Practicing Vegan

I find myself getting obsessed with certain things.  Well, recipes in particular.  First, it was Danica’s Cheesy Bacon and Bean Stuffed Pepper recipe.  I couldn’t get it out of my mind once I saw it!  Now, it’s the Fat-free Pumpkin and Raisin Biscuits from Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen!  Why the vegan recipe?  Well, I’ve always been intrigued by vegetarianism and veganism.  I even tried on the vegetarian lifestyle for a while, but started getting lazy about cooking and ended up eating lots of junk instead of healthy foods.  Anyway, this past week Michelle from Eating Journey asked if I would like to join her and other bloggers in going Vegan for a Day on Thursday.  I thought it would be a fun challenge, so on Thursday, vegan I shall be!

To “practice”, I whipped up these biscuits for breakfast.  They were so easy;  no mixer required…

They baked up nice and high…

I had a couple of the little guys with some coffee…

Extra tasty with a little Earth Balance…

Then it was off to church to give thanks and praise :) 

Lunch had to be quick because I was starving and we wanted to head to the park  to enjoy the beautiful day!  I remembered there was some  White Pizza with Zucchini and Broccoli in the freezer, so I heated that up pronto…

Then, it was off to the park for a 2 mile walk and some B-ball …

Dork.

I planned a lovely, healthy Sunday dinner of roasted chicken, roasted butternut squash and broccoli.  No one eats the squash except me, (sigh)but I keep trying…

I didn’t have any bread in the house, (why do I always feel like I have to serve bread at every meal?!) so I broke out these crackers from the Anniversary basket …

and crunched on this x3…

Sad to see the day end.  Love these gorgeous days!  Hope you had one, too!

ONE GOOD THING:  Trying new recipes really satisfies my creative needs!

AND THE WINNER IS (thanks to Random.org cuz I would love to pick everyone!)…

Chelsea said...

I love your positive attitude and he that that you never give up! You are truely an inspiration to so many people! Thanks for the giveaway! cmdrayer@comcast.net

Chelsea, please send me your address and I’ll get the goodies right out to you!  Thanks to all who entered and thanks again for celebrating my One Year Blogiversary with me!

Running Scared

It was the most gorgeous day! It started off a little rainy, but the skies changed pretty quickly and the sun came out for a beautiful fall day.  Since it was raining to start, I decided to go to the gym for a run instead of outdoors.  I can’t believe my first 5K race is in 8 days!  Holy crapola!  I felt a little scared thinking about it.  I haven’t run in a week.  I’m trying to keep my hip damage to a minimum before the race, but at the same time, I’m not really training like I should be.  I know it’s just 5K, but I started feeling uncertain about it;  a million doubts about my ability were flooding my mind…

I fueled up with a little protein before heading to the gym – a spoonful of PB & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter…

The best stuff ever…

and I snagged half of little daughter’s toast spread with some of it on the way out the door!

I don’t know why I felt nervous about running on the treadmill today.  I didn’t quite feel up to it and my confidence was shaky.  But, I ended up kicking those nerves to the curb after I got started!  I chatted with my friend, Coleen who moved to the next treadmill to keep my company and keep my mind off the time.  I wanted to try to shave some time off my last run which was 50 minutes.  She left when I had a 1.25 miles to go, so I plugged in my tunes and cranked out the rest of the run.  I pumped up my pace toward the end and , surprisingly, felt pretty strong.  I ended up taking 4 minutes off my time!  I like 46 minutes way better than 50!  Hopefully, next week it will be even less, but as long as I finish, I’ll be thrilled!

