Perfectly Pictureless Post

So today was a blogger nightmare. No pictures! But with good reason.

My day started off on a terrible note when I realized I FORGOT MY LUNCH!!!! Noooooooo! For someone who is meticulous about planning their meals and schedules their life around eating...this is basically the worst thing that could happen. I am used to eating my lunch around 11:30 with the kiddos but instead I had to wait til my break at two to get something to eat! I had such a headache. Oy. It made for a long day.

I was so excited to finally eat that I inhaled my veggie sub from Subway (whole-wheat sub with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, banana peppers, vinegar, and oregano) and didn't even think twice about snapping a picture. I also had a bag of parmesan herb Baked Lays, which I hated paying for because I have a whole bag at home, but I knew the sub wouldn't hold me over.

Then, I came home to an apartment smelling of stir-fry. I knew this was bad news because Bryan makes the BEST Asian stir-frys and I simply cannot resist them. So I scratched my plans again, (I was going to have leftover chicken sausage) and picked out and ate nearly every veggie in that stir-fry. I had a little bit of chicken, but avoided the noodles. Confession: when I eat stir-fry I eat it cold, right outta the bowl, with a fork, standing in my kitchen. That's how good it is. I can't even take the time to plate it. Or take pictures for that matter. Such a bad habit!

Then, when it was time for dessert I figured I would just keep up with the no picture taking. I had my first ever caramel Oikos and some green grapes. The yogurt was DIVINE. SOOO much better than the chocolate flavor.

And now, for even more picturelessness.

Fitness Recap

Monday 6/21 - Cardio Party

Tuesday 6/22 - 10lb Slimdown Total Body Blast & Rock Hard Body Abs

Wednesday 6/23 - Turbosculpt

Thursday 6/24 - Jillian Michael's Quick Trouble Zones & Jillian Michael's Boost Metabolism

Friday 6/25 - Rest

Saturday 6/26 - Cardio Party

Sunday 6/27 - Turbosculpt

Monday 6/28 - 20 minute cardio workout & Abjam

Tuesday 6/29 - Jillian Michael's Quick Trouble Zones & Jillian Michael's Boost Metabolism

I've been giving it my all! But, I'm heading home this weekend and working out at home is always been a real challenge...should be interesting.

What's missing?

I've got two whole days of eating to catch you up on!

Yesterday's lunch...
A multigrain thin with roasted chicken, tomato, baby spinach, and light parmesan peppercorn dressing. On the side I had green grapes and the last of my salty pepper Somersaults. (Sad face!) I bought a whole roasted chicken on Sunday so I could still get my protein, but not be stuck with shrimp or turkey. I picked off the white meat and made up little portion size baggies. GREAT idea!

Dinner was
A vegetable medley from Green Giant mixed with more chicken and topped with garlic and pepper. This was delicious, but not very filling, and the snack monster crept up again.

One of my desserts was strawberries and Cool Whip.
I also had about a week's worth of blueberries and grapes. Fresh fruit is just so tasty. There were other snacks...but no photos = no memory of what I ate! Oops!

For lunch today I had a sandwich with cracked pepper hummus, baby spinach, and tomatoes.
This is certainly more exciting with feta (what isn't?!) but was still very very good on its own. I also had sliced cucumbers, honey almonds, and strawberry banana yogurt with some fresh strawberries. The yogurt was really filling...thinking about eating yog for lunch more often.

Bryan cooked dinner which is always such a treat.
He made jalapeno and roasted red pepper chicken sausage and spicy grilled veggies. This meal was phenomenal! Everything had so much flavor. Definitely want to have this again next week. (Hint, hint babe!)

And finally, dessert.
An apple...not sure which kind...plus PB2 for dipping! Happy belly :)

So what's missing? Breakfast! I have been super forgetful about breakfast pics. Quick recap: Monday- vanilla yogurt, chocolate Cheerios, and blueberries. I think...honestly it's hard to remember without a picture!! And today I had chocolate Cheerios, blueberries, and a rice cake with honey...which by the way is my new Obsession! So tasty!!

I've been slacking with fitness recaps but I will be back with one tomorrow!

It's hard to blog about food....

When you have a major tummy ache!!! But, I will power through.

Here goes:

On Saturday I ate a chipotle black bean burger, open face, on a multigrain thin.
I topped it with pickles, onions, sriracha, and ketchup. I got these burgers from BJ's and they are double the calories of the normal Morningstar ones, but they are also double the size, double the flavor, and doubly filling, so it is totally worth it. I also had some string beans and garlic hummus for dipping. Quite the satisfying meal.

Regardless of being satisfied by lunch, the snack monster soon took over my body. Afternoon snacks included...
Honey almonds (OBSESSED!), chocolate Cheerios, an unpictured mini dark chocolate bar, and a couple rice cakes. I'm a little bummed because I was able to avoid snacking all week, but at least my snacks were healthy!

