Run, Forrest, Run!

With a morning like this…

you gotta Run, Forrest, Run!!!!

Even he had an “escort”.  See the resemblance…

Before heading out, I fueled up with some banana and 1 tbsp. homemade almond butter…

Looks kinda gross in this picture, but it was good!

Then I was off to the trail to pound the pavement.  I knew right from the start that it was going to be a good run.  My breathing synced up right away and I was able to get in a nice groove mainly because I brought my “old school” headphones and didn’t have to fiddle with my ear buds the whole time…

Excuse the bug-eye glasses and Bride of Frankenstein hair.  Scary.

I planned on doing 3 miles, but since my run was going so well, I wanted to see if I could make it to 4.  Answer:  hells to the yeah!  I can’t believe I did it!  I felt great!  I even felt like I could have done more, but didn’t want to be in a wheelchair later today, so I stopped at 4.  My longest run so far!  Coolness.

During my run, I observed some of the other runners as they sped by me like freight trains ran past me.  Did you ever notice that everyone has their own individual style of running?  Some seem to bounce, some run with their feet high off the ground like there are little wings on the back of their sneakers, others run without lifting their feet very high, but are fast as lightning.  Some run on their tippy toes and some run with a flatter foot. 

I thought about how I must look.  I’m definitely not light on my feet.  I have more of a clod, clod, stomp, stomp style similar to that of Godzilla crashing through a city….

Oh well.  Maybe one day, I’ll run like the wind!

I brought a dashboard breakfast (part 2) of light string cheese and Triscuits to get me through the rest of the morning…

After some errands and a good shower, I was ready for lunch.  I was in the mood for another tofu scramble.  In the mix…

• 1/2 block Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu
• 1 package of Green Giant Immune Blend Veggies
• 1/4 cup of Galaxy Nutritionals Veggie Shreds

Very delicious!  I’ve had some questions about this, so just to clarify, there are no eggs in the scramble.  I crumble the tofu and brown it before adding the veggies, so it looks and has the consistency of a scrambled egg.  It was a huge serving and filled me up for the afternoon!

I was looking forward to dinner – Philly Cheesesteaks and sweet potato fries!  I decided to make my cheesesteak into a wrap using a Joseph’s Lavash Bread with sauteed peppers, romaine lettuce, pickles, ketchup, 2% cheese and 2 slices of Landis sliced sirloin steaks.  Messy, but good!  My sweet potato fries, on the other hand, went over to the dark side…

I lost track of them and they torched up in the oven.  Boo!  I was so excited for those, too :(  I ate a couple but they were too “blackened” for my taste.

I have quite a bit going on for the coming weekend, so I may be MIA.  I have been working hard on my new blog and hope to have everything up and running for Monday!!!  I’m really excited about it and hope you guys will like it, too!

ONE GOOD THING:  I ran 4 miles today!!!!  Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp…

Have a great day, everyone!

Fitting It All In

I can’t believe it’s December!!!  Holy moly!  I’m feeling a little wigged out about fitting in all the things I need to get done before Christmas.  It seems that everything is happening at once and the calendar is already looking jammed up!  Well, one thing I will fit in is fitness!  I made a promise to myself to keep my workout schedule and I’m stickin’ to it!

Before heading to the gym, I had a mini- breakfast of a string cheese and a few Triscuits…

Just enough to tie my over for my 35 minute run on the treadmill.  I tried out some intervals this run and I really liked it!  It took the pressure off keeping a steady fast pace and I liked being able to coordinate the pace with my music.  Fast songs = fast pace, slower songs= slower pace.  It was fun!

Breakfast part 2 was by the dashboard light…

After changing, it was off to Gram’s for a day of shopping.  She loves to shop and can outlast me any day!

I finally dragged her out talked her into leaving and headed back to my house for lunch.  I made a terrific tofu scramble…

In the mix…

• 1/2 block of Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu
• 3 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• a few onion slices
• 1/2 small red pepper, sliced
• handful baby spinach
• 1/4 cup Galaxy Nutritionals Veggie Shreds

Gram declined the tofu and went for a turkey sammie instead!  I’ll make a believer of her, yet!

