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?

Make It Quick

I’ve been so rushed in the morning!  I don’t know why I can’t get in a better groove;  maybe it’s the waking up in the dark that’s throwing me off!  I got the daughters ready for school and made up my breakfast before running out the door.  I was excited to try this Banana Oat Smoothie that I found on the Clean Eating Club site.  I put all the ingredients in the blender with a few ice cubes and whizzed it up.  I substituted Chobani nonfat plain Greek yogurt for an extra protein boost, too.  I poured it in my to-go bottle and hurried out the door…

I wasn’t sure how the oats would taste in this, but it was great!  I really liked it!  It was filling but not too heavy to workout after drinking it.  I can see having this often on rushed mornings!

I headed to the gym and watched my boyfriend, Dr. Oz while on the recumbent bike.  I wasn’t loving that bike so much.  I didn’t feel like it was doing much, so I got off after 30 minutes and hopped on the treadmill for another 25 minutes.  I’m learning how to work all the bells and whistles of the machines and I fooled with the incline to pump it up to 8% – I think.  It was up there;  I felt like I was walking uphill for sure!  I finished up with 20 minutes of upper body and abs weight work.  I love doing the flab ab stuff.

After home and showered, I realized it was time for lunch.  My stomach was finally growling;  that smoothie really held me over!  But, once I became hungry, I was HUNGRY and needed something quick.  I heated up a Cuban Black Bean Patty from the freezer (they froze so well!), topped it with avocado slices and placed it on a Pepperidge Farms Deli Flat. 

I went with a half serving of Kettle Brand Baked Barbeque Potato Chips and a ripe pear on the side…

For “dessert”, I had a calcium chew!  My sneaky way of getting some chocolate!

The rest of my afternoon was spent in the car taking the daughters to and fro and settling at 2 hours of dance class.  I remembered to bring a car snack, so that I wouldn’t be starved by dinner…

still “noshy” , so I had this Clif Mini Bar, too…

That did the trick.  When we got home for dinner, I wasn’t famished and looking to munch.  Dinner was easy;  I picked up fried chicken at the grocery store for the husband and daughters!  They were thrilled, especially after seeing what I was having – Salmon Roulette, leftover grilled sweet potato (yep, that’s the last of it!) and salad…

I ended the night with a cuppa Teeccino while folding laundry, “tweeting” and watching The Biggest Loser (what is UP with Jillian and her screaming??!!  It’s more than ever!)!  How’s that for multi-tasking?!

Hope you all had a great day!

ONE GOOD THING:  I made a cup of Teeccino after dinner instead of dishing out some dessert.  It satisfied me and I didn’t “look” for anything else.

Question of The Day:  What did you think of  The Biggest Loser last night?

The Power of Suggestion

I woke up to yuck!  It was stormy, pouring, windy, chilly and just plain nasty!  When did winter get here?  It was just summer last week!  Hoping this doesn’t stick around :(  Anywho, I got the daughters ready for school and tried out another Yogurt Bowl:  Pineapple Coconut.  I topped Chobani nonfat plain yogurt with 1/2 c. crushed canned pineapple (in its own juice) and a sprinkle of shredded coconut…

This was not my favorite, either.  I was hoping for a pina colada taste to it, but it was a little too bland.  Maybe it was missing a cherry on top, or a little drink umbrella, or…rum :oD  But, drinking , driving and going to the gym don’t mix, so I just made due.

After kicking everyone out sending everyone off with hugs and kisses, I headed to the gym.  I got on the elliptical for 35 minutes while chatting with my friend, Coleen. We went our separate ways and  I ran (I know I shouldn’t have) and walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes, then did a 20 minute upper body workout – chest and arms.  Something about that environment really fuels me!  Kinda like “we’re all in this together” to quote that ever-annoying High School Musical song:)  Maybe, it’s the newness of the whole gym thing for me, so I’m thinking this might wear off, but I’ll ride it while it’s here!

I wasn’t too hungry when lunch rolled around, but knew I’d be out all afternoon and didn’t want to get caught with the munchies.  The weather of the day dictated a Soup and Sandwich kind of meal.  I decided on one of my favorite canned soups from Trader Joe’s…

And I was inspired by Andrea’s awesome grilled cheese, so I made a grilled cheese to go with it using Seven Grain Bread, asiago cheese and some diced ham.  I had some leftover  grilled sweet potatoes on the side, too…

Chunky and cheesy…like me :)

It was the perfect rainy day filling lunch to get me through and afternoon of shopping with Mom and Gram!  They are great shoppers;  I, however, do not love it so much, but I needed some non-schlocky, stain free, rip free, not 3 sizes too big gym clothes, so I bucked up and met them at Marshalls/Home Goods.  I scored some good clearance deals in the active wear department and got some serving bowls on clearance, too…

All four bowls for $20!  My Mom also found me a cool picture for my kitchen at a great price, so with deals galore, it was worth the trip!

