Black Forest Breakfast and Bowls of Buffalo.

Seems like it's been a while since I posted about food, so how about some tasty catching-up?

My 28th birthday was this past Tuesday and I decided to create a nice lil' treat for myself before starting the day. I present to you, Black Forest Birthday Breakfast:



In a bowl, I combined:

• 1/2 cup 0% Fage yogurt
• Splenda (or sweetener of choice)
• 1/3 cup No Sugar Added Cherry Pie Filling
• 1 Deep Chocolate Vitatop, warmed in the microwave 
• Mash everything together and enjoy.

Dessert for breakfast! So, so good (and under 200 calories). Thanks to the large amount of left over pie filling, I repeated this combo for breakfast this morning and will probably have it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day... Why? Because I'm Team Cake.

Side note: I'm really glad Costco started selling Vitatops- MUCH more affordable this way. Another budget-friendly option is to  buy the mix on Amazon and make your own!

Now, time to switch gears from sweet to spicy. A few weeks ago, I came across a Ready Set Eat recipe for Buffalo Chicken Chili. Doug made his version, all nice and pur-dy:



Garnished with bleu cheese and celery greens. We used white beans instead of black; the creamier texture of the white beans just seemed to be a better fit. Our version also used chicken breasts (instead of thighs), carrots, onions, extra tomatoes, extra wing sauce, chicken broth and reduced-fat bleu cheese. If you're craving chicken wings, but still want to keep things healthy, you really can't go wrong with this dish! Tofu could be used as well, for a great meatless option.

Taste the rainbow.

This past weekend saw some colorful highlights in the Land of Food. Starting with Friday:



Raw ground beef? Not quite... Beet, Carrot, Onion & Potato Latkes!



I saw this dish on a holiday episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate and since we had the ingredients on hand, I decided we should give it a shot. I wouldn't say it was the best thing I ever ate, but it was okay.



I liked my latkes with applesauce the most. We also tried sour cream and horseradish. Doug liked a mix of both horseradish and applesauce the best. A fun experiment, but in retrospect, it was a lot of work for not necessarily the best result. We still want to try making traditional potato-only latkes though. I've come to love beets, but I just wasn't feeling them in this particular application.

Saturday ended up being a baking day. We were invited to a holiday party that evening and wanted to share some sweet bites:



I made Green Tea Sweets. I bought some matcha powder a couple of weeks ago and while I love drinking it, I thought it would be fun to try cooking with it too. I didn't have a leaf-shaped cookie cutter, so I improvised with a palm-tree cutter instead.



These turned out pretty good! They weren't overly sweet and there was just enough sugar in the mix to cut through the bitterness of the tea leaves. They seemed to be a hit at the party, so I think a repeat batch is in order.

Doug also did some baking and made some Snowball cookies:



He jazzed up the recipe by adding vanilla extract and orange zest. Great additions, especially the orange flavor!

After partying a little too hardy Saturday night, Sunday morning demanded a good hangover breakfast:



Diner-style, but made at home. Two corn tortillas, Doug's hashbrowns, scrambled egg whites plus one whole egg, one chopped up turkey sausage patty, fat-free shredded cheddar and some green chile sauce that Doug threw together.

!!!!!

So, so delicious. And way healthier and cheaper than going out to breakfast.

That concludes our weekend in food. Hope everyone has a great week!

Oatcakes and out the door.

I've been M.I.A. the past week, but all is well. Just busy with work, life, love and The Sopranos. I never watched it when it actually aired, but between the library and borrowed seasons from my Mom, I'm already into the second season and officially hooked. And craving baked ziti every other day. Ah well.

Back to losing weight again, finally. Yes, I'm calorie-counting with The Daily Plate, but so far, tracking and seeing the numbers isn't freaking me out like it was in the past. I'm trying to apply what I've learned from intuitive/mindful eating guides while still tracking calories and so far, it's working pretty well. In the past, when I counted calories or points, I would be so focused on the numbers and not really being mindful about what I was eating and how I was feeling, in terms of food pleasure, emotional triggers and hunger/satiety cues.