I also took a few minutes to assemble dinner , since I knew the afternoon would be busy.  I saw a recipe on Kalyn’s Kitchen for Brown Rice Casserole and thought I would give it a try, knowing full well that this would not be welcomed with open mouths by the husband and daughters!  But, I decided to torture them anyway.

I baked it when I got home after little daughter’s dance class.  It looked and smelled delicious…to me…

Them…not so much.  I proceeded to rant about how I didn’t give a flying fig newton what they thought and they were going to eat this fabulous, healthy dish.  And I dished it out…

Okay, I know it doesn’t look pretty, but it was very tasty!  I even threw in some broccoli to make it a true one-dish meal.

Little daughter cried full blown tears at the sight.

The husband hates mushrooms and moved the stuff around to make it look like he ate some.  Okay, but he will eat kale chips???  Whatever.

Big daughter said, “Mom, this actually tastes good.”  She is the only one I love ;)

So, not the biggest hit, but I will keep trying to feed them healthy foods.  Hear that, family???  Yes, the torture will continue…

~~~

Brilliant Blogger :  I read a great post by Jack Sh*t today.  So motivational!  His posts are usually flat out hilarious, but every so often, he throws in one of these “serious” posts to really get you thinking.  What struck me was when he describes a conversation he had in the locker room after a workout – go check out his post for the whole story – but he replied to the person:

 “I didn’t leave a lot in the tank.”

And that’s how I approached my run at the gym.  I kept thinking “don’t leave anything in the tank;  give it your all.”  Result:  awesome workout!  Thanks, Jack!

Oh, I almost forgot… the winner of the Campbell’s Soup Giveaway is  Denise!

I have a couple of favorite soups - creamy tomato, taco soup and butternut squash. Yummy!

Denise, please send me your address and I’ll forward it to the Campbell’s rep:)

If you’re not too sick of me, go check out my guest post on Melissa’s blog – www.abetterbagofgroceries.com  -and see how I tried out the NuVal nutritional scoring system!  Fun!

Have a great day, everyone!

Running On Empty

This was one of those days when I was running from morning to night!  It started with an early dentist appointment, so I had to eat a quick breakfast.  I decided on a Banana Nut Vitatop…

 

I really like these…

Can you believe I ate it without any topping??? 

Then brushed, flossed and headed to the dentist.  Which I hate.  But, ya gotta do it.  Thankfully, it was just a cleaning and I got out of there unscathed!  Until January, when the drilling will commence :(

I stopped home to pick up my BFF…

 

 

then made a pit stop at Grams’ house to say “hi” and off again to little daughter’s school to help with a book fair.  By this time, I was starving!  I couldn’t wait to get home for lunch, but it had to wait until after my 3 mile run.  Boo! 

I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it through the run without any food in my stomach, so I had a few bites of banana…

 

That’s about all I can handle before a run.  I can’t run with a full stomach or even a half full one, but a few bites seems to be okay. 

It was perfect weather for an outdoor run – sunny and 60 degrees!  I took advantage of it and did my run in my hilly neighborhood.  The first mile was a little shaky;  I haven’t done hills in a while, but I took my time, kept my breathing even and managed to crank it all out!

I felt really good when I was done.  And really ready to eat!!  It was a great opportunity to try out one of the Bean and Rice Burritos from the freezer.   My heating instructions…

• loosely wrap frozen burrito in a slightly damp paper towel
• place in microwave on defrost for 2 minutes
• after slightly defrosted, microwave on high for 2-3 minutes
• let stand for 1 minute or you will burn the bejesus out of your mouth

I served it with a Fuji apple butt…     :D

So hearty and filling;  I almost couldn’t finish the whole thing…almost…

I barely finished my last bite before I was out the door again to pick up the daughters for afterschool activities which lasted until dinner time.

I wasn’t super hungry, so I fixed dinner for the family and waited a bit until I figured out what to eat.  I finally opted for a Tofu Scramble using up some of the leftovers in the fridge.  In the mix…

• 1/2 package Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu
• diced red onion
• 3 baby carrots, sliced
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/4 cup black beans

I came across this cheese in the natural foods section of Giant Supermarket and thought I’d add it to the mix (to practice for Vegan for a Day!)…

