Big bowl of awesome.

(***If you're new to the blog, feel free to read my introductory posts and my Not-so-secret-Secret to Weight Loss.)

Last night's dinner was simple, yet so tasty. After buying a shitload of groceries and finally getting everything put away, Doug split up a chicken breast for us to share. I just grilled mine with some rotisserie seasoning. Meantime, I chopped up a green bell pepper and a tomato and rinsed some canned great northern beans (which I love now, apparently. Hadn't really had them or noticed them until last night). I still wasn't 100% sure at that point what I was going to do with those ingredients, but I knew I wanted grilled meat, beans and veggies, so I kept rolling with it.

I heated some olive oil in a pan and added the peppers and tomatoes. Sprinkled on some garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Then I added in the beans and let it all simmer for about 10 minutes. When the chicken was cooled, I just tore it into bite-sized pieces and stirred it in with the beans & veggies. Topped it with some grated parmesan and, hello!, bowl of awesome. And filling, too. I saved half of the bean mixture for lunch today and will have it with tuna.

That said, we have food in the house again. A LOT of food. I spent more than I thought I would, but I also got more than I planned and saved quite a bit, especially on the produce I got at Sunflower Market. They had an awesome crop of gala apples for crazy-cheap, so I stocked up. I know you can get apples year round and most people find them to be a boring fruit, but I love 'em. And galas are one of my favorite types. Anywho. Also got a couple of spaghetti squashes, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, celery, more carrots (love me some carrots), cauliflower (planning on mashing it sometime next week) and a bunch of other stuff, including a parsnip. Never had a parsnip before, so I wanna try one. Never had beets either, so they're next on the list.

Quick tip: Get gutsy and try a new healthy food you've never had before (or maybe tried a long time ago and didn't like), about once a month. Especially fruits/veggies. That's what I'm trying to do these days to keep me motivated. Last month, I gave brussels sprouts another shot and I actually liked them better than I did before. Still not my favorite thing in the world, but I know they're good for me, so I'm willing to knock out that big bag of them, currently sitting in my freezer.

FOOD:

breakfast:
egg whites- 1
salsa- 0
1 oz. avocado- 1
light english muffin- 1

snack:
9 almonds- 1
apple- 1
carrots/cucumbers- 0
hummus- 1

lunch:
tuna- 2
leftover beans/veggies- 3

snack:
popcorn ball- 1
chocolate cheek cookie- 2.5

dinner:
salmon- 3
broccoli/zucchini/carrot w/ teriyaki sauce- 1


post-dinner:
chocolate cheek cookie- 2.5
yoplait delight- 2

total points used: 23/22
activity points: 40 min. HIIT routine- 5
net points: 22
WAPs: 29/35 remaining

My chocolate cheek cookies are getting delivered today! Ahhh! Can't wait. Totally having one tonight. Maybe two. Muhahaha.

EXERCISE:

Another morning at the gym. I enforced the no-more-than-500-calories rule on myself, so it was a slightly shorter session today.

Today's routine:
-10 min. run (got up to 7mph today and it wasn't too bad! I used to consider that a sprinting speed, but today, it felt pretty natural.)
-20 min. incline training
-10 min. elliptical

I wanted to do the stair master for a bit, but Smelly Guy #2 was using one of the machines and it was just too early for me to be nauseated by his smell. Smelly Guy #2 is a big guy (think football player) who likes to wear several layers of clothing (including a sweatshirt), lots of cologne and then tries to break out into the biggest sweat he can. The result? Utter and complete nastiness.

And to clarify, Smelly Guy #1 is the one I usually have to deal with when I use the incline trainer. He flat out smells like rotting onions. Like, he arrives at the gym smelling like onions; it's not like he starts to smell that way after his workout.

How do you tell a complete stranger they smell like ass? My chances of ending up next to SG #1 again in the future are pretty high, so I feel like I need to say something next time he decides to workout next to me. My first impulse is to say "Dude, you reek something FIERCE!" and then walk away, but I suppose I should avoid being a complete bitch and try to be more reasonable. Sigh.

Moving on. As for tomorrow's routine, I'm not sure yet. I think I'll probably hit the gym once more and then focus on resistance training this weekend, especially if we get my new weight system set up. I can't wait to start bench pressing!