You Spin Me Right Round

I can’t stop singing that dopey 80’s tune.  But, it pretty well describes my morning.  I was still having vertigo issues and the medicine I took the night before made me drowsy to boot.  I actually went back to bed for a bit in the morning, too.  Don’t like that feeling, but I had to do it.  Anyway, I finally felt decent enough to make breakfast.  I went with Chobani nonfat yogurt sweetened with NuStevia and topped with strawberry syrup, pomegranate arils and granola crumbs…

Really good!  I loved the crunchy addition of the pomegranate arils (aka seeds!).  This is the season for pomegranates and I picked one up at the supermarket the other day along with a cool brochure from the POM people with instructions on how to open one.  I have always just hacked away at it, but now I know the “proper way” to open this beautiful guy…

and you can, too…

It worked perfectly and I got many more arils, especially non-butchered ones, than when I just hacked away at it –LOL!

I slowly worked on some house cleaning, then realized that I was starving and ready for lunch.  When I’m like that, the first thing that jumps at me is what I choose.  Today, leftover pizza was the winner…

With some awesome cantaloupe and grapes.  Hmmm… I miss summer:(

I spent some time doing research on my vertigo diagnosis.  I love doing research (it’s the old paralegal in me) and I love the easy access to all info via the Internet.  It’s so easy to come up with questions for doctors when you have info at your fingertips!  Anywho, what I found was a bit disheartening.  Without getting into a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo, I basically found that there  is no specific, guaranteed  cause or treatment for Benign Positional Vertigo.  The general treatment is a series of exercises or maneuvers that the doctor performs to help move debris from your inner ear to a less sensitive place within your head.  Many of these exercises I can do as a home treatment.  So, I decided that I would try to do these and see if it would rectify the situation.  There is a decent success rate with doing these, however, BPV may reoccur.  But, I’m willing to try it so as not to have to take any medication (Antivert) which, oddly enough, has a side effect of possible dizziness!!!  Huh???  The disappointing part is that while doing these maneuvers, I have to be careful not to put myself in a position that’s counterproductive to moving the debris – no leaning too far back or flat, no bending over with head down, no sports activities involving lying flat (weight bench, yoga, pilates) or too much jostling of the head (RUNNING!!) and I need to sleep propped up on pillows for a bit.  For now, running is out.  Major bummer since I was all juiced up to start racking up my mileage :(  But, if I’m going to lead a “healthy” lifestyle, I have to do ALL the things needed to keep me healthy which includes paying attention to my body’s needs.  So, I may be benched for now, but hopefully not for long!

I felt a little frustrated after my research session and I took it out on myself by eating!!  Aaaah!  I made up some homemade almond butter…

and ate a whole lot of it!  Then I snacked on most of these guys…

and there may have been a few Cheez-Its involved, too.  Moving on…

I finished off the whole shebang with a hearty, carby bowl of Creamy Bowties with Asparagus…

made with Chavrie goat cheese, parmesan and a bit of milk.  YUM!

Have a great day, everyone!!!

Fridays Are For Dates + Pizza

I love Fridays!  I love them even more when the husband is off from work and the daughters have school.  Instant date time with no sitter required !  Our big date plan was to go for a walk together.  I know, we’re really wild and crazy ;P 

I made sure to get in some breakfast, but one that wouldn’t be too heavy.  Yogurt sounded good this morning, so I went with some plain nonfat Chobani with fresh strawberry “syrup”.  I topped it with some granola crumbs.  It was really good…

Because I was using the plain yogurt, I decided to sweeten it with a packet of NuNaturals NuStevia that I received a while back…

  Now, I have to say that in my quest to reduce the amount of artificial sweeteners (especially Splenda), I have tried stevia as a sweetener in my coffee/tea.  One word –blech.  I wanted to like it, but I couldn’t get past the bitter aftertaste.  The NuNaturals product claimed to be non-bitter, so I was interested to see if that was the case.  I used about half a packet in my yogurt this morning and it was great!  No strange aftertaste and just the right amount of sweetness.  I think with stevia, less is more and you do need to play around with the amounts to get the level of sweetness that you like.  For me, half the packet was perfect.  I’m looking forward to trying it out in some coffee or tea and see if it still holds the non-bitter claim.  Also, Ron at NuNaturals was kind enough to send me quite a few of their products to try out which included baking blends and extracts…

Might make for some good sugar-free holiday treats!  Thanks, Ron:)

After the daughters were off to school, the husband and I set out on our walking date.  With the dog :)  We walked at a good pace for about 50 minutes and 3.5 miles.  It was a beautiful morning!