Later I went out to dinner with some friends and ordered
The turkey guacamole flatbread without fries. Amazing! The guacamole tasted homemade, the turkey was unbelievably fresh, and the flatbread was crispy and delicious. As usual, I studied the menu online before going so I could pick something yummy but still low in calories and I was so happy with my choice.

Today's breakfast.
Yoatgurt! Vanilla yogurt, maple and brown sugar oatmeal, and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Delicious! This kept me full for a good four hours. That doesn't happen often!

Lunch was a salad.
Made with baby spinach, red onion, feta, shrimp, and yogurt blue cheese. Looking back I wish I had added some cucumber in too, but overall it was a good salad.

I needed a little something extra, so I made a simple dessert.
A deep chocolate Vitatop, covered in vanilla pudding mixed with PB2. The pudding overwhelmed the pb flavor a bit, but all in all, a nice treat.

Now, I know I ate a black bean burger for lunch yesterday, but there ain't nothing like the real thing.
So I asked Bryan to cook up some homemade bean burgers for dinner tonight. As always, they rocked. He also made some sweet potato chips on the side. A fantastic dinner from a fantastic man!

Healthy Choices.

Yesterday was all about making healthy choices. It was a staff development day and they were providing both breakfast and lunch, so I knew there would be some temptations.

For breakfast I brought my own bag of Honeynut and Chocolate Cheerios and hoped there would be some fruit at work.
There was, but nothing too exciting. I had a small Macintosh apple and some red grapes. The apple was so-so but the grapes were yummy.

They ordered wraps from Wegmans for lunch and I requested a veggie one.
I took off the cheese (very tough for me too do!) and instead of chips had more grapes, another so-so apple, and some strawberries I brought from home. This was...eh. Fairly boring, and it certainly didn't fill me up. So, I went back for a turkey wrap and pulled out the turkey, and was left with a lettuce and tomato wrap. Nothing against turkey, but I'm not a fan of Wegmans lunch meat. Overall? The lunches I make myself are much more enjoyable :)

Bryan had dinner waiting for me...
Swordfish in a citrus dill marinade and sauteed spinach. Light and delicious.

Dessert.
An apple with vanilla pudding is already a phenomenal dessert. So how do you make it even better?? Add PB2! Yesterday I was thrilled to receive a jar of PB2, powdered peanut butter, that I had just ordered. I added it to my pudding, and voila! Peanut butter pudding. I ate it with a jazz apple. Perfection!!

Definitely got my fill of fruit yesterday :)

And today's breakfast:
Oatmeal with pear butter. Simple and satisfying.

Procrastination.

Another day almost gone and I am still going strong. The hardest thing this week was not snacking before and after dinner but I'm happy to say I didn't give in. Not once! Today I am having a really hard time getting myself to work out though, so I'm procrastinating with a post :) I've been fairly productive with just about everything else going on in my life though, so I don't feel too lazy!

A breakfast pic completely slipped my mind this morning but I had vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and a cocopop rice cake. Good? Yes. Boring? Yes.

Now, my lunch wasn't exactly exciting...but it sure was delicious.
I had a salad with baby spinach, red onion, feta, and a cut up turkey burger. All topped with yogurt blue cheese. YUM! I have to confess I am actually salivating just thinking about it. I also had a honey wheat thin with Crofter's Europe to satisfy my need for sweets.

Dinner.
Pizzadilla! A whole-wheat wrap with spinach, pizza sauce, and feta. Also a side of broccoli with garlic hummus. This meal was definitely not an ideal carb/protein ratio, but I'm still happy with it :)

And dessert.
Strawberries dipped in a mix of Cool Whip and Ovaltine. HOLY YUM! While this wasn't full of nutrients, it was low fat and low cal and more importantly, DELICIOUS! I will be having this again very soon!

ALSO I am looking into ordering a new workout series on DVD to help me "kick it up a notch" for the next month. I wasn't a huge fan of Jillian Michaels but I love her OnDemand "Quick Trouble Zones" and am thinking ordering something else of hers. Suggestions??

Good, Great, and Better.

That's how my eats went today. Not only did I stick to the new "guidelines" I set for myself, I also thoroughly enjoyed everything I ate. And when my belly is happy, it's a good day.

Breakfast was Good.
It was simple...maple and brown sugar oatmeal...but I sprinkled a ton of cinnamon on top and it made all the difference in the world.

Lunch was Great.
Kung pao veggies on a honey wheat thin, sweet potato FSTG chips, strawberries, and wee bit o' almond butter for dipping. So many positive things to say about this meal. The veggies were delicious as always. The chips.. so tasty. Have I mentioned these are fairly low in sodium and made with all natural ingredients? Nothing like food that is yummy AND good for you. The strawberries were the perfect mix of sweet and tart, and the almond butter was a nice treat.