By having a better idea of how many calories my mindful choices have, I think the transition out of calorie-counting and into maintenance will be much easier. Here's to hoping! I'm just experimenting with different things right now instead trying to stick to just one single method. I know what works and what doesn't, so it's been kinda fun and rewarding to take that knowledge and customize it to meet my needs. So far, it's been a guilt-less process, leaving me relaxed, energized and satisfied.

On to breakfast:



Cinnamon-Raisin Oatcakes

In a bowl, I combined:

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbs Splenda (optional)
• 2 tbs raisins
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp chia seeds (optional)
• cinnamon to taste

Cooked and flipped like regular pancakes and served with maple syrup. Mmm! The only thing I would change next time is maybe adding more cinnamon. I'd also like to try adding pumpkin or berries. Tip: Be sure to serve these warm; I couldn't find my camera and spent a while looking for it. By the time I came back, the cakes had cooled and didn't taste as good as they could have, so I had to zap them in the microwave. MUCH better.

Very filling and pretty quick to prepare.

That's all I have to blab about for today. I'm still working my way through the last of the Bob Harper DVDs and hope to have those reviews posted soon. Hope everyone is enjoying their week!

Pancakes and Push-ups

This morning, I tried the beginner/20 minute workout from Bob Harper's Pure Burn Super Strength DVD. As part of my 10K training schedule, I was supposed to do a 2 mile run plus some strength training, so it seemed like a good opportunity to try the shorter workout.

It really is a beginner's workout. It's super-basic, but still functional. You work your upper body with bicep curls, various dumbbell raises, rows and push-ups. You briefly work your lower body with weighted squats and lunges. The workout ends with some basic ab crunches and then you're done.

While this shorter workout was perfect for complementing my run, it really doesn't seem like it would be much of a workout on its own. You could significantly increase the weight to make some of the moves more challenging, but I still found it to be too short and basic to be effective with increased use (it's only 20 minutes including the warm-up and cool down). But, that said, if someone truly is brand new to working out, this is a great stepping stone into learning proper form for popular strength exercises. Bob does a good job of describing proper form with every move.

I'm planning on trying the full one-hour workout in the next few days, so be on the lookout for another review soon.

Moving on to food, I had such a tasty breakfast this morning! I got my new issue of Health magazine the other day and came across a great recipe for Blueberry Oat Pancakes with Maple Yogurt.

I used the recipe as more of a guideline though and threw together my own version:

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese
• 1/4 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup blueberries
• splenda and cinnamon to taste (optional)

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, saving the blueberries for last. Pour batter onto a heated pan, cooking/flipping as needed.

My version yielded 2 mid-size cakes and they were so good! They turned out much better than I thought. I didn't take a picture though because they weren't all that photogenic. Quick, filling pancakes that I look forward to making again this weekend! I just had mine with syrup since I'm out of yogurt.

That's all for now. I took the day off from work and need to take advantage of a cheap berry sale at the grocery store before all the good ones are gone!

We're still BETA testing that.

For breakfast this morning, I skipped my usual sweet options and decided to go with something savory. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received some Orowheat Sandwich Thins to try. I've actually had them before, but stopped buying them for a while since I go through different phases with bread. ANYWHO, they're pretty great to have around and I love that they have 5g each of fiber and protein. After tossing around some ideas, I settled on a BETA sandwich (Bacon, Egg, Tomato and Avocado).



Pretty quick to throw together. "Fried" the egg in a nonstick pan and microwaved the bacon inside some paper towels. Technically, I used some pre-made guacamole as opposed to whole avocado slices, but BETA is a much cooler acronym than BETG. Obviously.



For "dessert," I enjoyed some iced coffee in my cool new reusable cup that I won in a contest from Trading Up Downtown (a.k.a. Tina, from Carrots 'N' Cake). On the side were a couple of Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin Cookies I made, also posted on Trading Up Downtown.



