Life Is Good

Thanks for your comments on my last post;  sad to see many of you are like me and don’t take time to “just be”!  We have to work at that, right?!!

There was no time to “just be” in the morning either!  For some reason, it started off rush, rush, rush!  Before I ran out the door to take little daughter to school, I made up my Yogurt Bowl.  Many of you have asked about making the fruit “syrup”, so here’s a look…

Slice a few (about 3-4) strawberries and place in a microwave safe bowl…

Microwave for 30 sec.- 1 min. (depending on fruit ) until it appears “cooked” and the juice releases…

That’s it!  Couldn’t be easier!  You could do it stovetop also in a bigger batch, refrigerate and add to yogurt (or top ice cream, mmmm) as needed.

I poured my strawberry syrup over the remainder of my Chobani nonfat plain yogurt, added more fresh berries and sprinkled with a bit of Post Trail Mix Crunch…

then ran out the door with my ginormous container to eat in the car…  at red lights and stop signs, MOM!!!

I finished most of it just as I was pulling in to the gym.  I wasn’t that hungry, so I left the rest and headed in to get my sweat on with one of my new LIFE IS GOOD shirts…

Gotta love that!  There’s also a cool tag at the bottom of the shirt…

Okay, enough of my dopey wardrobe!  Anyway, I hit the elliptical for 40 minutes while watching my boyfriend, Dr. Oz and his new show which was quite steamy (sex ed) I might add!  Then, he did some dance which made me love him even more!

I tore myself away from the tv’s and did a 25 minute lower body circuit weight workout.  I love  the leg press;  makes me feel like a brute!

After a stop at the produce store, I headed home and was ready for lunch!  I got hungry earlier than usual, probably because I didn’t eat enough at breakfast.  But, my stomach was telling me that I couldn’t put it off any longer.  I broke open one of these Cedar Lane Bean ,Rice and Cheese Burritos.  I’ve showed these before, but it’s been a while…

They are really good and filling!  I wolfed it down with a side of leftover sweet potato fries and a fuji apple…

Yes, WOLFED.  As in here one minute, gone the next.  That was NOT mindful eating!!!  And then, I knew it was coming.  Because I didn’t pay much attention to the eating process, I still wanted to munch away.  And I did…on these guys…

x about 55!!  Ugh!  I knew I was doing it and WHY, so I guess that’s part of the process of learning to STOP it next time.

Believe it or not, I was hungry again later when the daughters came home.  I’ve been eyeing this Pecan Sticky Bun Granola up (why do I buy these things?!)

so I had a small bowl with skim milk…

Dinner was nothing fancy, but I’ll call it Pasta Pesto Primavera!  I made some Ronzoni Smart Taste Rotini Pasta, mixed it with a little pesto and a box of Green Giant Immune Blend Veggies…

finished with some Parmesan cheese…

Quick and easy!

And later, I may or may not have had a little bit of this…

Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  I did not have that;  I don’t know who is writing this right now!!! ;P

ONE GOOD THING:  I recognized why I pigged out after lunch, so that I can try to prevent that next time :)

*I took 5 minutes right before bed to “just be”, but I think I fell asleep about 2 minutes into it!  Does that count???*

Have a great day everyone!

Breakups Are Hard

I feel like crap today. I'm going through a breakup and it's been rough. Me and coffee have had a love/hate relationship for a while now. It wasn't love at first sight although, it did give me jitters every time I got a little ;P But now, the love is gone. It's been doing me wrong, causing me major pain in the heart, throat and gut. Why, oh why does it have to be this way? I tried to get together with it's lesser version - Trader Joe's French Roast Low Acid. We liked each other at first, but it turned out to be just like all the others. So, I must breakup with coffee. It seems necessary. My body is achy and yearning for it, but I have to let it go. *sigh* Parting is such sweet sorrow...



This morning, I had...tea...





I added some milk, no sweetener. It was a milked-up mate...

It sucked.

I was really in the mood for eggs today. A real whole egg. Heck, I can't have coffee, so I might as well enjoy something! I served it over a piece of Trader Joe's Organic Spelt Bread (toasted)...

I still wanted something more. I was feeling hungry right off the bat today. I decided on a pack of Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds...

These are great and had just the right amount of crunch that I was looking for...

I putzed around all morning having my own" farewell to coffee "pity party. I finally decided to head to the basement for a workout. I didn't feel up to any running/elliptical since my hips are still sore. Getting old sucks burnt coffee grinds ;P Anyway, I decided to do weights and ab work. It was a nice, no hip-impact 30 minute workout.

When lunch time rolled around, I was ready for it! I really wanted pasta and heck, since I'm not having coffee, I might as well have something I really want! I made my own boxed-style mac and cheese using 2 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow macaroni, 2 tbsp. natural cheese powder (bought this in a bulk foods store) and a few tbsp. milk. I cooked up a batch of fresh mixed veggies to go with it...

cheesy...like me...

Unfortunately, today was not a day of listening to my body. My body wanted coffee, but instead it got lots of snacky snacks. I just wanted to feel full today. Satisfied didn't seem good enough. So, I munched on a pretzel...

Then more pretzels (x3!!!) coated in chocolate! Heck, if I can't have coffee...

I had to lie down after that. The daughters and I cuddled up and watched some bad TV (Wife Swap).

I had no big plans for dinner, so everyone agreed on breakfast for dinner. I made cheese omelettes with a side salad. Eggscellent...