One word – funky.

I ended up adding an ounce of 2% cheese which made it all taste delicious :)

Served with a toasted whole wheat pita for crunch…

I thought I might have some dessert tonight, but ended up ditching that idea since I was full.  I even had to dig into the box of Cheez-its for big daughter’s snack and didn’t feel the need to dive head first into the box!  As if I would fit  ;P

ONE GOOD THING:  I felt really good about how I approached my food today.  Even though breakfast was on the light side, I didn’t use that as an excuse to overeat later in the day.  I felt more in touch with my body and my hunger cues today.  Honestly, I’ve been struggling with it for the past few weeks (more to come on that – I promise!), but today I tuned in!

Have a great day, everyone!

Random Question of the Day:  What have you done today to make you feel proud?

An Okay Day

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and prayers for my friend; it really means a lot. I'm still kinda wishy washy and bummed out today, so I wasn't up for any heavy duty workout this morning. I decided to just do a walk on the treadmill at a medium pace. I did 46 minutes while watching some morning shows and burned up a whopping 265 calories. I think I'm gonna stop wearing my friggin HRM; it's getting on my nerves. I liked it better when I "thought" I was burning more calories than I really am ;P


I wasn't feelin my cereal bowl this morning, so I went with a tofu scramble. Nothing too fancy, just a serving of Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu, baby spinach and a slice of 2% cheese. I forget how much I love these scrambles when I haven't had them in a while. To go with it, I had a whole wheat english muffin with some I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray. A hearty 4 POINT breakfast...



After some home schooling of the daughters ( yes, I'm a meanie that makes them do math facts in the summer and God Bless you home school moms who do this on a regular basis cuz lord knows I couldn't -lol!), I made a twist on an old school favorite - PB&J. I swapped out peanut butter for 1 tbsp. homemade almond butter and served it on organic spelt bread. AB&J rocks!
I served it with the last of the soy crisps, last of the mini edamame crackers(came to a half serving each) and a super sweet fuji apple. It was one great 7 POINT lunch...

The daughters and I spent the afternoon at the pet store buying new hermit crabs (ugh) and made a quick stop at TJ's. I almost made it through snack time without incident, however I broke out the pita chips that I bought at TJ's and snagged a couple handfuls. Incidently, they are called "reduced guilt" pita chips (sorry no pic). How apropos :)


Dinner was a new recipe to try from Gina's awesome recipe blog called Sofrito Chicken Stew. It was easy and amazing. A thumbs up from the husband and daughters! The husband even said , "Hon, this is really good. Definitely make this again and don't do anything different to it." Fine. Squash my creativity! He knows I like to "tweak" and it scares him-lol! Anyway, I served this superb creation of Gina's with orzo(instead of rice) and some broccoli. A delish 8 POINT meal...

I was pretty full and my stomach has kind of a dull ache, so no dessert for me tonight. I'm sure I'll make up for it another day ;) All in all, it was an okay eating day.

Have a great night everyone!

Oh and I always forget to share these at the end of my posts, but I caught myself just in time! Danica is having an awesome HOLEY DONUTS giveaway. Yes, I said HOLEY DONUTS!!! Go on over and give her your best creative comment!

Going Bananas Morning And Night

I continued my sunglass wearing conduct today in protest of the weather. It is just gray and dismal with scattered showers and it's getting on my nerves! More rain is called for tomorrow. When, oh when will it end??!!!


Before getting little daughter off to school, I had a quick breakfast. I broke out a Banana Nut Vitatop, heated it in the micro for 20 seconds and topped it with PB2 for 2 POINTS! Oh my greatness...


I found these Banana Nut Vitatops to be very moist. I was surprised at the amount of chopped walnuts on it, too. The only critique I would have is that I think the banana flavor is lacking a bit. More like a hint of banana, not a strong banana flavor. Still an excellent muffin for calories/POINTS.

After school drop-off, I headed to Starbucks to meet up with my good friend, Rosie. HI ROSIE!!!!! We don't get to see each other as often as we would like, so it was nice to catch up. She is such a wonderful person, inside and out! While chatting it up, I had a Tall Caramel Light Frappuccino -no whip for 2 POINTS...