Instead of mashed sweet potatoes, I used some jars of sweet potato baby food I had left over from my baby food phase and in place of oil, I used the last of my apple sauce. Probably not the best substitutions in retrospect because the cookies ended up too moist, even after increasing the baking time and adding a couple extra tablespoons of flour. The flavor was still good though. Doug said they made great "energy balls," but not-so-great cookies. I suppose I can live with that.

Confession Time

Time for some Saturday morning confessions. Confession #1: I'm, for the moment, skipping my 4-mile run today. I'm just way too sore and exhausted. Why? Well, that leads us to Confession #2: I worked out twice yesterday. In the morning, I did an hour long cardio/strength Jari Love DVD. After work, I came home and ran two miles, ignoring the soreness that had already begun to set in my legs from the strength training. Why did I push myself and overdo it? Confession #3: I felt guilty from eating 2 cookies at work earlier that afternoon. I told myself "I want to run because I'm restless!", but really, it was because of 2 buttery cookies.

Yep. For the first time in several weeks, I experienced food guilt and tried to redeem myself (punish myself?) with extra exercise. And really, I've kinda been doing that subconsciously, for the past couple of weeks. I haven't been binging, but there still have been some occasional bouts of overeating and I think instead of acknowledging those behaviors when they happen, I've instead tried to distract myself with the 10K training. And knowing all of this is probably why my runs have been so crappy- because I'm not really running for all of the right reasons. That, and I'm tired from working out 6 days a week. On the upside, I've been losing weight, but I've been making the process a lot harder than it needs to be because I've stopped trusting myself. And really, I should know better.

So I'm taking a break today. I've had this pattern of working out extra long and hard on the weekends which subsequently leads to mindless eating, so I'm going to challenge myself to break that pattern. If I do any activity today, it'll be some walking and/or yoga. I'm also going to re-establish my hunger cues. I listen to my body pretty well during the week, but always have this urge to work against hunger cues on the weekend. So, so silly and unnecessary.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good so far, aside from crampy legs. I've realized that instead of training to run 10K at a 9-10 minute/mile pace, my real goal should be to get back to that happy place where I don't fear food and exercise because it makes me feel good, not out of fear of fat. I've been in that balanced place before, so I know it's possible to go back.

Return of the Mack.

It's been several days since my last post, but I've returned. And since I was singing this song the other night and Doug had no idea what/who I was talking about, here ya go:



Still a pretty smooth jam after all these years, no? Anywho. I'll start with some quick food re-caps:

This morning's breakfast:



Breakfast Banana Split, adapted from the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. I didn't actually "split" the banana, I just diced it up. Added diced strawberries, Oikos plain yogurt (sweetened with just a tad of Splenda), about 1/3 cup Grape Nuts cereal, drizzle of light Hershey's chocolate syrup and a dab of almond butter.



This was ridiculously good. It really was like having a banana split for breakfast (der!). And of course, filling. The original recipe didn't call for Greek yogurt or almond butter, but they're obviously better sources of protein and healthy fat, both of which I needed after my workout this morning. Picking up more strawberries from the store soon so I can repeat this again later in the week.

Another great breakfast discovery (not pictured): Lemon Oatmeal! Also an idea I picked up from the BL Family Cookbook. It's pretty simple, really... Just add lemon juice and/or lemon zest to taste. I sweetened mine a bit and also added some egg whites and a scoop of vanilla protein powder for extra bulk. The lemon flavor makes the oats taste so clean and light- I love it!

Last night's dinner:



I threw together a chicken-veggie stir fry with peanut butter sauce and served it over spaghetti. In a pan, I cooked up:

• diced chicken
• onions
• minced ginger
• minced garlic
• broccoli
• carrots
• salt
• pepper

For the sauce:

• 2 TB creamy peanut butter (you could use crunchy instead)
• 2 TB Hoisin sauce
• about 2 or 3 TB of fresh lime juice
• Sriracha to taste (I probably used almost a tablespoon)
• about 2 TB fresh chopped cilantro

Whisk ingredients together in a separate bowl. Whisk in water until desired consistency is reached. Once the sauce thinned out, I added it to the stir fry after the meat and veggies were all cooked through.

