Recovery

I have to do better today. That was my first thought when I woke up this morning. I knew I had to curb the overly-overeating or I will not be feeling great at the end of this vacation. Unfortunately, the bike ride didn't happen due to some early rain and by the time it cleared up, it was time to take Rocky for another long walk before we hit the beach for the day. At least it was movement and I enjoyed taking in the sites and sounds.

I came back and went right to breakfast- 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt, 1 c. strawberries and 2/3 c. Trader Joe's High Fiber Fruit and Nut Medley for 3 POINTS...


I made everyone's sandwiches for the beach, but decided to make an orzo bean salad for myself...

• 2 cups whole wheat orzo, cooked
• 1 can Trader Joe's Marinated Bean Salad, drained
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 oz. light feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 basil leaves, chopped
• s + p to taste

This made about 5 , 1-cup servings for 5 POINTS per serving. It was a great tasting salad and filling due to the addition of the beans. I also added a few extra tomato chunks leftover from the husband's sammie...

We spent lots of time in the ocean again. The water temp was a nice 76 degrees! The undertow was pretty strong, too, so I'm thinking there was a good bit of strength training going on while I was in there ;P

After the ocean "workout", I had a nice, ripe nectarine... Later, we headed home to get ready for dinner. The husband chose a restaurant on the island which, incidentally, has great pizza. Imagine that!

We started with a deadly bread basket including the daughters' favorite - garlic knots...

Of course, I couldn't resist such fabulous bread...

I ordered two appetizers for my dinner. A salad with pear, cranberries, walnuts and fried goat cheese with a raspberry vinagrette...

and a calamari dish in a spicy tomato sauce with peppers served over crostini...

Both dishes were huge for an appetizer portion. Unfortunately, my calamari dish was bad. Not quite sure what the deal was, but it smelled terrible (like dirty socks - and I'm being nice by saying that). I noticed the smell as soon as the server put the dish on the table. At first, I thought it might just be me, so I tasted the calamari. Brave, I know. Hope that doesn't come back to haunt me, if you know what I mean! Although, it tasted okay, I couldn't feel good about eating it. It just smelled awful. The husband almost gagged and called the server to take it back. I hate doing that, but I hate eating bad food more. No need to end up in the hospital on vacation! Anyway, that kinda ruined my appetite, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I did eat about 2/3 of the salad which was quite tasty, but nothing to write home about. I nibbled on some of big daughter's pizza crust, too. At least the pizza, their veggies (delicious string beans with garlic) and house salad was good!

When we got back from dinner, we went on a leisurely walk with Rocky to soak in the last bit of the day. We all ended the night with a Lil' Drumstick...

I chose the Cookie Dough flavor. It was delish; the perfect little something for 3 POINTS (130 cal, 7 grams fat)...

I'm ready to hit the hay! We have an early morning boardwalk bike ride on tap tomorrow; it should be a fun time!

Have a great night everyone=)

Water Works

I woke up ready to go this morning! I put on the kicks and headed right to the treadmill. I got in another strong 40 minute run. I was wondering if I would be feeling strong running 2 days in a row and it seemed to work out. I like when I don't feel like my feet are dragging through the whole run. I'd like to push myself into an hour long run once a week to see if I can increase my endurance. Baby steps right now....

I didn't feel like much breakfast after that, so I just had a Quinoa Cranberry Bran Muffin with a 1/2 tsp. smear of light butter for 3 POINTS...


I liked these even better today. They are definitely a hearty muffin with lots of texture. The cranberries are a great addition along with the hint of cinnamon. The husband "forgot" to try them this morning, so no review from him. Maybe, I can talk him into a guest review tomorrow!


After breakfast, the daughters and I donned our bathing suits, packed a lunch and headed to swim at my parents' pool. The water was perfect for me - 82 degrees! We splashed around a little, then got out to eat our lunch. It was PB+J all the way around! I made mine with 2 tbsp. PB2 and 1 tsp. jelly on Arnold Whole Grain White. Alongside, I had 1 cup of Trader Joe's Organic Lentil Soup and some watermelon. It was a satisfying 6 POINT lunch...

After lunch (no, we did not wait an hour!), we got back in the pool and did lots of exercise. I did some pool weight lifting (biceps and triceps), jogging and leg exercises. I also tried to swim a couple of laps which are so hard because I am not Dana Torres, but even my lame way is a great cardio workout!


When we came home, I started on dinner. But first, I needed a snack...

White nectarines are so good this time of year! I also grabbed a string cheese and a cracker, but made sure to stop there. Whew, it was a close one, though.

I planned on grilled lean burgers for dinner. I decided to go bunless (don't I wish) and just topped my burger with a slice of Asiago cheese, ketchup and a couple pickles. I made roasted potatoes with green beans for a side. It was a flavorful 9 POINT dinner...

I almost didn't have dessert. Almost. I'm pretty sure I could have gone without it, but I think it's another habit I have created. I'll need to work on that one. Baby steps :) After all, what would life be like without dessert?! This little harmless scoop of Breyers Fat Free Double Churn French Chocolate topped with some sliced almonds and a teensy squirt of chocolate syrup surely can't be all that bad.... it's only 3 little POINTS :)

I'm off to get in my 10 minute strength routine. Hope everyone had an easy Monday!