Just Another Sunday

I have to start off this post saying THANK YOU to all for your encouraging and congratulatory comments!  I am so humbled by it and I appreciate it so much.  It makes me so glad to think that I have inspired some of you to push outside of your comfort zone, set your fears aside and accomplish things you never thought you could.  It’s so cliche, but seriously, if I can do it, you can, too!  Don’t let fears hold you back.  You can lose weight, you can keep it off, you can make healthy choices, you can make time to exercise, you can run, you can bike, you can..you can.. you can!  Don’t doubt it.  It’s all out there waiting for you :) 

Okay, Tony Robbins pep talk over;  let’s get to the food!

After lazing around the rest of Saturday, it was a little hard to get moving on Sunday.  We had to be at church by 9:30 for a special service involving little daughter’s religion class, so I was rushed for time.  I ended up not eating breakfast before we left and forgot to grab a bar or something portable, too!  The race fried my brain!

Thankfully, the husband keeps a nut stash in his car for snacking during his travels, so I grabbed a handful and munched after church…

We ran some errands as a family which is always fun not and headed home for some much needed lunching.  I was in a salty mood (in flavor not attitude!), so I made up a proscuitto, asiago and pesto panini using 2 slices proscuitto, 1 slice asiago cheese, 1 tsp. pesto and a handful of baby spinach on whole wheat pane bread.  I pressed it in the George Forman grill til it got warm and melty.  Sweet goes great with salty, so a Fuji apple was the perfect side…

A little later, I worked on some homework with the daughters.  I made us a study snack of Celestial Seasons Sugar Cookie Tea and some homemade granola bar pieces…

Tofu was on my dinner menu (not the husband or daughters of course!) since I had some Nasoya Firm Lite Tofu in the fridge that needed to get used up.  I decided to dice it up and bake it this time instead of baking in slices like I have done in the past.  I seasoned it with some garlic powder, onion powder, s+p, a few dashes of Frank’s Hot Sauce and a tbsp. of honey bbq sauce.  I baked it, on a foil-lined cookie sheet, with some sweet potato wedges and served it with green beans sauteed in evoo and garlic.  This was the best dinner…

And ketchup on sweet potatoes = fab:)

So, that’s my regular old just another day Sunday!  Quite anti-climatic after Saturday!  But, it’s just the way I like it :)

ONE GOOD THING:  My hip is not as sore as I thought it might be after the race.  I think the pre and post ibuprofen really worked!

Question of the Day:  What is one thing that you would like to do, but have doubts that are holding you back?

Uninspired

I am uninspired food-wise today.  Part of me wants to eat the same old same old and another part of me wants to make some fabulous new creations.  I have weeks where things flow and I can think of hundreds of new recipes that I’d like to try.  Other weeks, I feel like boiling a pot of water for pasta is about all I’m capable of doing.  I know that when I get a meal plan together for my week, I tend to be more in control of my eating.  I like having a new recipe to look forward to and enjoy trying different things.

I have tried a few times this weekend to get a meal plan together, but it was thwarted by other chores around the house.  Another problem is I have waaaaaaay too many recipe binders to choose from! It’s very overwhelming.   I have 4 binders now filled to the brim and I must say that they are haphazardly put together which is part of the problem, too!  I tried just picking out a cookbook and going from there, but that wasn’t working out either.  I’m just organizationally challenged this week!  I plan on getting better at meal planning for the future.  As life gets busier, it really is a time saver and a great tool for staying the healthy eating course!   If you need some meal planning inspiration, check out Heather’s blog and Andrea’s blog.  Both of these ladies are awesome meal planners.  Heather even does hers a month in advance.  Now that’s some planning!

I started the morning with the promise of something new to try.  I got this Kashi Island Vanilla Cereal at a bargain price (99 cents with a coupon!) the other day…

I teamed it up with some blueberries and skim milk…

This was a dud.  The cereal was great, but my blueberries stunk.  They were really sour – blech.  Then, I realized that I had them in the fridge for an ice age, so even though they looked okay, they were probably bad :(

We went off to church with a stop at the Walmart before hitting home and it was there that trouble found it’s way into the cart.  Big daughter wanted to get some candy corn and although, I tried to talk her out of it, she really wanted them, so in the cart they went.  Can you guess where they went next???