I was really pleased with this dish! I really am becoming more and more confident in the kitchen with each meal I make. It's a good feeling. I have a much stronger sense of which spices and herbs to use and find myself experimenting more and more, instead of relying on recipes all of the time. I still have a lot to learn, but I've noticed these past few months that something has clicked and I'm a much better cook than I was several years ago.

Last pic I want to share is actually from a while ago (last week? the week before?):



This was an alfredo dish that Doug made. Chicken, broccoli and mushrooms over penne. For the sauce, he used a can of fat-free cream condensed soup; can't remember if it was cream of chicken or cream of mushroom, but either way, it turned out really nice. I can't remember what else he added to the sauce, but if he recalls, perhaps he'll be nice and share in the comments. *Wuh-ink*

Aside from lots of great food, I also finished reading a great book, The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. Seriously, read this book now if you haven't already. I've read my share of autobiographies of women who have struggled being overweight and either lost the weight or didn't, but this book far surpasses all of them. I saw so much of myself in Shauna, it was almost hard to read at times. But she's incredibly funny, witty and driven. Whether or not you're trying to lose weight, this will still prove to be an excellent read.

And lastly, I've re-kindled my affair with Jari Love, specifically her first Get Ripped 1000 DVD. I hadn't used it since I first tried it back in March (!!!), but I've been addicted to it for the past 2 weeks, up through this morning. Crazy good workout. The cardio bursts jack my heart rate up and the strength moves make my muscles work hard. I always feel like crapping out at about 40 minutes in, but I keep pushing and finish out the last 20 minutes anyway. When I remind myself how I'm knocking out both high-intensity cardio and high-rep resistance training in one workout, I manage to push through, even though I just want to lay on the floor and die. I think deep down, it's the hot guy in the back row that keeps me going. Man. Super hot.

Seriously though, Jari Love has become my favorite trainer (sorry, Jillian!). Anyone who can get me to actually like strength training is nothing short of a miracle worker. Her workouts always leave me feeling strong and capable. (The physical results aren't too shabby either!) She has a great teaching style and she just seems so darn nice! I know I've talked about her on here before, but I just had to gush once more because I'm really happy I gave her DVDs a try. Totally changed my attitude about fitness.

I suppose that's all for today. Hope everyone has been doing well! Have a great week.

Finally Friday.

Well, well, well. A whole week since my last post. Which isn't that long of a gap, but just feels that way since life has been non-stop since last Saturday. Doug and I were social butterflies the majority of the week, in between regular life stuffs, so I'm a bit exhausted. Good times though, so I can't complain.

I was at the gym this morning and this song came up while I was getting whooped by the stair master:



It left me feeling too gangsta to blog most of the day, but here I am, finally giving in.

The Food:

I haven't been in a picture-taking mood lately, but I still wanted to share quite possibly the best breakfast I've had this year (well, almost. I have lots of good breakfasts, so it's hard to place one higher than the other): Blueberry Almond Maple Yogurt Oats. Yup. In a bowl, add the following and stir until blended:

• sweetener of choice (I like my oatmeal a tad on the sweet side)
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1 cup cooked oats with blueberries
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
• maple syrup of choice

Hubba, hubba. It was love in a bowl. I made blueberry pancakes for dinner last night (we have a surplus of blueberries going on right now, both fresh and frozen and I'm not sick of them yet), and decided to top them with maple-flavored Greek yogurt. It was so rad that I figured it would work just as well with oatmeal. Totally did. That said, I officially need more maple syrup. I feel a phase coming on.

