To Stink Or Not To Stink

That was the question.  On my way to the gym in the morning, I remembered I forgot to put on deodorant!  I was more than halfway there and thought about turning back or trying to hit up the nearest supermarket, but I had limited time for my workout as I had to run a bazillion errands afterward.  Ugh.  My original plan was to set The Arc Trainer on fire, then do weights.  The Arc Trainer = sweatin’ and stinkin’ (if you didn’t wear deodorant!).  What to do, what to do?????  The real question should be why do I give a hoot, but I do and stinkin’ was not an option.   So my de-stinkified workout was…

• 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill
• hip strengthening workout (Tina has hip bursitis, too)
• lower-body circuit – leg curls, glutes, hip adductor and abductor
• ab crunches

It worked my legs good, I felt the burn and wasn’t stinky.  All is good :)

Breakfast was TJ’s High Fiber O’s with some Fiber One, strawberries and unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze…

I did stop home ,amidst the errands, and whipped up some lunch.  I was pretty hungry and ate a little earlier than normal, but I’m trying to eat when the hunger strikes!  Novel idea, huh?

Lunch was a wrap made with Joseph’s Lavash Bread, a few slices of turkey, Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedge, a tbsp. of cranberry sauce and spinach.  It was a winning combo!  The cranberry and Laughing Cow were great together!  I added some carrots for crunch and had at it…

I still felt a little hungry, so I had a blueberry Chobani…

Then, errands, errands, errands.  :(

I’m trying to choose more wholesome foods for my snacks instead of grabbing  junkier (Cheez-its!) things.  A pear and almonds fit the bill…

Dinner had to be quick and easy since we got home late from little daughter’s religion class.  Nothing quicker than boxed soup and grilled cheese!  I decided to try out the Campbell’s V-8 Garden Vegetable that was sent to me last week…

I paired it with grilled cheeses on sourdough.  I made mine with asiago, baby spinach and Trader Joe’s roasted  red pepper and artichoke tapenade …