I did get a small burst of energy for some house cleaning after dinner. That's a little better! Maybe this breakup won't be so bad after all =)

I leave you with a Question of the Day: What do you drink- coffee or tea?

A Snack Intervention

It was another sunshiny day, today. I thought I would go for another walk at the trail. Before I left, I had quick breakfast of Banana Fudge Vitatop (1 POINT) and a mango crackshake (2 POINTS)...



Then, I hit the trail. I walked 4.2 miles in about an hour. I tried to really keep my arms pumping to burn those calories. I wonder if I am burning as many calories as when I run. I run at a pretty slow pace, so maybe walking this way is doing a better calorie burning job? I don't know. I guess I have to save up for a Body Bugg to know for sure!

For lunch, I made a wrap with 1/4 c. Spinach Artichoke Hummus, cucumber slices, lettuce and a La Tortilla Factory Wrap. I went back to soy crisps and carrots for a side. A tasty 5 POINT lunch...

I felt like something sweet after, so I had one of these Sunsweet Prunes ; they are individually wrapped which makes them feel more "special". As if prunes could be special. Well, I guess if you're having bathroom "issues", these could be very special :) Anyway, 4 of these gems are only 1 POINT...

When the daughters came home from school, I made a snack of savory rice crackers with Laughing Cow Light and 3 strawbabies for 2 POINTS...

Then, I snacked on a handful of goldfish, a chocolate and 2 Righteous Rounds cookies. What can I say? Same old, same old. I need an intervention. A snack intervention. Anyone care to stage one for me? I promise I'll go to rehab; really, I will! I won't bore you with my lamenting about my snack issues. Moving on....

Dinner was carb-arific and quick. I combined 2 oz. of Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow macaroni with 1/2 c. TJ's marinated bean salad from yesterday. What a terrific combo! This bean salad is a great topping for pasta; no other seasoning, sauce or oil needed! I topped it with a tbsp. grated parmesan cheese. A delicious 6 POINTS...

I also had some whole wheat naan for 2 POINTS...

Then I ended the night with a 1/2 c. Banana Split Froyo for 2 POINTS...

Hope you got to soak up the sun today! Have a great night =)

Bye Bye Christmas

See ya Christmas. Later. Don't let the door hit ya! That's how I felt today as I was putting away all things Christmas. It was a great holiday season, but I am ready to put it all behind me (unfortunately a lot of it ended up ON my behind) and start anew! Getting on the scale this morning did help me with this new found motivation I have today! Not a pretty number:(



I was so busy helping little daughter clean her room this morning that I "forgot to eat" breakfast. Okay, that phrase could never be part of my vocabulary, so in all honesty, I just didn't want to stop what I was doing to eat something. Weird for me. No, I don't have an extremely high delusion-causing fever! When we finished cleaning I noticed it was pretty close to lunch, so I decided to just go with a slice of apple cranberry bread to tide me over...







When lunchtime rolled around, I decided to go with something different - pasta! I don't usually eat pasta at lunch. I fear it won't hold me through the day, but today I gave it a try. I used 2 oz. of Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne and topped it with 1/2c. of leftover black eyed pea salad from New Years lunch. I also sprinkled 2 tbsp. grated parmesan over it. Oh my greatness, this was so delish and only came to 6 Points...




Suprisingly, it held me over pretty well. I was busy putting away the Christmas decorations and cleaning, so I'm sure that helped, too. When all was done and put away, I sat down to a lovely snack of sliced pear, Lighthouse Reduced Sugar Caramel Dip and a 1/2 serving of pretzel sticks...

Now I'm off to catch up on some reading. See ya!

Still Not Cranky

I will proudly announce that I am still not cranky from lack of sleep. At least I don't think I am; I'm not asking the family since they may beg to differ and that will make me cranky;) I am pretty tired though, so I'll give a quick run down of my meals today.



Lunch was a wrap using my new La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla, 2 oz. honey ham, slice of 2 % cheese, lettuce and a squirt of dijonaise (a mix of dijon mustard and mayo). Along with that came my carrot cranberry salad and some Kettle Baked Potato Chips. A filling 7 Point lunch...





A snack probably wasn't necessary today. I wasn't really that hungry, but I fear if I don't eat something then I will go off the beaten track for dinner or after. Also, I think it dawned on me today that eating a little something even if I'm not feeling like it, does help keep my mood even and my energy up. Hence, no crankies! I saw the yummy hummus that I made the other day in the fridge and decided that would be a good snack. I paired it with a couple carrots and a half serving of New York Style 97% Fat Free Bagel Chips. I forgot about these guys; they are so good with hummus...

For dinner, I made the family stuffed shells. Lots of delicious cheese. I didn't want to go there; it would not have been pretty. So, I made myself a serving of Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta. A serving is a measly 2 oz. which is why I don't eat pasta very often; it just doesn't "look" like enought food for me. A 2 oz. serving of this pasta is 180 cal., 1 gr. fat and 6 gr. fiber. which is 3 Points. I added to the volume by sauteeing some mushrooms and spinach; mixed it all together with a bit of my homemade pasta sauce. I sprinkled on 1 heaping tsp. of parmesan and spread the pasta out onto my plate instead of using a bowl. It "seems" bigger that way. Yes, I am that easily fooled! Very tasty...

I finished the night with some decaf Chocolate Tea (which does not taste one bit like chocolate, but it sounds good) and a Gingersnap cookie from last night's party...

Going to crank out some sleep =)