I have to say that these fraps are awesome! I kind of feel that they are too good to be true in the calorie department. I guess the scale will tell!

After Starbucks, I decided to ignore the crappo weather and went for a run at the nearby trail. It was terrific! I ran for 45 minutes and I was in one of those moods that I felt like I just wanted to keep going and going. But, I had some errand to get done, so I called it quits after that and ended with 30 tricep dips using the picnic table. Then came the pain. My left hip gets sore sometimes after I run. Anyone have this happen or know why this happens?? I thought since my hip is attached to my big fat butt that jiggles around the entire time I run that it just may be the way my hip protests to this torturous activity. I know, not very scientific, but definitely a viable explanation ;)


When I got home, I tried this new SoBe Lifewater...

I saw this a while ago on someone's blog; I think it may have been either Kelly's or Connie's - sorry I don't remember! I really liked it. I tried the fuji apple pear flavor and it was a delicious 0 Points!

For lunch, I went with a Health is Wealth Chicken Free Patty in a Weight Watchers Pita with shredded lettuce, tomato and a slice of 2 % cheese. Some soy crisps and carrots rounded out this tasty 6 POINT lunch...




I didn't plan on an afternoon snack, but ended up nibbling on some cantaloupe and pineapple while I was cutting and prepping them(no pic). At least it was a healthy 2 POINT snack!



I haven't been very creative for dinner lately. I decided to try to use up all the veggies I have in the fridge and settled on another tofu scramble. This mix was...

• 1/2 block Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu
• 2 tbsp. chopped red onion
• 1/4 c. chopped red pepper
• 1 c. sliced mushrooms
• 1/8 c. chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 c. baby spinach
• 2 tbsp. salsa
• garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

And to spice it up, a slice of this...

A ginormous one dish meal with an Easy Roll for 6 POINTS...

Later, I went with this for dessert...

So good! A mix of chocolate, strawberry and banana froyo! A serving is 1/2 cup (68 gr.) for 2 POINTS...

Another good eating day in the bag! So far so good. I just keep thinking....GOAL! I'm ready for it, now :D

Just another reminder - there's still time to enter my cool DogToys Giveaway! You can click HERE to enter! C'mon, your pooch really wants those goodies!

Have a great night everyone!!!!

Sunday Around The House

I love lazy Sunday mornings. We had no where to be today, so I slept in until 7:30 but didn't get out of bed until 8:30! Love it! I worked on things around the house and helped the husband clean out the garage. I finally got around to eating breakfast around 11. I toasted up 2 slices of TJ's Sprouted Flourless Wheatberry Bread and topped it with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light for 3 POINTS...


A while after breakfast, I did The Shred for my workout. I haven't done it in quite a while, so I went with Level 1. Totally kicked my butt. I forgot how hard it was! I upped my weights and used 5 pounders and my arms were burning. I even had to stop a time or two! I have gotten all pansy-ish again! Jil would not be happy ;P

After that workout, I deserved a nice big lunch! I decided on a tofu scramble. Are you tired of hearing me rave about these??? I can't help it; they are so good! Really! Tofu can be yummy :) This scramble was made with 1/2 block of Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu, red onion, sliced button mushrooms, baby spinach, roasted peppers and a slice of 2 % cheese. I crumble and brown the tofu first, in nonstick cooking spray, then add the remaining ingredients and cook through. Couldn't be easier or more delicious. Using the lite tofu makes this really low POINTS. The entire block comes to 5 POINTS; I count half as 3 POINTS. The veggies are zero and the addition of the cheese is 1 POINT. So, this giant serving comes to 4 POINTS! So awesome! I had room to add a serving of Triscuits for 2 POINTS and some grapes for 1 POINT. This was one filling 7 POINT meal...

Later in the afternoon, I broke out the popcorn for everyone to snack on. I always forget about this. It is a great volume 1 POINT snack...

Dinner was a Salmon Roulette, Gram's green beans and 1/2 c. brown rice. A quick tip for brown rice- boil it like pasta! I know that sounds strange and not the traditional way to make rice, but if you just put your desired amount of brown rice in a pot of boiling water for about 30-40 minutes, then drain it; it comes out perfect, fluffy and with a great texture! It got 2 thumbs up from the family. A nice, healthy 8 POINT meal...