The Doc:

I went to the doctor the other day for my annual physical. She wasn't happy that my weight was up from last year and I was kinda bummed that she wasn't more understanding about it since she's usually cool, laid back and supportive. But I totally understand her concern; I'm sure she's seen her share of people who lose a lot of weight and eventually gain it all back. I don't intend to be one of those people. But I also don't intend to make myself go crazy by trying to dazzle her with arbitrary numbers every year either. Yes, I intend to drop a few more pounds, but the BMI chart can suck it.

The Miscellaneous:

I bought some used DVDs the other day, one vinayasa yoga and one pilates. I also bought Guitar Hero 3 though, so I haven't quite gotten around to trying them out yet, ha. I'm looking forward to the yoga DVD, as I've been bored with the 3 I already have. And I've been meaning to give pilates another try; I had the whole Mari Winsor set on VHS at one point, ages ago. They may be hiding in a box somewhere, but there's no VCR in the living room anyway, so new DVD it is. Updates on those to follow.

AND, I'm finally reading The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl. I started following her blog again and reserved a copy of the book at the library. It's great so far. Funny and witty but also quite painful to read at times because her experience is so relatable. It's sad that she, I and countless others have gone through the same exact struggles in being overweight. Knowing that so many people are (or have been) so miserable with the same issues is a bit of a downer. At the same time though, there's always the opportunity to change. Anywho, I can't put it down (picking up where I left off after this post!), so I think I'll be finished with it in a few more days.

That's all I can manage to ramble about today. Have a great weekend!

Part of this complete breakfast.

I've been trying to mix up my breakfasts this week and am also on an egg kick again. That said, this was today's morning fuel:



Diced up half of a leftover baked sweet potato, threw in the pan with some fresh salsa, sprinkled with a bit of shredded cheddar and topped with a fried egg.



One of the best breakfasts I've had in a while! It was hard to eat this one slowly. The textures. The spice. The subtle sweetness from the potato... Mmm! Need to pick up a few more taters so I can repeat this. I wanted to serve some grilled corn tortillas on the side, but totally spaced it, hence needing to make it again.

Even though this was a great meal, I was still a little hungry afterward, so I finished up the last of some honeydew and topped it with some thawed strawberries:



Crisp, cool and sweet. Love.

In fitness news, I did some strength training this morning, á la Jari Love. Despite my disappointment with her Body Rock DVD, I still had yet to try the weight & abs portion of the workout, so I decided to give it a shot. This portion really is the better half of the DVD. It's only about 30 minutes too, which I appreciated.

This certainly isn't the best of Jari's strength/resistance workouts, but I still felt like my muscles got worked over pretty good. I liked how she reverted back to some isometric moves, typical of some of her older DVDs, but also included some new [killer] shoulder exercises that I had never done before.

She also had a great deadlift circuit, so I quickly swapped out my weights for heavier ones so I could get more of a challenge. If I had to make a list of my favorite exercises, deadlifts would be pretty high up. It's the perfect move for working your arms, back, abs and hamstrings, all at once.

There were also plenty of weighted squats, bicep curls and chest presses. The abs portion was basically a mix of different crunches, including the bicycle variety. It was pretty much all upper-ab work though; not too much focus on lower abs. Fine with me though; my upper abs need all the help they can get these days.

Glad I gave the rest of this DVD another shot! Gotta love variety. I felt like my overall calorie burn was still lacking though, so I did a one mile run before hitting the shower.

I think tomorrow will be another gym day with a new treadmill program. I also have a workout from Fitness magazine that I saved a month or so ago and still haven't tried yet. Looks like a good strength routine. Might save that for Saturday.

Three-day weekend is almost here! No travel plans, so I'm looking forward to lounging like nobody's business. This week's been tough at times.

Breakfast of Champions.

Did I really have leftover chili and cornbread for breakfast? Yes, yes I did. It was less "Oooh, you know what would be really awesome for breakfast? Chili!" and more "Sigh. I really don't want to end up throwing that stuff out 'cause I hate wasting food. And I still want my shrimp/broccoli/rice leftovers for lunch. Mom's taking me out to dinner later... Fuck it."