So how could dinner (which was basically a repeat of lunch) be even better? Well for starters I decreased my carbs by skipping the thin and increased my protein by adding shrimp.
Why haven't I been doing this all along!? I also had some leftover sweet potato chips that I meant to eat during my break but forgot about. Forgetting to eat? That alone made me smile. It's nice to not feel hungry all the time!

Then, I had an awesome dessert.
Vanilla pudding and a braeburn apple. Can't believe I only discovered this combo last week. Easily a new favorite!

Yay for good eats :)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Changes to my diet will be happening gradually. Saving money is one of my top priorities so right now I am eating what I have on hand, even if it's not the healthiest thing, and then going shopping on Sunday to stock up on "better" things.

So, for the next week you will still see cheese (probably only feta), too many snacks, and not enough fruit & veggies. But stay tuned, and hopefully you will notice some positive changes!

Terrible quality picture of breakfast:
Chocolate Cheerios, red grapes, and vanilla yogurt. Yummy yum yum.

As mentioned, a repeat sandwich for lunch.
Thin, hummus, spinach, tomatoes, feta. Glorious. Sandwiches like this make me think I could easily be a vegetarian! I also had cucumbers and yogurt blue cheese and Tuscan three cheese pretzel crisps. These pretzel crisps are great BUT it seems like the flavor isn't distributed evenly throughout the bag. Some are just not flavorful enough.

Dinner.
Tuna wrap fancied up with onion powder, minced garlic, and sriracha. On the side I had broccoli and garlic hummus. Favorite part of this meal? The hummus. Garlic hummus is SOOO good. Instead of just dipping the broccoli in it, I smothered my wrap in it too. I need to buy this more often!!

And finally, OIAJ!
Apple butter style :)
Delicious and filling! Sad to see my apple butter go though :(

This is IT!

I spent the weekend making unhealthy choices and overeating. But now it's out of my system and this is IT! The wedding is six weeks away and it is time to kick it up a notch. I've set some goals for myself to help keep me on track:

• No cheese (this one will be tough)
• No peanut butter (I always eat too much, plus it makes me break out!)
• Less carbs, more protein
• More whole grains
  
• More weight lifting
• Less chips/snacks, more veggies

It's not going to be easy,but with the wedding getting closer everyday I feel like I have a whole new sense of willpower. I CAN DO THIS!!!

First, a quick fitness recap of last week...

Monday 6/14 - Cardio Party

Tuesday 6/15 - Walking lunges, lifting weights, light jogging (took it easy)

Wednesday 6/16 - Jillian Michael's Quick Trouble Zones

Thursday 6/17 - Cardio Party

Fri-Sun - RESTED!

Plus I have been trying to do bicep curls, military presses, and chest flys everyday.

Now, eats...

For reasons unknown, my breakfast picture disappeared in cyberspace after I sent it to my email from my phone. Bummer. I had vanilla yogurt mixed with chocolate Cheerios and strawberries. It was yummy, but the yogurt sorta hid the flavor of the Cheerios. Ah, well.

Lunch was a sandwich.
Made on a multigrain thin with cracked pepper hummus, feta, spinach, tomatoes, and a swirl of sriracha. DELICIOUS!! Having this again tomorrow for sure :) I also had some parmesan herb baked chips, cucumbers, and Newton's fruit crisps. First time trying the fruit crisps and, because I expected them to be soft, they were a big letdown.

Dinner.
Pizzadilla! Made with a whole-wheat wrap, pizza sauce (mixed with minced garlic and sriracha), spinach and feta. On the side I had broccoli and yogurt blue cheese dressing. Great meal, but left me with a tummy ache for some reason. Another bummer.

When I was feeling a little better I had a dessert of chocolate pretzels, strawberries, and grapes.
Fruit is goooood. This might be the last 100 calorie pack you see for a while. I am trying to stay away from snacks like this that have hardly any nutritional value and rarely fill me up. Still, I'm sure a few will sneak their way into my meals here and there :)

Happy Father's Day!

Bryan and I headed home for the weekend, and ever since I got here I have been in no mood to take pictures. To give you a quick picture-less recap....I've snacked on tons of fruit, nuts, and crackers, and indulged in a delicious Italian meal of antipasto, chicken franchese, and cannoli cake.

More importantly, Happy Father's Day! (to all the fathers) Especially to mine!

Me and my dad on a cruise last year.

Me and my dad in Aruba in 2008.

Call me biased, but I have the BEST dad :) Love you daddy!!!

Many eats to share.

When trying to come up with a title for this post I tried to pick out something I ate over the past two days but there was just too much to choose from!!

