Step It Up + A Giveaway

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a fantastic weekend!  Did you shop til you dropped?  Not me!  It was a hangin’ out kinda weekend here :)

I woke up ready to start a new day.  A new “non-holiday food” day!  I’ve been lazy about my regular exercise;  just been doing some Wii Fit with the daughters and a little weights here and there.  I guess my normal routine shifted with them being home, but I’m looking forward to hitting the gym HARD when they get back to school this week!

After doing some cleaning (the husband was up early and scrubbed the bathroom floors for me –LOVE HIM!), I made got out of the freezer a hearty breakfast of Fat Free Pumpkin and Raisin Biscuits and a small banana…

The cleaning kept on for most of the day.  I wanted to get everything spiffed up before we put up the Christmas decorations!

I did make a pit-stop for lunch.  I was feeling pretty hungry, so I heated up one of the Bean and Rice Burritos  topped it with guacamole and ate it knife and fork style…

As filling as that was, I still did some picking in the afternoon.  It actually didn’t hit me until later that I was doing that.  A classic case of “mindless eating”.  It’s amazing how fast that bad habit comes back and into play.  Bites of this and that leftover from daughters’ plates, a candy from the candy dish, a nibble or two while preparing snacks.  The awareness fades and it becomes almost robotic in nature.

I finally came out of the haze I was in and realized what I was doing!  Okay…refocus… or just focus…or snap the hell out of it, I said to myself!

Dinner was much better.  I tried out a recipe from the current issue of Clean Eating Magazine for Individual Chicken Pot Pies.  I changed it up a little by using leftover turkey breast and 2 cups of frozen classic mixed vegetables.  It was super easy and very good;  everyone liked it and there were no complaints…yippee!

The recipe called for topping the pies with 3 whole wheat biscuits…

They were pretty hearty, so I was fine with two…

Despite the mindless eating episodes, I feel stoked and totally ready to step it up!  I really want to give this holiday eating season a run for its money!  I want to prove to myself that I can indulge in a controlled way during the specific holiday DAY and not have this sending me spiraling out of control into an eating oblivion.  I CAN DO IT!  You can do it, too!  Let’s do this!!!!

Okay, pep talk over (mainly for my benefit, but thanks for hanging in there with me –LOL!), now let’s get to the GIVEAWAY!!!!  The Campbell’s Soup folks sent me this neat package of goodies…

• Campbell’s V8 Garden Vegetable Blend soup
• A Campbell’s V8 Soup Health Journal and vegetable shaped pen
• A Flip and Tumble shopping bag
• A Pedometer – to count your steps!

Perfect for stepping it up, right?!  Well, they would like to send this gift pack to one lucky winner, too!  All you need to do is leave me a comment telling me what your favorite soup is.  I’ll pick a winner using random.org on Wednesday, December 2.  Good luck!!!

Have a great day, everyone!!!

Running On Empty

This was one of those days when I was running from morning to night!  It started with an early dentist appointment, so I had to eat a quick breakfast.  I decided on a Banana Nut Vitatop…

 

I really like these…

Can you believe I ate it without any topping??? 

Then brushed, flossed and headed to the dentist.  Which I hate.  But, ya gotta do it.  Thankfully, it was just a cleaning and I got out of there unscathed!  Until January, when the drilling will commence :(

I stopped home to pick up my BFF…

 

 

then made a pit stop at Grams’ house to say “hi” and off again to little daughter’s school to help with a book fair.  By this time, I was starving!  I couldn’t wait to get home for lunch, but it had to wait until after my 3 mile run.  Boo! 

I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it through the run without any food in my stomach, so I had a few bites of banana…

 

That’s about all I can handle before a run.  I can’t run with a full stomach or even a half full one, but a few bites seems to be okay. 

It was perfect weather for an outdoor run – sunny and 60 degrees!  I took advantage of it and did my run in my hilly neighborhood.  The first mile was a little shaky;  I haven’t done hills in a while, but I took my time, kept my breathing even and managed to crank it all out!

I felt really good when I was done.  And really ready to eat!!  It was a great opportunity to try out one of the Bean and Rice Burritos from the freezer.   My heating instructions…

• loosely wrap frozen burrito in a slightly damp paper towel
• place in microwave on defrost for 2 minutes
• after slightly defrosted, microwave on high for 2-3 minutes
• let stand for 1 minute or you will burn the bejesus out of your mouth

I served it with a Fuji apple butt…     :D

So hearty and filling;  I almost couldn’t finish the whole thing…almost…

I barely finished my last bite before I was out the door again to pick up the daughters for afterschool activities which lasted until dinner time.