I treated myself on the way home to a small Caramel Latte Lite at Dunkin Donuts.  Only 99 cents this week!  I’m treading on dangerous ground by slipping in the coffee here and there, but so far, my stomach and throat seem to be up for it…

I was ready to chow come lunch time.  I found some leftover Eggplant Parmesan Pizza in the freezer, heated that up and paired it with some crunch…

I made sure to have a serious snack so that I wouldn’t dig and munch on too much.  I went with a strawberry Chobani yogurt topped with these cuties…

All the bunnies in…

I also tried another flavor of Zevia.  This was the Cola flavor…

I dug it!  It’s a great Diet Coke substitute.  I like mine on ice…

I bumped Pizza Night and decided to make some comfort food:  roasted chicken, mashed potatoes topped with bacon and green onion and sauteed spinach.  I served it all family style…

My plate…

I’m off to pack.  The husband and I decided on an impromptu overnight to celebrate our anniversary which isn’t for a couple weeks, but this weekend worked out best!  I won’t be posting so that I can spend QT with the hubs, but I’ll be taking lots of pics and will catch up with you all on Monday morning :)

Have a great weekend!!!!

ONE GOOD THING:  I had an awesome run on the treadmill and feel confident that I can make it through the 5K next Saturday!

Question of the Day:  What’s one good thing that happened for you today?

An Afternoon Visit

Hey, guys! Thanks for showing the husband some love on his first ever blog post! He was a good sport about doing the review and trying one of my healthy creations!

While the hubs was "blogging" this morning, I got right to my workout. It totally sucked. I tried to do Level 1 of The Shred but was feeling a little dizzy again, so I finally opted out. Right in the middle of dumbell rows. I'm not sure what's up with that; I'm thinking there's a sinus issue going on. Oh well. Nothing stops me from eating, though! I moved on to breakfast: 3/4 c. Trader Joe's High Fiber O's, 1 c. sliced strawberries, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and a tsp. of sliced almonds for 3 crunchy POINTS...


I cleaned up a bit and got ready for our lunch guest: Aunt Linny! My sister-in- law came over to spend the afternoon with the daughters...



We chatted while I made us all some lunch. Of course, it was PB+J for the daughters, but Aunt Linny was willing to eat "my kinda lunch". I made us hummus, cucumber and baby spinach sammies and ,to go with them, some carrots, watermelon and a 1/2 serving of Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips. All this for only 4 POINTS...


For our sammies, I used a new (to me) bread - Pepperidge Farm Light Style Extra Fiber Wheat Bread...

The nutrition facts are terrific - a serving is actually 3 slices (2 POINTS), but I just used 2 slices for 1 POINT...

Aunt Linny entertained the daughters the rest of the afternoon with puzzles, stories and play time. Thanks, Linny the girls had a ball! When it was close to dinner, we said our good-byes and I finished up making dinner while snacking on some Triscuits crackers - I think about 4 POINTS worth.

Nothing fancy for dinner tonight, just roasted chicken and a green salad with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch dressing. A simple 7 POINT meal...

I didn't feel much like dessert. My stomach was a little off, but then it wasn't. Weird. Then, I saw these PhillySwirl SwirlStix pops in the freezer and thought they would be just what I needed...

These are some great popsicles. I love the fun flavors! And the stats (click pic to enlarge)...

I chose the Orange Dream and it was the perfect 1 POINT ending to my eats today...

I looking forward to getting in bed! I'm hoping to try out a long run in the morning =)

Have a great night!

I'm Really Trying

I'm really trying hard this week. Trying hard to be On Program. Trying hard to eat as many "whole" foods as possible. It's going pretty well which always makes me feel better and more positive that I can get to goal :)

I woke up to a yucko day outside, so no 5K outdoor run. I decided to do some cleaning instead and save my workout for later. I finally got around to breakfast which was another open-faced omelette. This combo was 3 egg whites, 4 thin slices canadian bacon, 1/2 c. leftover chopped broccoli and 1 oz. Cabot 75% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese. A yummy 3 POINTS...



This didn't hold me as long as I thought and I was ready for lunch earlier than I expected. I went with another Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Bun topped with 2 tbsp. homemade hummus, roasted peppers and baby spinach. Yum! With it, I had a fuji apple, some carrots and another 1/2 homemade Larabar. A very filling 7 POINT lunch...