On the way home, I had a craving for coffee, so we stopped for a small Pumpkin Latte Lite…

I can’t believe I’m saying this, buuuuut, I think this was better than Starbucks!  Gasp!

Lunch was a fiber powerhouse – Mixed Bean Melt and a pear the size of my head…

The Mixed Bean Melt…

• Joseph’s Lavash Bread 
• 1/2 c. pinto beans, mashed
• 1/4 c. chick peas, mashed
• 1 Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge
• handful of baby spinach – you know I put it in everything

Spread beans and cheese on one half of the Lavash.  Add spinach and fold over.  Spray skillet with nonstick spray.  Cook until browned on both sides and warmed through.

Very filling…

As always in this house, Fridays are pizza night!  I usually make our pizzas and alternate between making my own dough and using Trader Joe’s pre-made dough.  I have fooled around with my own dough recipe quite a bit, trying to tweak it and get it just right.  I’m always open to new recipes and when I saw Biz had a No Rise Pizza Dough that’s ready in 5 minutes, I jumped all over it!  I doubled the recipe to get two pizzas and actually ended up making 2 and a small one for me.  For my pizza, I used Trader Joe’s Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade for the sauce, added some baby bella mushrooms, Chavrie goat cheese and a tiny sprinkle of mozzarella…

It was fab!  I ate quite a bit of it along with a side salad of arugula dressed with evoo, red wine vinegar and a shaving of parmesan…

Now, that’s a pizza!

ONE GOOD THING:  I indulged in pizza tonight.  Guilt free.  That hasn’t happened in a loooooong time :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

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!

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?

Which Way Is Down???

I was back to my normal early morning workout today. I did 40 min. on the elliptical before getting little daughter off to school. I really like that routine; I'm not sure why I got away from it the past few weeks. It's so good to be done by 7:45 a.m. and ready to start the day!

I dreamed of almond butter last night! Crazy, right?? Food is always on the brain and, unfortunately, on my thighs, too :) I incorporated the dreamy homemade almond butter into my breakfast by topping a Weight Watcher's Petite Bagel with it. I had some sliced banana on the side (probably would have been good on top, too) for 4 POINTS...

I had a craving for flatbread pizza after seeing the delicious recipes in the book, The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great. I decided to try out the quick flatbread dough recipe which was so easy. I used a mix of whole wheat and bread dough to make these and they were terrific! They resemble a crispy tortilla, but a tiny bit thicker. I'll be making these and using them a lot. Here's the recipe so you can, too:

• 1 cup bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. warm water, plus extra if necessary
• 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Mix flour and salt in food processor. Mix water and oil and pour over the flour mixture; process to form a soft dough ball. If dough is too stiff, process in another tbsp. if warm water. Continue to process until dough is well kneaded, about 15 seconds. With floured hands, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into quarters (*I did three). Working with one quarter at a time, toll dough out to about a 12 by 4 inch rectangle, dusting with flour and turning as necessary to keep it from sticking. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a silicone mat. Top with favorite toppings and bake.

I rolled these out and prebaked them, that way I can have them ready made for instant pizza! Each flatbread is 2 POINTS if you get 4 breads and 3 POINTS if you get 3 breads. A great bargain!

I topped mine with 3 tbsp. of homemade pizza sauce, chopped red and green peppers, garlic thyme mushrooms and 1/3 c. Weight Watcher's Shredded Mozzarella then baked it at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Delish!!!!! The possibilities are endless for these! There are many amazing sounding combos in the book, too. I'm excited to try them all!

I had a bowl of berries on the side for a wonderful, filling 7 POINT lunch...

Isn't that yummy??!!!

I got in a little trampoline jumping with the daughters, then got a St. Patty's Day dinner going. I made flat cut corned beef (MUCH lower in calories and fat), roasted red potatoes, roasted broccoli and a whole wheat raisin soda bread. The soda bread was only 2 POINTS per slice and was a big hit with the husband and daughters!

My plate was 4 oz. corned beef, 4 oz. potatoes, 1 c. broccoli and a slice of soda bread for a 9 POINT feast...

I did have dessert tonight, even though I felt pretty full and probably should have skipped it. But, the strawberry sauce was "going bad" in the fridge and the angelfood cake was "getting stale" (*wink, wink), so I didn't let it go to waste...

This was still not a good On Program day. In the afternoon (before trampolining), I had a big spoonful of almond butter, some Cheez-Its and a macaroon. Don't know what to do about that. I'll keep trying; that's all I can do. Hopefully, I can rein this in before the scale takes off in the wrong direction on a regular basis. OH NO!!! STOP THE INSANITY!!! I don't want to go up...that is the ...

Time for Biggest Loser:)