First Day Jitters

It was the first full day of school for the daughters and they were raring to go!  It was a first day of sorts for me, too.  For the first time in 20 years, I was going to the gym!  I was a little nervous!  I had no idea what to do, how to work any of the equipment or what gym “etiquette” to follow, but I was still looking forward to going.  I armed myself with my “positive attitude” t-shirt…

Before I left the house, I quieted my jitters with a quick breakfast of  Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins (from the freezer)…

then, it was off to the gym…YIKES!!!

It was great!  I walked in, found an elliptical, fooled around with the settings, hooked up my mp3 player and got my sweat on.  I planned on 35 minutes on the elliptical, but my friend Coleen showed up and hopped on the elliptical next to me, so I kept on going and gabbing for another 15 minutes.  After, she showed me around and took me though some of the weight machines.  I got in a few good arm curl sets and a couple leg curls.  I t was a good workout and I enjoyed watching the other gym go-ers’ workout styles – one guy was running on the treadmill while hugging the electronic panel instead of holding the side rails!  So crazy!

I left the gym and ran more errands –aaah, does it ever end???  By this time, I was starting to get hungry, it was already lunchtime!  I went for a turkey and cheese sandwich on a Pepperidge Farms Deli Flat, 1 cup Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup and a perfectly ripe pear…

I was in the mood for some crunch, too, so I took the opportunity to try out these POPchips that were sent to me by the POPchips peeps via my friend at The Skinny Plate.  Thanks, Stephanie!

This flavor was okay, a little too peppery for my taste buds, but I liked the airy crunch of these chips…

When the daughters came home from school, I felt the old munchie feeling coming back.  Something about that part of our day has me wanting to snack.  I wasn’t actually HUNGRY though, so I tried to put the urge off with a cup of Teeccino…

And it worked for a while, but I did get hungry about a half hour before dinner and felt like I just couldn’t wait, so I dug into some Kashi TLC Country Cheddar crackers…(x2)…

and a string cheese, Wheat Thins and a few nuts.  I knew that this was a “compulsive eating” moment, but the difference this time is that I didn’t feel badly about it.  And because I didn’t immediately start berating myself when I started oversnacking, I was able to reign it in before things got really out of hand.  I continued making dinner, which was really just opening a bag!  Big daughter and I split  Trader Joe’s Chicken Chow Mein with added broccoli while the husband and little daughter had other leftovers from the freezer…

It was tasty and enough for me considering all the snacks I had, but for a hungry diner, it needs some bulking up.

I’m heading to the gym again.  I plan to go 5 days a week and workout at home on the weekends.  Pretty soon, I might be able to call myself a GYM RAT!

ONE GOOD THING :  I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to the gym!!

Question of the Day:  Do you prefer working out in a gym, outdoors or at home?

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!

It’s All Greek To Me

I wanted to thank you all so much for your comments, encouragement and feedback with respect to my eating and trying to transition into being intuitive with it.  It is so helpful to hear about your experiences and I often think about your comments during the day to get me through some of the rougher moments.  I appreciate the time you take to read my babbling and comment.  I do read each comment and suggestion that each of you offers and I’m so,so grateful for your support!  Okay, before I get out the box of tissues, I’ll get on with the food =)

I lounged around in bed this morning with little daughter and caught up on some blog reading which took a lot longer than I planned on;  so many blogs, so little time!!!  Before I knew it, breakfast was calling my name.  I decided on 6 oz. Chobani nonfat  plain  Greek yogurt with 1 c. blueberries.  Now, if you’re not a fan of plain yogurt, I completely understand.  I used to eat it only if sweetened with Splenda.  Now, that I’ve weaned myself off Splenda, it’s definitely more palatable.  But, what made this really special this morning is taking 1/2 c. of the blueberries, put in a microwave safe bowl ( I used a Pyrex measuring cup) and nuke it for about 15-30 sec.  The berries burst and become a sweet syrup.  I poured it over the yogurt and topped it with the rest of the berries.  A-mazing…

I’ll have to try it with strawberries next!

And my new habit formed Teeccino…

Before I decided to slug out, I grabbed my kicks and headed to the basement.  The treadmill beckoned me and I said “screw the hip” and decided to run.  I told myself if I felt real pain, I would stop.  But, I only felt a little soreness, so I kept going and got in a good groove for 30 minutes.  I wanted to go longer, but decided not to push it.  Just in case, I followed my run with a “chaser”…

I planned ahead for lunch today by making some Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins from Kath’s site.  These are easy to make and store well in the fridge/freezer.  I made up a double batch and stored them, but left a couple out for lunch.  I paired them with a simple spring mix salad dressed with 2 tsp. evoo, 2 tsp. dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. honey and a splash of red wine vinegar…

a look inside…

I felt like more crunch, so I grabbed handful of pretzel slims (x3 – UGH!!!) * not out of hunger, more because once I started, it was hard to stop…

Later, I was getting a mild hunger pang and nibbled on 1/2  of this fabulous Larabar…

Dinner was pork and beans.  Not the typical, though!  This was a greek inspired instead of campfire inspired =)  I grilled a pork tenderloin that I seasoned with garlic, parsley, oregano, s + p and evoo and paired it with Greek Lima Beans and homemade tzatziki sauce (1 c. greek yogurt, 1 clove minced garlic, 1/2 grated cucumber, 1 tsp. white vinegar, fresh dill, s+p)…

Very flavorful and filling.

So, lesson learned today was that I need to push away from my plate after lunch and give myself time for my meal to settle in before digging into something else.  I realized that I wasn’t still hungry after eating my delicious lunch.  I was satisfied with the flavors and really enjoyed it.  But, something drives me to dig in the pantry after and I haven’t quite figured that part out yet.  I think if I remove myself from the kitchen area after my meal, it may reduce the craving to nosh.  I’m a work in progress… :)

Question of the Day:  What’s your favorite Greek food?

Have a great night!

Inspiration

I loved The Biggest Loser Finale last night!! All the contestants looked AMAZING; even Vicki who I could not stand! I am thrilled that Michelle won; she seems like a genuinely good person. She didn't play the game in a nasty way; she just worked hard and did it!! Awesome. They are all so inspiring. It makes me a little veklempt (sniff, sniff).



On to the food. This morning I did not feel like eating the same old stuff, so even though I need to get my rear in gear and out the door, I decided to make some egg muffins. These are inspired by Kath's Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelette Muffins which I have made before and are really good. I made a variation of these and came up with Egg, Cheese and Bacon Muffins .
Easy to make; freezer friendly and a great "grab and go" breakfast for 2 Points! I am going to try not to neglect my food groups today, so I had a clementine to go with it...




Hope you feel inspired to eat healthy today! That goes for me, too :)