Sugartopia!  Those big honkin’ pumpkin ones really sugar you up good!  I poured them into a pretty bowl when we got home because putting them out in the open for all to see is the best idea in the whole world.  NOT.  They look so pretty in the bowl, but they don’t like to stay in there.  Large handfuls get removed quite a few times a day.  You can’t eat just one. Ever.

My stomach pretty much hated me after that, but later I thought I should get something other than sugar in it.  Nothing sounds good after a sugar bomb is lying in your stomach, but I decided that eggs would be the least offensive.  I made up an egg white scramble using egg whites, diced ham, baby spinach and a slice of asiago.  For some crunch, I had a flax cracker on the side…

Since it was an outrageously beautiful day, I decided to go on a long walk to soak in the sunshine and fresh air.  It was wonderful!  I jammed to some tunes (is it weird that I mouth the words to the songs as I walk??) and before I knew it, I got in a nice 3.5 miles.  I felt invigorated when I was done;  the sugar slugs didn’t get to me!

I felt a little hungry later, so I nibbled on a Choco-Cranberry-Almond Granola Bar before dinner…

I was in the mood for a giant bowl of pasta for dinner.  I was also still in the zucchini mood, so I combined them to make  Angel hair with Zucchini and Chickpeas.  This was a “no sauce” pasta dish.  I just sauteed the zucchini in a little evoo and garlic and added a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas to warm through.  Before the pasta was done, I saved 1/2 cup of the pasta water and added it to the zucchini mixture along with 1/4 c. parmesan cheese.  When the pasta was done, I tossed it with the zucchini mixture and sprinkled with more cheese.  Delish…

Hope you had a great weekend!

ONE GOOD THING :  I took a nice walk instead of giving in to the lazy sugar crash!

Question of the Day:  Do you plan your meals for the week?

Transitions + Changes

Boy, the first day of school sure was a hectic one!  After getting the daughters off to school, it was run, run, run!  I think I spent most of the day in the car running around with the exception of about an hour!  It was crazy!  But, we all transitioned into the new schedule pretty well, even me with getting up in the dark to start the day :)  My schedule is a bit different when the daughters are in school;  my day starts much earlier and my workouts aren’t until after everyone leaves for the day.  I usually don’t eat before my workouts, but since I’m changing things up and going to the gym (eek!) after they leave, I may have to eat before the workouts.  And my blogging schedule will be different, too!  I decided to switch to posting in the morning or before lunchtime, so that I can be available for my family at night.  As the daughters are getting older, the homework and afterschool activities are ramping up, so, as much as I love ending my day with blogging, it’s not my best option.  But, I’ll be here !

So, after everyone got out the door, I headed to the basement for a non-eventful 30 minutes on the elliptical, then did a few sets of tricep dips a la MizFit!

I was starving after that, but needed something quick, so I dipped into a Chobani nonfat Strawberry yogurt topped with some crunchy freeze dried strawberries and a sprinkle of Post Trail Mix Crunch cereal…

Can’t forget the Teeccino … no caffeine, but still gives me that “morning coffee” ritual…

Then, the running began.  In the car, out of the car.  Drive here.  Drive there.  The daughters only had a half day to start, so I picked them up and took them to lunch at their favorite place- Chick-fil-A.  This location was “snazzy” and even had a cool quote on the wall…

They have some decent salad options, too.  I chose the Chargrilled Chicken and Fruit Salad…

with a reduced fat Berry Balsamic dressing (only used about half)…

I couldn’t help snagging a few of the waffle fries, too!  This trip to Chick-fil-A was all to butter up the daughters because right after, they had (unknowingly) a doc’s appointment for the flu shot.  I could write a book about the histrionics that go on with little daughter in the weeks leading up to the shot appointment, so this time, I decided they would need to be “game day players” and I sprung it on them at the last minute.  I know, another Mom Crime for the books ;)  It all worked out well though, no major drama.

Then, it was off to dance class for little daughter.  I was hungry by this time, so I was glad I remembered to grab a snack for the car:  Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bar…

These are just the greatest!  Thanks for the recipe, Jaime!