After lunch, I did 40 weighted minutes on the elliptical and 20 tricep dips. I've been slacking on the strength training, but I like doing the tricep dips and Lord knows my "Miss America" wave could use the help!

I was getting a little hungry in the late afternoon, so I grabbed some grapes (1 POINT)...

Who IS this person that snacks on grapes in the afternoon???? I don't know, but I'm feeling like it's the right thing to do ;)

The in-laws came for dinner tonight. I decided to make a nice, healthy meal of roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar and a touch of honey. Of course, we had to have some amazing rustic Italian bread. I did well with my portions; about 3 oz. chicken, 3 oz. sweet potatoes, 2 oz. bread and big spoon of salad, all for 9 POINTS...

Everyone started digging into some cookies for dessert. I was planning on just having coffee, but the cookies were tempting, so I brought out the big gun...

Then, everyone wanted MY dessert! But, I'm not sharing. Nope. It's mine. All mine. muwahh haaa haaa!!!! =)

Hope you had a great weekend!

Tales Of Woe

How did you like my tale of woe this afternoon??? I thought I'd take the story telling approach so that I wouldn't sound too whiny and complaining!!! Anyway, I got it all out and I feel o.k. with my indiscretion. I know it's not an everyday thing, but sometimes I can't help wondering if that binge-like behavior will ever go away. I guess I can just be thankful that it will not continue; that is something I do think that I am passed.

So, dinner tonight was back on track. The family was having tacos which evoked a dance similar to Pizza Night. That's always good! I decided to have a chicken taco salad. I used 2 oz. of leftover roasted chicken, lettuce, shredded carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, 1 oz. light cheddar crumbled, 1 tbsp. guacamole and a tbsp. of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch Dressing. Delicious. You may be seeing this again tomorrow!


I tempted fate and decided to make cookies for dessert! Crazy in the head, I know. I wanted to try to rework my Gingersnap recipe into a lower Point/healthier version. I liked the result so far. I'll try it out again tomorrow when my tastebuds are not so drowned out by the massive amount of sugar that I consumed earlier today :)

Well, back on track and maybe I need to run the track, too.... =)

Uneventful

Hi Everyone! It's been an uneventful, but busy day hanging around the house (if that makes sense??). I got in a good run on the treadmill this morning. I went a little harder than I normally do on a Sunday, but I felt inspired by my conversations with Katie on Friday nite. I really want to try to run a 5K race sometime in the spring. I have to start practicing running outdoors. We'll see. Anyway, my food today was uneventful also. Nothing creative or overly exciting(hope I don't bore you!). Just some good eats.


This morning I had a ham, egg and cheese sandwich. I used some ham, 1 egg white, a slice of 2 % cheese and a Thomas' Light English Muffin. Really tasty and better for you than Mickey D's...





For lunch, I made a veggie wrap using 2 tbsp. of hummus, some shredded carrots and a handful of baby spinach rolled in a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla. Have I told you how much I love this hummus? I know, you're bored. Sorry! (but... it's great!!!!) Along with the wrap, I had a serving of pretzel sticks and a sliced plum. All this goodness for only 6 Points...

No time for a snack this afternoon. I was a cleaning banshee; finished all the bathrooms, did some wash, cleaned kitchen and floors. Somewhere between bathrooms and wash, I made a roasted chicken and some baked potatoes for dinner. I had 4 oz. of the roasted chicken, a small baked potato with some Green Giant Broccoli with Cheese piled on and a sprinkle of 2 % cheddar . I had some spinach left over from last night, so I ate that, too...

Dinner was 9 Points tonight and very filling. I didn't want much in the way of dessert; I never say that, but I guess I really did have some "filling" Momentum- type foods. I made a cup of decaf coffee with skim milk and then decided to add a Gingersnap. It was just enough...

I am so happy with what I accomplished around the house today. I feel like I have a head start on the week ahead. Hopefully, I'll keep my lead... =)