This soup was fairly good.  It was thick and reminded me a lot of split pea soup in texture.  It had a nice amount of vegetables in it and overall, was a pretty hearty bowl.

~~~

Brilliant Blogger:  I’ve been  a lurker on Joan The Weight Pilot for quite a while.  She is a Weight Watchers Lifetime Member and has some of the most inspirational posts that I have ever read.  She  begins her posts with some amazing quote that always seem to speak to me at the moment.  Her post today was especially meaningful to me.  As I have been on this journey, I have realized that I don’t need to beat myself up for the indulgences or going off track.  Every GOOD choice that I make in a day is a step in the right direction.  I encourage you to read her whole post, but it ends with…

''the little things we do add up; the small steps become giant steps."

Thanks for the reminder, Joan!

In other blog new, my friend Krittie at Healthy Living, One Day at a Time  is having a cool American Express Gift Card Giveaway – be sure to check it out!

Have a great day, everyone!

One Year + My Favorites Giveaway

Today is the day!  One year ago, I decided I would start a blog.  I had lost quite a bit of weight and people often asked me what I was doing to lose the weight, how I was doing it, what I was eating and how often I exercised.  I thought that by starting a blog, I could keep myself accountable while on my journey toward my goal weight and also, show others that it is possible to eat well while losing.  Little did I know how much this blog would change my life.  I’ve learned so much about myself, my body and what I’m capable of.  It’s been a great experience, with ups and downs along the way and I wouldn’t trade a second of it!

I am so thankful to all of my family, friends and “blog friends” for reading my blog, giving me such wonderful feedback and support and sharing in this journey with me.  Each of you has spurred me on in times of frustration and gave me the motivation to keep trying…every day.  Thank you, thank you!

A quick recap of yesterday’s eats and then, we’ll get to the GIVEAWAY!!!

I’ve been having a hard time with breakfast, lately.  Nothing is exciting me.  Time to look for some new breakfast recipes, I guess!  I finally decided on a bowl of Trader Joe’s High Fiber O’s with skim milk and freeze dried blueberries.  It was great!

I headed over to my parents’ house to help them with some home improvement projects they are working on.  After getting dirty, my Dad and I took a lunch break.  I dug around their fridge and found a cool new product – Sonoma Jacks Cheese Wedges…

They look just like Laughing Cow …

But with even less calories!

I decided to use it as a topping for my Boca Burger and light english muffin.  Fab!  So was the honeycrisp apple and the Jenny Craig brownie that my Mom had stashed in the freezer.  If there’s a brownie to be found, I’ll find it ;)

I was able to fit in a quick stint at the gym while little daughter was at dance class.  I knocked out 30 minutes on The Arc Trainer and called it a sweaty day.

Dinner was another quick and easy meal- Shrimp Fajitas over Spelt Couscous.  This dinner took all of 15 minutes to make from start to finish…

• red and green bell peppers, sliced
• thinly sliced onion
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 9 jumbo frozen uncooked shrimp
• 1 tsp. taco seasoning
• 2 oz. whole spelt couscous, cooked (I used Shibolim brand )
• 2 tbsp. salsa

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onions and peppers in olive oil until tender.  Add frozen shrimp;  cook about 4 minutes each side or until shrimp turns pink.  Add taco seasoning and stir to coat.  Serve over cooked couscous mixed with salsa.  Serves one – of course, no one else in this house would eat it ;P

Okay….ready????

It’s no secret that many of the items I eat on a regular basis come from my favorite grocery store, Trader Joe’s.  I know it’s frustrating that many of you don’t have one near you, so I thought I’d bring a little Joe to you!  You don’t know how badly I would love to buy up the whole store for a giveaway, but I had to be reasonable and limit myself because I am opening this up to EVERYONE (yes, Canada peeps!) and I would probably spend a zillion dollars to ship it all!  Anyway, I was able to control myself and pick out some of my all time faves for you…

A better view…

All this for one lucky winner!  What will I make you do for a chance to win this??  Just leave a comment on this post telling me what you like best about my blog!  That’s it!  I’ll announce the winner on Monday, November 16.  If you don’t have a blog, please make sure to leave your email address in the comment so that I can contact you .  Good luck everyone!!! 

Thanks for reading and making this a great year!!!

Just Be Myself

Hey all!  Weekend go okay?  It was so nice here.  I had intended on going for a walk or maybe doing some Pilates as my “rest day” activity, but ended up doing NADA!  Oh well!  I have to say that my hip is thanking me for it.  I gave it a nice recoup time this weekend and it feels a lot better!  So instead of working out, I worked around the house cleaning and catching up on laundry. I worked up an appetite for breakfast and stopped for an old fave of Trader Joe’s High Fiber O’s, strawberries and skim milk…

More cleaning and laundry.  We live like pigs, I’ve decided.  Or maybe our dog is really disguised as a pig.  I don’t know, it was just a mess around here!

I finally got things in semi-order and settled in to make lunch.  I was craving a wrap, mainly because I found these cool new (to me) Joseph’s Lavash Bread (found them in BJ’s)…

They are huge!  A serving is a half, but with these great stats, eating a whole one is no biggie…

I made a basic turkey and asiago cheese with lettuce, tomato and dijon mustard and had a super sweet Fuji apple on the side “for dessert”…