Dinner on dance night has to be heat and eat.  Luckily, I had some leftover Chicken Cacciatore which I reheated with some freezer Greek Lima Beans…

And I was out the door again for one last errand!  I finally ended the night with a little treat…Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate square with a smear of PB2…

That hit the spot!

ONE GOOD THING :  I remembered to pack/plan a snack for the afternoon, so I wouldn’t be raging starving at dinner time and end up picking on a bunch of stuff while getting dinner together.

Hope you all have a great day!!!

Working It Out

I slept until 7:30 this morning!  Ugh, it’s going to be brutal getting up at 6 a.m. in 2 more days!  My goal is to be more organized this school year, so we’ll see how that goes…

Since I was such a slacker this morning, I went right to breakfast instead of working out first.  I was in the mood for a Yogurt Bowl.  This mix was Chobani nonfat plain yogurt, a handful of questionable strawberries (made into syrup), 3 chopped walnuts and 1 tbsp. shredded coconut…

I love these Yogurt Bowls!  It is filling (greek yogurt has a ton of protein) yet, light enough that I can workout right after without it bothering my stomach.  And I did just that!  I hit the treadmill with my suicide bomber weight vest and walked at a medium pace for 40 minutes.  Then, I tried some of  THESE awesome moves suggested to me by the Superhero of the Fitness World… MizFit!  I will have Arms of Steel one day!  Right now, it’s just Wings of Wobble…

Before I headed out the door for some errands, I had a quick lunch.  Nothing fancy, just a reheat of last night’s Grilled Veggie Pizza…

I still wanted a bite of something, so I nibbled on 1/2 of a Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bar …..

I had to hit the supermarket, AGAIN, then picked up Gram to come over for Sunday Dinner.  On the menu tonight…

Chicken Cacciatore…

Whole Wheat Orzo…

Cauliflower and Zucchini Gratin…

Tossed Salad…

and Seven Grain Bread…

My plate…

and a side plate (x2)...

I did nibble on a piece of the bread, but decided to stop since I was feeling just right.

I ended the night with a cup of Teeccino while losing badly at Bingo…

Have a great night everyone!!

ONE GOOD THING :  Anytime that I felt anxious today and wanted to eat  due to it, I took a moment to “feel the feeling” instead of just rushing to feed it.

Card Sharks

Happy Friday!  Wow, can’t believe it’s the last weekend of the summer :(  It’s been a great one;  so sad to see it go…

I have been enjoying lazing around in the morning and so have the daughters.  We are getting it all in before the school grind begins on Tues.  We lounged around in our pj’s;  they played, I played around on the computer and then did some cleaning.  I finally got around to eating breakfast.  Another yummy yogurt bowl…

• 1 c. plain nonfat Chobani Greek yogurt
• 1 c. blueberries ( 1/2 c. made into blueberry syrup)
• 1 tbsp. Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal

A little while later, I got on the kicks and headed to the basement for a treadmill run.  I felt really good…at first.  Then, that darn hip pain acted up, this time on the left side!  I was so annoyed because I actually felt strong otherwise and got in a good groove right away with this run.  I decided to stop at 30 minutes, so as not to push it any more.  I felt so sore the remainder of the day and ended up icing my hip tonight.  Boo!

Trying to use up some of the leftovers in the fridge, I made up a Chicken Tzatziki Salad for lunch…

• 6 oz. grilled chicken breast seasoned with evoo, garlic, onion powder, oregano, s + p
• romaine lettuce
• diced tomato
• 1 oz. light feta cheese
• scoop of leftover tzatziki sauce

It was delish!

More cleaning up – the inlaws were coming for dinner!  I stopped mid-clean and had a quick snack…

And a quick break of trampoline jumping with the daughters!  Well, I mainly laid on the trampoline while they jumped around me :)  The inlaws came while we they were jumping, so I limped off and started on dinner.

I planned on grillin and chillin.  I made up burgers using 96% lean ground beef  and grilled up a bunch of veggies for a Grilled Veggie Salad…

while the burgers were cooking, I made up a simple green salad, too…

My plate…

After the daughters put on a “dance show”, we started up a serious whoop ass friendly game of cards with the inlaws.  I snacked on a  Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bars and a few cantaloupe to keep my mind sharp…

Score:  Me + Husband = 2,  The Inlaws = 1

Go Us!!!