And it wasn't the worst choice. After spin class this morning, I did indeed have an appetite, so it was the ultimate mix of protein, fiber and carbs. Plenty of beans, tomatoes, onion and spicy peppers. Lean ground beef, so just the right amount of fat. And the cornbread had chopped green chiles and a bit of cheddar baked in. A bit of discomfort ensued because it was probably too early for so much spice, but I'm fine now. And still full.

Aside from eating something for the sake of getting rid of it, I'm also trying to change up my meal "routine," for... Fun? I guess you could say this new change kind of falls in line with the "Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch and a pauper for dinner" method. I typically eat in the opposite order, which is a pretty terrible idea, seeing as I'm an early morning workout person. Ok, maybe not terrible, but my smaller breakfasts eventually lead to increased snacking all the way through dinner, so time for a change.

I'm not planning on eating chili every morning, but I am going to try and bulk things up a bit, while also changing up my food choices. I've had this inherent (and ridiculous) fear of eating too much for breakfast for yeeears and it's just silly, given my activity schedule. No real meal ideas yet, and I still plan on keeping my beloved oats, fruit, Greek yogurt and peanut butter in the mix, in varying degrees. But I'll also be more open to things like tuna, veggies burgers, broccoli, tofu. Whateva.



In other news, I joined Daily Mile last Thursday and it's been pretty addicting so far. I added a mile-tracker widget to my blog homepage and it's fun seeing the number go up over the course of just a few days! It's motivating me to make time for a run just about every day, even if it's just one mile, and/or mixed in with another type of workout. Since Thursday, I've racked up 13.5 miles! A little over a half-marathon! Obviously I'm not ready to tackle such a feat all at once, but slowly chipping away at distance, one mile at a time, is still motivating nonetheless. And it's already helping me work on my goal of increasing speed.

Last note on workouts: At the gym on Sunday, I felt myself missing the incline trainers at my old gym (24 Hour Fitness doesn't have them). But instead of boo-hooing that I couldn't do my ol' 18-20% grade inclines, I decided to compromise and try one of the cross-country pre-set routines on a regular Precor treadmill, but increase my speed to jogging/running levels, instead of just walking. And y'know what? It was pretty damn awesome. I think the highest grade I had went up to 7%, but when you try to tackle that between 5 and 5.5 mph, your legs are workin' hard. And because it was pre-set, I could just go on auto-pilot for the most part, aside from when I wanted to adjust my speed. Glad I was able to discover something new and challenging!

And on a closing note, I ordered French Women Don't Get Fat this morning. I found a copy on eBay for under $5, free shipping. Mostly just curious. Not expecting it to change my life or anything. I won't be doing a full 'n' proper review after I finish it, but I'll definitely share any points of awesomeness that I come across along the way.

I suppose that's all for today. My goal is to make it through the week without catching Doug's cold. My boss was out sick all last week too and has been coughing ever since she came back. Gah. I am to germs as Nacho Libre is to corn:



Hope everyone is having a good week!

Hold me, I'm in lox.

Not sure this morning could get any better, folks.

I woke up, threw on my sweat band, slid on my lifting gloves and did a quick custom routine:

• 1/2 mile run
• 10 push-ups, 20 one-count deadlifts (60 lbs.)
• 1/2 mile run
• 10 push-ups, 20 one-count deadlifts
• 1/2 mile run
• 10 push-ups, 20 one-count deadlifts
• 1/2 mile run
• 45 sec. plank, 20 two-count deadlifts

Pretty simple, but went by fast and felt really effective. My goal was to get in 2 miles of running and work on my upper body/core in between. Mission accomplished. And yes, doing 20 reps of deadlifts means my weight is too light, but when it finally dawned on me to slow down and do two-count reps, my god, such a difference! I've really grown to love deadlifts with my my barbell. Dumbbells are ok too, but the barbell makes me feel like more of a bad-ass.