Once home, the daughters came in from school and snack time was here.  Per your suggestions in response to my “GINORMOUS bag of blueberries” dilemma, I decided to make a Blueberry Tofu Smoothie.  Tofu, you ask?  I know you are saying that you did not suggest tofu, but I bought this new Nasoya Silken Creations Vanilla flavored Tofu and thought it might be a good addition…

I used 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup Nasoya Silken Creations Vanilla and 1/2 cup water and blended away.  I split it with little daughter;  we both really liked it…

It wasn’t enough though.  For some reason, I was craving “crunch”, so I grabbed a handful of Cheez-Its, but put them in a bowl to remind myself that this “is” a snack, not just mindless nibbling…

That was better and held me over nicely until dinner.  Pizza was on the menu, but I decided on something else for myself.  I made “Seafood Scallops” with Spinach and Beans.  This was inspired by a Cooking Light recipe for Seared Scallops with Warm Tuscan Beans.  For my version, I used…

• 1 Trader Joe’s Seafood Sausage, defrosted and sliced in 1/2” pieces
• 2 tsp. evoo
• 2 tbsp. minced shallots
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. dry white wine
• 1/4 c. fat free chicken broth
• 2-3 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 1/3 c. cannellini beans

This was a quick dish.  I pan-seared the sausage slices in the evoo; added the shallots and garlic and sauteed for a minute or two;  added the wine, broth and spinach.  Let that simmer for 2 minutes until the spinach wilts and added the beans to warm through.  Viola!  I added s+p to taste and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper…

I put it in one of my new bowl to make it seem “restaurant style”…

After dinner, the soreness came.  Big Time!  I think I overdid it at the gym.  My hip is really sore and throbbing a little.  I know I need to get it checked out .  My big fat babyness / I’m a chicken laziness is holding me back from getting around to it.  I popped some Advil and I think I will take a day off this weekend from exercise.  Ah, the horror!  The guilt will kill me, but I think it’s necessary.  Okay, I’ve blabbed your eyes off long enough, so I’ll leave you with a…

Question of the Day:  Do you take a day off from exercise?

ONE GOOD THING:  I made my snack “official” by putting it in a bowl instead of chomping out of the bag!

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Dodging Disasters

Morning came fast!  My head hit the pillow and before I knew it, it was time to get up, even though it was still dark outside at 6 a.m. –Boo:(  I got up and dressed in my “gym clothes” to prepare for Day 2 of my new gym experience ;)

First, I ate my power Yogurt Bowl breakfast:  Chobani nonfat plain yogurt, 1 c. blueberries, sprinkle of Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal …

Sadly, I was disappointed in this one.  I decided to try it using organic frozen wild blueberries and while they made a nice “syrup” when I microwaved them, they weren’t very sweet or flavorful at all.  Ugh.  Now, I need to find something to do with the GINORMOUS bag of them that I bought at BJ’s Wholesale.  Any suggestions??

After my lackluster breakfast, it was off to the gym again.  I hit the elliptical for 50 minutes and did a 15 minute lower body weight workout with a few ab sets thrown in at the end.  What I’m liking about the gym is I am extending my workout time without it seeming like it;  it’s fun to be exercising with others and goes by so much quicker than when I’m in my dreary old basement :)

I couldn’t wait to get to lunchtime!  I was craving eggs, so I put together a “kitchen sink” scramble.  Every leftover veggie in the fridge went in there:  spinach, broccoli, red pepper and red onion.  I also threw in some diced ham and 2% cheese…

It was perfect with a small slice of Seven Grain Bread…

After lunch, I was able to get a little house cleaning done.  My list  of “to do’s” is a mile long with things I want to get accomplished before the holidays and I’m stinking with time management, lately.  I have to get better at being more efficient!

School let out and snack time was imminent.  Even though I wasn’t very hungry, I decided to eat to avoid the potential for disaster!  I opted to snack smart with an apple and PB2 which I ended up sharing some of with little daughter…

 

This snack worked out well in holding me over until dinner.  Yay, no disaster!!!

I had a nice, healthy dinner planned of barbequed pork chops, grilled sweet potatoes and salad.  Faces were made by the daughters.  Faces were made back by me.  Everyone ate…or else ;P  

Thankfully, to save them from this horrendous dinner, I made these dinner rolls that I was obsessed with making after seeing them on Zesty’s blog.  I did fool with the recipe by using half whole wheat flour.  They didn’t look as professional as Zesty’s, but tasted great!