I have to tell ya, I’m loving the ONE GOOD THING that you all are sharing with me!  I think I’ll keep it going for a while, so feel free to share your ONE GOOD THING anytime!

ONE GOOD THING:  I did not pick on any extra slices of cheese for the burgers while I was preparing them :)

Have a great night!!

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!

One Good Thing

Another lovely day!  I woke up with the birds this morning for some reason and feeling good =)  I knew it was gonna be a great day!

I felt hungry pretty early, so I ate breakfast before my workout.  I was craving plain Greek yogurt again, so I dished some out and decided to try making a “strawberry syrup”.  I put 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries in a bowl and nuked it for about a minute.  The strawberries took a little longer to get juicy in the micro than the blueberries did.  I poured the berries over the yogurt, added some additional sliced berries and topped it with 2 chopped walnuts and a sprinkle of shredded coconut.  Super Amazing!!! 

Later, I set up for 45 minutes of Pilates.  I am getting better at some of the moves and I can really feel it in my abs and legs.

After some house clean-up, the daughters were asking for lunch and I realized it was almost 1:30!  My stomach was barely hungry;  that yogurt bowl held me over so well!

I thought soup sounded like a good lunch, so I heated up some Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup (canned, but very tasty)…

and heated up some Green Giant Immunity Blend Veggies with a sprinkle of parmesan for a side…

 Fiber city…

The daughters and I ran some errands,including a stop at BJ’s Wholesale Club to pick up some school snacks.  I scored a vat of  Chobani nonfat  plain  greek yogurt, so there will be lots more of the same old breakfast for a while!

When we got back, I was feeling a bit hungry, so I decided to have a snack and push our dinner back a bit.  I had the perfect snack in mind, too!  Ever since seeing these fabulous Choco – Cranberry- Almond Granola Bars on Jaime’s blog, I had to make them!  They couldn’t have been easier and I had just the right amount of brown rice syrup left in my pantry.  The only changes I made were substituting oat bran for the ground flax (didn’t have it) , used 4 tasting squares of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa dark chocolate (chopped) for the mini chocolate chips and whipped light butter instead of regular….

These are seriously good…

Even the daughters loved them!

Dinner was nothing fantastical;  the hubs was working late, so it was mac and cheese for the daughters and ‘stuff they would never touch’ for me.  I made balsamic roasted brussel sprouts (2 tsp. evoo, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, s +p  - roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes).  The daughters almost gagged at the sight!  To go with these beauties, a Salmon Roulette and a scoop of their mac and cheese.  Delish, even though it doesn’t look so pretty!  Hard to make brussel sprouts look good, especially when they color from the balsamic…

I felt satisfied today.  I didn’t obsess over food all day and I enjoyed everything I ate.  I notice when I choose more filling foods with higher protein and fiber, I definitely feel more full.  I realized while on this path of intuitive eating, I have been psychoanalyzing myself more than ever.  I’m constantly judging how I am feeling, what I am doing, how much or how little I am thinking about food, how much or how little I am eating and if I feel that I am doing all this too much, I beat myself up about it because I feel like I am doing the OPPOSITE of what you are supposed to be doing as an intuitive eater!  It’s hard to break that dieting mind!  Maybe it’s all part of working this whole process, but I am feeling like I am focusing on the negatives instead of the positives.  So, I decided, no matter what kind of eating day I’m having, I will find one good thing about my food day to focus on.  Even if it’s the smallest thing, like “instead of eating the entire bag of pretzel slims, I left 2 pretzels in the bag” – LOL!  In doing this, maybe I’ll come to realize that I am making little changes along the way to reprogram myself and I will see the progress I am making =) 

ONE GOOD THING… I put a scoop of mac and cheese on my dinner plate, enjoyed it and didn’t eat the rest that was left in the pot and/or on the daughters’ plates because I realized I was full and had enough!

Have a great night, everyone!

Question of the Day:  What ONE GOOD THING happened for you today?