The whole circuit took just over 30 minutes and of course, left me dripping. I need to not be so lazy and come up with more quick 'n' dirty routines like this, especially for Saturday mornings when my motivation isn't always the best. I haven't done a custom routine since my first one in January.

After the workout, I showered and got ready for my quest to the store for tomatoes and red onion, amongst other produce items. Why tomatoes and red onion, first thing in the morning? Well, this broad was on a holy mission to make lox & bagels.



We went grocery shopping last night and I got the bagels, smoked salmon, capers and cream cheese, but totally spaced the tomatoes and onion. Feck.

Before I left this morning, I made a quick smoothie with 1/2 cup thawed frozen strawberries, about 1/2 or 2/3 cup chopped papaya, 1/2 cup light soymilk, 1 scoop of Green SuperFood and a bit of granulated splenda. AHHH! This was so good! Papaya is indeed perfect for smoothies; it came out super creamy with just the right amount of thickness. Will probably repeat this and add bananas and blueberries. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

ANYWHO. Enough about smoothies. While the smoothie was good, it didn't change my life like this plate of radical:



Moment of silence here, kids...

Easily the best new thing I've tried in a few years. Used one of those new Thomas Bagel Thins (lightly toasted), cream cheese, capers, red onion, tomato (sprinkled with S&P) and a few different varieties of smoked salmon from Costco (dill, peppered and plain).



So damn good. And I'm sure it would be even better with a higher quality Everything-flavored bagel. Doug enjoyed it and he doesn't even like salmon!

For the record, I'm not Jewish. But I've wanted to be since I was about 14 or 15 for some reason. Or at least marry a Jewish dude. I've made an exception for Doug. He lacks the Jew-fro that I long to get my fingers tangled in, but if he'll eat lox and bagels with me, I suppose it all balances out in the end. *Wuh-ink*

Best breakfast ever. I'm torn between having it again for lunch or practicing self-control and waiting until tomorrow's breakfast. We'll see how this new love affair plays out. Stay tuned!

Fruit of the day.

Long, busy day. My dad's procedure went well. Got to spend some time with him, did a massive grocery shopping trip, squeezed in an afternoon run outside, made dinner and now I'm relaxing on the couch, waiting for the snow to come. Oh, crazy Colorado weather. Kind of in a mixed mood tonight. In between all of the day's errands, I also found out my old babysitter passed away this afternoon. She was in her 80s, but was also recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I'm glad my mom and I got to visit her in the hospital a few weeks ago. She was so happy to see me.

That said, I'm gonna kind of breeze through this post so I can zone out, sleep and return to work tomorrow. Oh, Friday. I'm so glad you're almost here.

Breakfast:



Avocado oats! Without even looking, I'm sure this has been done before, but I was still excited that the idea entered my head last night as I was going to bed and trying to figure out how to finish off the avocado I had cut into.



See the chunks? And remember how I said avocado tastes like butta? Well, hello buttery oats. Mmm!

In the mix:

• 1/2 cup oats
• about 1.5 oz avocado, mashed
• 2 tsp. chia seeds
• vanilla extract
• cinnamon
• splenda

Morning snack:



Jazz apple and a mini Luna bar. Took these with me to the waiting room at the hospital. Glad I did- the wait was long and I got super-hungry!

No pics for lunch- I had just enough time to swing by Subway and head back to the hospital. I had a 6" Subway Club on wheat with American cheese, tons of veggies and mustard. The sandwich held me over through the looong grocery trip and my afternoon run.

Afternoon snack:



A small slice of toasted Honey Whole Wheat and a couple teaspoons of cinnamon-vanilla sunflower butter. I only ran outside for 30 minutes, but it kicked my ass so this snack definitely made for good recovery fuel.

Dinner:



Sweet potato fries (tossed in olive oil, kosher salt and baked) and tuna mixed with more mashed avocado and salsa. Quick, simple and filling!