I wasn’t super hungry, so I fixed dinner for the family and waited a bit until I figured out what to eat.  I finally opted for a Tofu Scramble using up some of the leftovers in the fridge.  In the mix…

• 1/2 package Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu
• diced red onion
• 3 baby carrots, sliced
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/4 cup black beans

I came across this cheese in the natural foods section of Giant Supermarket and thought I’d add it to the mix (to practice for Vegan for a Day!)…

One word – funky.

I ended up adding an ounce of 2% cheese which made it all taste delicious :)

Served with a toasted whole wheat pita for crunch…

I thought I might have some dessert tonight, but ended up ditching that idea since I was full.  I even had to dig into the box of Cheez-its for big daughter’s snack and didn’t feel the need to dive head first into the box!  As if I would fit  ;P

ONE GOOD THING:  I felt really good about how I approached my food today.  Even though breakfast was on the light side, I didn’t use that as an excuse to overeat later in the day.  I felt more in touch with my body and my hunger cues today.  Honestly, I’ve been struggling with it for the past few weeks (more to come on that – I promise!), but today I tuned in!

Have a great day, everyone!

Random Question of the Day:  What have you done today to make you feel proud?

Lounging Burritos

Happy Sunday!  Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend :)

It was a lazy Saturday around here, which I love!  We  lounged around in pj’s and had a leisurely late breakfast.  I found these blintzes in my freezer (no idea when I bought these!), so I gave them a try…

I don’t think I’ve ever had a blintz before, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect or how to serve them.   They looked like little burritos!

I followed the directions for baking them and just dug in…

They were pretty good.  Nothing special, though.  I think they need major doctoring up with powdered sugar and whipped cream!  Hmmm… now that’s what I’m talkin about!

A leisurely breakfast always involves a big honkin’ cup of coffee.  And a very special creamer…

 

Love…

I had a feeling the blintzes were going to leave me hungry fairly quickly.  I was ready for lunch not long after.  I was craving turkey and cranberry sauce -Thanksgiving is in the air!  I settled for a turkey sandwich with cranberry mustard instead…

I was also in the mood for a Chobani (it’s becoming a serious addiction now), so I scooped a strawberry flavor into a bowl and topped it with tons more strawberries…

That was a good lunch!

We had to get out of our pj’s and head over to a cousin’s house for a jewelry/home entertaining demonstration.  Of course, I had to buy serveware from the home collection.  Can’t resist pretty dishes!

After the party, we planned on going to the park to play, but the weather wasn’t cooperating.  We decided to pick up a movie instead and head home to make dinner.

I had bacon and beans on the brain!  Ever since seeing Danica’s awesome recipe for Cheesy Bacon and Bean Stuffed Peppers , I couldn’t wait to make the filling for this.  I made only a couple alterations – used 2 slices of bacon, no reserved bacon fat , this taco seasoning and Cabot’s 75% reduced fat cheddar cheese…

But, I’m not a huge fan of stuffed peppers, so I made stuffed zucchini instead…

I baked them per Danica’s directions and the result was delicious…

 

Served with a side of leftover spinach, this was one hearty meal!

I had tons of filling leftover, so I decided to use it to make Bean and Rice Burritos.  I scooped leftover filling into a high fiber tortilla and topped it with the remainder of the cheese…

and rolled it all up…

Towering burritos ready for the deep freeze…

Thanks for the great recipe, Danica!

After my fiber-rific dinner (oh, which no one else ate but me –the husband and daughters had “made by me” cheesesteaks, but I know, I didn’t have to tell you that!!  Although, husband had some of the filling and loved :)  Progress!),  we snuggled up (like burritos) to watch  MALL COP which was the goofy kind of movie that the husband we enjoy.  I indulged in a little dessert while watching the stupidity…

Mmmm…love.  Would make a great mock Java Chip Frappuccino!

Off to make brekkie for the fam.  Enjoy your day, everyone!

Don’t forget to enter the My Favorites Giveaway.  I’m announcing the winner tomorrow morning!

ONE GOOD THING:  Stopping with only 1 serving of ice cream when you really want LOTS more!!!

Question of the Day:  What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?