.  It was cool and breezy, which is fine by me.  I love fall and the cooler weather makes me want to get outside and run!  But, I’m not sure my hip will cooperate :( 

I felt in the mood for some Pilates this morning, so I popped in the cheapo DVD, I bought and did about 35 minutes of the video before starting on some breakfast.

I didn’t have much in stock since we just got back from the shore, but there were a few eggs left so I decided on an Antipasto Open Faced Omelette using 3 egg whites and the leftover antipasto topping from my Chicken Antipasto last week…

It was a very flavorful start!  And can’t forget the Teeccino…

Then, it was off to the produce store.  Look at this stash…

 

I got spring mix, brussel sprouts (don’t say eeww!), cauliflower, romaine hearts, sliced mushrooms, cucumber, baby spinach, zucchini, parsley, celery hearts, honeydew melon, strawberries, gala apples, fuji apples, nectarines, peaches, blueberries and a loaf of crusty Italian bread.  All that for $29!!!! 

I prepped the romaine lettuce right away to put together my lunch salad.  I made up a Southwest Chicken Salad using big handfuls of romaine, 1/4 c. black beans, 1/4 c. frozen corn (defrosted), cherry tomatoes, 1 oz. reduced fat cheddar cheese and chicken breast (about 2 oz.) chopped.  I topped it with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch dressing.  It was so tasty and filling…

Some avocado would have been great in there, too, but I forgot to buy some!  Next time :)

As filling as the salad was, it still left me wanting a  little something.  I thought about grabbing crackers or pretzels, but feared that would lead to lots of munching.  Then, I saw these guys and thought they would be the perfect something…

After lunch, more shopping…Walmart for a few dry goods and school supplies, then Trader Joe’s.  Food shopping is an all day affair!  I did make a pit stop in between to drop off some bags and have a snack…

I finally made it home just in time to start on dinner.  Pasta was on the menu, but of course, something a little different for me.  I picked up a new item at Trader Joe’s – Seafood Sausage – and I was dying to trying it out…

A real find at only 110 calories and 3.5 grams fat per sausage…

I decided to make Seafood Scampi for one because the husband and daughters would rather starve than to try it!  LOL!

I sliced the sausage and pan fried in  1 tbsp. evoo and 1 clove garlic until cooked through.  I added about 2-3 tbsp. white wine and simmered for a minute, then added some chopped parsley.  I served it over whole wheat spaghetti and topped with a little parmesan.  Delish…

So, you may be wondering why I titled this post 24-7.  Well, I realized today that I think about food 24-7.  Seriously.  All day long.  I probably dream about it, too.  I am always thinking about what I should and should not eat.  I think about whether or not eating something will help me lose weight or contribute to weight gain.  I bargain with myself.  I wheel and deal.  I try to push these thoughts out of my mind and then, think about how great it is that I am not thinking about food!  Ugh!  I really do feel compulsive when it comes to food.  I think about it always.  It rules my world.  I am most definitely a novice to the concept of intuitive eating.  I’m not even certain that someone like me can even wrap my brain around it or ascertain what it means to be able to eat according to my body’s needs.  Is this something I can truly learn?  Is this something that can eventually come naturally to me?  I guess I’m scared that it isn’t possible for me.  I may be too far gone;  too old to learn “new tricks”, too accustomed to living life on a diet that I am unable to see the other side.  That grass sure does look greener, though…

Have a great night, everyone =)