I really wanted to have some time to sit this afternoon.  I’ve been thinking a lot lately that I don’t take time to “just be”.  Everything is so fast;  the day flies by and I have a million things in my head about what I should be doing, what I want to do, where I need to go, etc.  My mind is never quiet.  I’m feeling unfocused, maybe even a little unnerved because of it.  Even if it’s just 5 minutes to STOP.  BREATHE.  LISTEN.  That’s all I’m asking of myself.  Did I do it?  NO!  Too many distractions.  But, it’s a goal I have for this week!

My Mom, Dad and Gram came over later in the day to hang out and have Sunday dinner with us.  It was so nice out, we decided on squeaking out the last days of grilling time.  I made burgers on the grill served on “healthy” Ezekiel Hamburger Buns and white, fluffy kaiser buns for the protesters to healthiness (you know who they are ;)…

Some sweet potato fries…

a big green salad…

and Gram brought her Zucchini Quiche, too…

My plate…

Mmmm…my burger with some fixins…

It was a fun time with healthy eats!  The Ezekiel buns were a hit and so filling that I didn’t even finish my burger!  Unheard of!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

ONE GOOD THING:  I respected my body and took time off to let it recoup from my hard workout week.

Question of the Day:  Do you take time during the day to “just be”?

An Afternoon Visit

Hey, guys! Thanks for showing the husband some love on his first ever blog post! He was a good sport about doing the review and trying one of my healthy creations!

While the hubs was "blogging" this morning, I got right to my workout. It totally sucked. I tried to do Level 1 of The Shred but was feeling a little dizzy again, so I finally opted out. Right in the middle of dumbell rows. I'm not sure what's up with that; I'm thinking there's a sinus issue going on. Oh well. Nothing stops me from eating, though! I moved on to breakfast: 3/4 c. Trader Joe's High Fiber O's, 1 c. sliced strawberries, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and a tsp. of sliced almonds for 3 crunchy POINTS...


I cleaned up a bit and got ready for our lunch guest: Aunt Linny! My sister-in- law came over to spend the afternoon with the daughters...



We chatted while I made us all some lunch. Of course, it was PB+J for the daughters, but Aunt Linny was willing to eat "my kinda lunch". I made us hummus, cucumber and baby spinach sammies and ,to go with them, some carrots, watermelon and a 1/2 serving of Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips. All this for only 4 POINTS...


For our sammies, I used a new (to me) bread - Pepperidge Farm Light Style Extra Fiber Wheat Bread...

The nutrition facts are terrific - a serving is actually 3 slices (2 POINTS), but I just used 2 slices for 1 POINT...

Aunt Linny entertained the daughters the rest of the afternoon with puzzles, stories and play time. Thanks, Linny the girls had a ball! When it was close to dinner, we said our good-byes and I finished up making dinner while snacking on some Triscuits crackers - I think about 4 POINTS worth.

Nothing fancy for dinner tonight, just roasted chicken and a green salad with Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch dressing. A simple 7 POINT meal...

I didn't feel much like dessert. My stomach was a little off, but then it wasn't. Weird. Then, I saw these PhillySwirl SwirlStix pops in the freezer and thought they would be just what I needed...

These are some great popsicles. I love the fun flavors! And the stats (click pic to enlarge)...

I chose the Orange Dream and it was the perfect 1 POINT ending to my eats today...

I looking forward to getting in bed! I'm hoping to try out a long run in the morning =)

Have a great night!

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!

Eat, Repeat

Today, I tried to recreate the eating day I had yesterday. Since all went well, I repeated some of those meals today. I started off with some gardening early this morning, then came in for another cereal bowl: 3/4 c. TJ's High Fiber O's, 1/2 c. unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 2 chopped apricots for 3 POINTS...



A little later, I made up a strawberry crackshake for 1 POINT...

I spent the rest of the morning prepping for our bbq tomorrow, then stopped to make another delish tofu sammie. I used the bbq baked tofu for this one on 2 slices of TJ's spelt bread with lettuce, tomato and a squirt of Kraft Light Three Cheese Ranch. So good! It almost tasted like a BLT but it was a BTLT (bbq tofu lettuce tomato) - heheh! Riding alongside again, some carrots and 3 apriums. Love this 5 POINT lunch...

More prepping for the party, then came snack time. I had to keep reminding myself the definition of "snack" - small portion of food! I went with a fruit and nut bite for 1 POINT...

but, still wanted something more, so I had a lite string cheese (1 POINT)...

I recognized that I wasn't hungry, but I still felt like eating more. I tried to talk myself out of it. It worked for a while, then I succumbed to some Cheez-its and about 10 M&M's. Not so bad, I'm guessing about 5 POINTS.

Before dinner, I decided to get in a run. My hip soreness is getting better with just doing the walking this past week, so I thought I could try a run again. I went to the trail and started to run, but it was so difficult today! Not sure if it was the weather (hot and humid) or that I took that break. I didn't push it, though. I did a mix of walk/run for 35 min. and that seemed good enough for today.

I picked up pizza on the way home for the husband, daughters and our nephews that were visiting. I stayed away from that and made myself some TJ's Chicken Cilantro Mini Wontons with a side of sweet fresh pineapple for 4 POINTS...

I ended the night with a mango and cream bar for 1 POINT...

I'm ready to relax a little tonight and get a good night's rest for the bbq tomorrow. I'm looking forward to some yummy eats at the bbq. I'll be back to show you tomorrow night, if it doesn't get too late. If so, I'll be back Mon. morning for a recap! Hope you're having a fun weekend :]