Okay, now for the dessert. I ditched the Vitahearts and tried out my Chocolate Espresso Glaze on a Deep Chocolate Vitatop...

SCORE!!!! This was so amazing! Rich, chocolatey and very decadent-tasting! And only 1 POINT! You'll be seeing this a lot :D

I'm clocking out early tonight. I have my friend's Dad's funeral in the morning and I know it's gonna be a tough day, so I'm going to get some extra rest. But, come back tomorrow night for a really FUN giveaway!!! Have a great night!

Sunshine, Shopping And Sweets

I am diggin' this weather. Something about the warm sunshine really makes me happy! I planned on getting out for a walk this morning, but since I had to do a catch up post, I didn't make it out. I did a weighted treadmill walk instead. I tried to get my heart rate going by really pumping my arms. Boy, that works!

After my workout, I had a Weight Watchers Petite Bagel with 1 tbsp. homemade almond butter and a side of cantaloupe for 4 POINTS...




For lunch, I went with a yummy tofu scramble. This mix was 3 oz. tofu, red onion, mushrooms, spinach, roasted peppers, salsa and 2% cheese. Mmm.. my mouth is watering just writing about it! Seriously, it's that good! I had side of Triscuits for a salty crunch. A super filling 7 POINT lunch...


I went out to do a little shopping after lunch. I am in need of some summer clothes, mainly shirts. I tried on a few things and am still in amazement at the fact that I now wear a size M shirt. Comfortably. I can even get away with a Small here and there. In my mind, I still see myself as that 2x girl! Note to self: work on body image, girl!

When the daughters came home from school, I had a snack of lite string cheese, pretzel rod and clementine for 2 POINTS...

I felt like having something sweet after that. The munchies were gearing up for a visit. I decided to break out some armor...Arizona Pomegranate Green Iced Tea...

This tea comes in individual tubs that you mix with water. Each tub makes 2 Quarts. It is sugar free but, sweetened with Splenda. It is really good and helped kick the sweet munchies to the curb...

Dinner was low key tonight. The husband was traveling, so the daughters had free choice for dinner. They chose mac n chreeze (it's made with nutritional yeast instead of cheese), paninis and fruit. I decided on a panini and this new soup I picked up at my second home...

Sorry for the blurry pic! One cup serving is 1 POINT. This is a bit high in the sodium department, but has a ton of potassium!

I have to say that this soup is yuck -e. I think it is basically V-8 juice in a carton. I hate V-8 juice. Badly. Eeew. Gross. Okay, sorry. However, if you are a V-8 fan what is wrong with you? , you will definitely like this =)

Thankfully, my panini was the redeeming part of my meal. I made a ham and smoked gouda panini using 2 slices Trader Joe's Sprouted Flourless Wheatberry Bread, 2 oz. ham, 1/2 oz. lite smoked gouda, baby spinach and dijonnaise. A good 4 POINT dinner ( minus yucky soup)...

I had plenty of room for dessert and decided to conjure up a cake recipe using some overripe bananas that I had. I came up with a Chocolate Banana Cake with Cocoa Glaze. Basically, I used my whole grain Banana Bread recipe replacing the chocolate chips with unsweetened cocoa. When the "cake" was cooled, I drizzled it with a glaze made with 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa, 2 tbsp. powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder and 1 tbsp. water. Here's the result...

I played around with the amounts of the ingredients so as to keep it to 2 POINTS per serving(I run everything through my Weight Watchers Etools Recipe Builder). Even with the glaze, I was able to accomplish that. Here's the recipe, if you'd like to give it a try...

Chocolate Banana Cake with Cocoa Glaze
(8 servings)

• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. Splenda
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (such as Hershey's)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 4 tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 medium bananas, very ripe, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix mashed bananas, applesauce, vanilla and egg in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients until well combined. Spread batter into a 8" square baking pan sprayed well with nonstick spray. Bake for 20 -25 minutes. Let cool completely before adding glaze.

For the Cocoa Glaze, whisk together 1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tbsp. powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp. instant espresso powder and 1 tbsp. water. Drizzle over cooled cake.

You can have your cake and eat it, too - even with a little lite whip ...

Have a sweet night ;)