I picked on a few more pieces, then packed them up to dodge that potential for disaster! Whew!

Hope you have a Happy Friday!!

ONE GOOD THING: I made it through after-school snack time with just a healthy snack and no other munching!!

All In The Family

I woke up this morning with running on my mind. Before the feeling left me, I quickly put on my sneakers and headed to the treadmill. Since, I woke up with the desire, I thought it would be a great run, but it wasn't so hot. I felt a little weak and it took me a good 20 minutes to get in a groove where I felt strong and steady. Weird. But, I toughed it out for 40 minutes, then did a few reps of leg exercises. Then, I hit the kitchen for a red, fiber and blue! A pretty 3 POINT bowl...


The daughters and I hit the library for some books and movies, then came home to make lunch. Nothing was exciting me today. In an effort to use up some leftovers, I decided to make a tasting plate including leftover sweet potatoes, carrots and a "deconstructed sandwich" of turkey slices and a cut-up Arnold Sandwich Thin. I added a bit of Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard in the middle for dipping. Carrots and dijon are a surprisingly good combo! Altogether, a very filling 5 POINT lunch...

While playing some board games and doing crafts with the daughters, I had a handful of Goldfish crackers... then, about 3 more handfuls...Pfft!

I had an easy pizza dinner planned for tonight. The husband and daughters had regular pizza because they would never touch a pizza with a vegetable on it! I decided to make a flatbread pizza for myself. With a vegetable on it!

This is the easiest flatbread pizza dough to make...

Quick Flatbread Dough

(from The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great by Pam Anderson)

1 c. bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1/2 tsp. teaspoon 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 flour mixture; process to form a soft dough ball. If dough is too stiff, process in another tablespoon of 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. Working with one quarter at a time, roll dough out to about a 12 x4 inch rectangle, dusting with flour and turning as necessary to keep it from sticking. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Place flatbreads on the sheet, top and bake at 425 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

Makes 4 flatbreads pizza crusts(110 calories per crust)

So easy! Literally took me 5 minutes to put together. I decided to cut the dough in half and make two flatbread crusts instead of 4 (so 220 calories per crust). I topped them with 1/4 c. chopped sundried tomatoes(in oil), shredded baby spinach and one got 1 oz. asiago cheese...

and the other got 1 oz. goat cheese...

To go with it, I made Barbeque Bean Salad ( click HERE for recipe). I cut each pizza into 4 pieces. I had 2 pieces with asiago and 1 piece with goat cheese. Both were equally delicious! These would make a great party appetizer. It was an awesome 10 POINT dinner...

The husband even tried a piece of the goat cheese one and didn't die! Yippee ;P

I felt pretty full, but dessert called my name later on. I ended up eating a Weight Watchers Chocolate Fudge Sundae Cone for 2 POINTS....

This was not my favorite. The ice cream was lacking flavor compared to the Breyers Fat Free Double Churn Ice Cream that I usually buy. The sugar cone was good, but I probably won't buy these again.

I'm off to pack. We're heading to the beach again for the weekend! So excited to ride my bike again!! And because my Gram thinks I'm obsessed with the computer, I decided not to bring it with me this weekend. So, I won't be blogging this weekend so that I can focus ALL my attention on my family and Gram! She might want me to bring my computer again after this weekend - LOL!!!! I'll see you Sun. night for a recap.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Happy 4th and Happy belated Canada Day to my Canadian peeps!

Catch Up

It's been a day of playing catch-up. I woke up at my 6:30 a.m. "Florida exercise time" -ugh! I spent a few minutes blog reading(still not caught up - you all have been so busy!!), then geared up for a workout. It never happened though because the rations were low, so I needed to head out to grocery shop instead. My shopping list was a mile long with veggies and fruits. I am craving them like crazy and would have bought every fruit and veg in the store! Who knew a week of staring at chicken nuggets, fries and hot dogs would cause such PMS-ish cravings!

Along with my produce desires, I was really missing Ezekiel english muffins. Thankfully, I had one lonely Cinnamon Raisin guy left in the freezer. I did a quick toast and topped with 1 tbsp. lite cream cheese for a yummy 3 POINT breakfast before the grocery shopping marathon...


Another item on my list was greek yogurt. The lovely folks at Stonyfield Farm sent me some coupons to try out their Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt (thanks, Kristina!) and I was really looking forward to tasting it. I was able to find 2 flavors of nonfat - Vanilla and Blueberry. I decided to have the Vanilla for lunch today...