Wednesday started off with
Blackberry yogurt, chocolate Cheerios, and red grapes. This flavor of yogurt was new to me and I had high hopes. Unfortunately it reminded me a little too much of blueberry. It grew on me as I ate it though. This was also my first time having chocolate Cheerios and they were great! They reminded me so much of Cocoa Puffs...yum! Tossed the red grapes in the yogurt which was simply delish.

Next up was a turkey sandwich.
Turkey on an everything bagel thin, topped with baby spinach, tomato, and feta cheese. I had strawberries and salty pepper Somersaults on the side. Over the past few weeks I have gone from liking to loving Somersaults. They aren't sold anywhere near me and I am going to be seriously sad when they are gone!!

Dinner.
A black bean burger with pickles, onions, ketchup and sriracha. I must have overdone it with the sriracha because my mouth was on FIRE the whole time I ate this. I had a pickle and southwestern baked chips on the side. The chips are a little spicy themselves, so this did not help the burn!!

I cooled off with dessert.
Vanilla pudding and a 100 calorie pack of brownie bites. This was another new purchase, and while they were tasty, there were far too few and they were far too small to be anywhere near satisfying.

Today's breakfast was a bowl of Ovaltine oats.
And red grapes. This was good, but I had imagined it was going to be much more exciting.

Lunch...
(Sideways, oops) Green giant vegetable medley, made a bit fancier with garlic, pepper ,and parmesan cheese. I also had some Santa Fe Somersaults.

I kept lunch light so I could enjoy some YOGEN FRUZ with Bryan :)
Chocolate yogurt mixed with bananas and raspberries and topped with blueberries. The banana overpowered the mix a bit, but it was still delicious. I always get a small and gobble it down in seconds and then mooch off of Bryan's fro-yo. Yet I refuse to buy a medium. Anyone else do this?

Dinner was
Turkey, spinach, tomatoes, and cracked pepper hummus on a multigrain thin. Plus broccoli and avocado hummus, and parmesan herb baked chips. The combination of all that hummus and broccoli is probably going to take a toll on my tummy later, but for the time being, it was worth it!

And finally, dessert.
A few cinnamon toast Pretzel Crisps and mixed berry applesauce. A fabulous pair :)

Back to food...And a review!

So normal blogging resumes. As always, after a weekend of splurging it has been difficult to get back on track, but I have been doing my best.

Skipped a breakfast pic yesterday, but I had my usual vanilla yogurt and honeynut Cheerios. Ready to try something new I think...

I had a salad for lunch.
It was made with baby spinach, grape tomatoes, feta, a chopped up turkey burger, onions, and honey dijon dressing. The salad itself was great but I am still not impressed with the Morningstar Farms turkey burgs. Sooo far from what I am used to! I satisfied my incessant need for dessert with Crofter's Asia on a honey wheat thin. Delicious.

Dinner.
SmartOnes pasta primavera. Like most frozen meals this was dull on it's own but I made it a little more exciting with some spices. Not surprisingly, it left me hardly satisfied and was really looking forward to this...

Deep chocolate Vitatop and vanilla pudding with a small scoop of honey peanut butter.
Vanilla pudding and pb is a magical combination :)

Today's breakfast was a bowl of cinnamon roll oatmeal.
This was the second time I've tried this. The first time I wasn't thrilled, but this time I really enjoyed it. Not sure what was different! I wish it was in the form of a muffin though. Then I would have loved it!

I had a pizzadilla for lunch.
A little different than the usual this time, because I'm short on ingredients. This one had pizza sauce that Bryan made extra tasty with things like sriracha and spices, baby spinach, and some shredded mozzarella. I also had southwestern baked chips and a half a honey wheat thin with Crofter's Europe. This lunch was so good, but I still felt the need to snack all day.

And finally, dinner.
Tuna mixed with salsa con queso on a whole wheat wrap, topped with grape tomatoes. SO much flavor! I had Tuscan three cheese pretzel crisps on the side (review to come soon) and mixed berry applesauce. This meal was a fantastic combination of eats, but alas, I was still hungry. And thus the snacking continued!

Unpictured eats? Pretzels, Life cereal, baked chips, red grapes. (Etc...)

And now...

A review of cinnamon toast Pretzel Crisps.
These are absolutely delicious! They are the perfect healthy alternative to those cinnamony, sugary pretzels you get from the mall that make your mouth water as you walk by. What I also like about these is that they are different from your typical pretzel...thinner, airier, and lighter! So far I've only eaten them by themselves, but I foresee much dippage in chocolate and peanut butter.

Here are the nutritional stats for your viewing pleasure:
Nothing too impressive, but I love that they're low in calories and sugar (despite how sweet they are) and still have got a bit of protein in there.

Having trouble getting back into my workout routine....some encouragement please?