This 5.3 oz. container has 110 calories, 0 fat and hello--15 gr. protein!!!! The ingredients are all natural, organic and contain no artificial sweeteners. As I was scooping it into a bowl, I noticed it had a rich and creamy consistency unlike the nonfat yogurt that I usually buy. I topped it with some beautiful strawberries and 1/4 c. Grape Nuts cereal for an "unusual-for -me "4 POINT lunch...

This was so rich and filling! I loved the consistency of the yogurt; even though it was nonfat, it had a "full fat" feel to it. It wasn't very sweet tasting and I didn't pick up much of the Vanilla flavor, so this was a very different yogurt experience from the artificially flavored type that I have become accustomed to. Overall, I really liked it! I am excited to try the Blueberry flavor to see if there is a bit more sweetness to that. I don't normally think of yogurt as a "meal", but this was so filling that I was good to go until way late in the afternoon! Can't say that about my other yogurts :)

After lunch, I headed to Trader Joe's for the remainder of my list. I also got a million and one things that weren't on my list! That store is just impossible to get out of without finding a bunch of yummy new items. One thing that caught my eye was this...

I love Tabbouli! My mom first introduced me to it; she used to make it and I always enjoyed it, especially with pitas! I had 2/3 c. (3 POINTS) for a snack today with TJ's flax and honey flatbreads (1 POINT). So delish...

I finally got everything put away and prepped some veggies just in time to make dinner! No Friday night pizza; the husband and daughters ordered it last night when we got home from the airport, so I made Philly Cheesesteaks and Fries. I decided to make mine into a wrap using a La Tortilla Factory Smart and Delicious Tortilla, 1 Landis sliced Beef Sirloin Sandwich Steak, slice 2 % cheese, sauteed mushrooms, onions, a squirt of ketchup and a couple pickles. Instead of regular fries, I nuked a 7 oz. sweet potato for a couple of minutes, then diced and pan-fried them in 1 tsp. olive oil. An awesome 8 POINT dinner...

I did have a couple of chocolate covered almonds for dessert but forgot to take a pic - oops! I am out of practice!!!! A week off will do that to ya!

So glad to be back!

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!

Like Butta

Spring is on its way! I can feel it! I love when the sun is shining in the morning; the first thing I think of is going for a run outside. I decided to wait to get the daughters off to school (so much for my early routine!) then headed out. I only ran for 30 min. because I had to get myself ready to meet up with Mom and Gram later. But, it was a glorious 30 min. of Vitamin D!! I am going to try to run everday this week. Did anyone catch Laura on the Biggest Loser last night saying that if you want to lose weight, Jillian would say to do a lot of running??? That's all I needed to hear! I'm on it Jil :)

After my run, I had a lovely breakfast of whole wheat raisin soda bread and an apple with 1 tbsp. homemade almond butter. LOVE this! The husband and big daughter are diggin the almond butter, too. I have to make more! A pleasing 4 POINT breakfast...

I went to meet up with the ladies for some shopping. We stopped for a quick lunch at Chick-fil-A. I had the Southwestern Chargrilled Chicken Salad with fat free Honey Mustard Dressing. It also came with a packet of honey roasted sunflower seeds and tortilla strips. I used half the dressing and half of the seed and tortilla packets. It was a surprisingly filling 7 POINT lunch...

I got the daughters from school and headed home for munch time!!! This is always my worst time of day - remember Pavlov's dogs???!!! I got smart today and remembered a great filling and voluminous snack - POPCORN! Duh, I don't know why I don't have this more often! It's a great munchie snack and low POINT. I have the Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop 100 calorie bags of both the regular and kettle corn flavor. I opted for the kettle corn and fancied it up even more by making it Chocolate Cinnamon Popcorn! I mixed a 4 serving box of sugar free, fat free Jello Chocolate Pudding with 2 tsp. ground cinnamon. After microwaving the popcorn bag, I sprayed the popcorn with cooking spray and sprinkled on a couple tbsp. of the chocolate cinnamon mix. Yummy 2 POINT snack...

I got another trampoline workout with the daughters and then, "prepared" dinner. I use that term loosely because I mainly heated up a bunch of leftover items in the fridge and freezer! I had a 3 oz. baked chicken tender, 7 0z. (total) of sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes and 2 measly broccoli florets. Part way through my dinner, I squirted some ketchup on my sweet potatoes - where has that been all my life!!!! That was soooo good! A delightful 7 POINT dinner...

And for dessert...nada. Well, that's not entirely true. I made some more almond butter and took a spoonful to "taste test". I am loving this stuff and so is the family! So, that was my 2 POINT dessert. I'm thinking about doing either an afternoon snack or a dessert, but not both for this week. I'll see if that helps me out any in staying On Program and getting the scale moving in the right direction...

Have a good night!