That's all for tonight. I'm beat!

No, I didn't melt. But that's a good thing.

Good morning! I'm just gonna dive right in. First off, more new DVD feedback. Today's weapon of choice?



Yoga, JM style. Now, I'm probably the last person that should be reviewing a yoga DVD because I'm still a novice and, despite my best intentions, am quite sporadic in my practice. HOWEVER, I think it's safe to say that this isn't your typical yoga workout.

My previous experience with yoga rests on the Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD (only made it through levels 1 and 2; still haven't tried level 3) and Baron Baptiste: Journey into Power Level 1 (which I actually grew to love last time I did it; need to make time for it again soon!).

So, after having done those yoga workouts, Jillian's was different, but not in a bad way. There are two 30 minute workouts and today I just stuck with level one. To be honest, I was pretty terrified because I didn't know what to expect. I thought it was going to be this hardcore burn session, set to industrial music or something. But it wasn't that bad at all.

Basically, Jillian sets you up with standard yoga moves (sun saltuations, downward dog, crescent, warrior 2 &3, etc.), but adds movement so you can perform reps of the move and then hold the move in place for 15 seconds. For example, when she takes you into warrior 2, she has you repeatedly bend and straighten your front leg so you get a little burn going and then you hold for 15 seconds with the front leg bent. She also has you do this with push-ups and side planks.

As typical with JM workouts, she has 2 helpers; one to show beginner moves and the other busting out advanced moves.

The thing I loved most about this DVD? The pace! That 30 minutes just flies by. She purposely moves through each interval quickly so you can benefit from a higher heart rate.

So how did I do? Well, not that great, haha. Since it's easily been a month (or more) since my last yoga session, my form and balance were pretty crap. I've never performed warrior 3 before, so I was getting really frustrated that I couldn't hold myself up and was grasping for the top of the TV to keep from falling. Pretty pathetic, but it only made me want to do the DVD more so I could increase my balance and benefit from body weight training.

Although I appreciated the fast pace of the workout itself, I do wish the cooldown stretch was longer and more relaxing, like the one on the Biggest Loser yoga DVD. Her stretches were definitely effective (I didn't realize how stiff and tense I had gotten over the past few days from my other workouts), but it would've been nice to hold them longer and focus on deep breathing. Yes, I can do that on my own after the DVD is over, but I like it when longer cooldown stretches are included. Ah well.

During the cooldown, Jillian starts to talk about how it's not about being perfect, it's just about practice. That really resonated with me. Obviously, such a statement can be applied to my life in various ways, but when applying it specifically to yoga, I really need to repeat it in my head. If I'm more patient with myself and don't get so frustrated when my form isn't perfect, my yoga sessions won't be so sporadic.

Overall? Another favorite, yet unique addition to my JM collection. She has motivated me, once again, to pursue this workout with more regularity. I'm also motivated to start doing my other yoga DVDs more often too. I think my goal between now and the end of the year is to be able to conquer level 2 of Jillian's DVD and level 3 of the Biggest Loser DVD. It's totally do-able!

Ok, on to food pics. Once again, I took all of my breakfast, lunch and snack pics this morning to save time. I'll try and do that from now on.

Breakfast:



A 3-minute oatmeal cookie & a hard-boiled egg. Thanks to Christie at Honoring Health and her Zucchini Bread Oatmeal, I decided to use up the last of our zucchini in an oatmeal cookie. Yuuuum! Totally loved it. It was like eating a pice of zucchini bread for breakfast. I tried to squeeze out as much excess liquid as I could from the zucchini, but it still made things pretty moist. Before adding the zucchini to the mix, I sprinkled it with splenda and cinnamon. I added about an extra tablespoon of oats, but perhaps more flour would've been better. The taste was awesome though. And I'm still kicking myself for not adding dried cranberries because I think that would've brought it all together. Oh well. Next time. And there will be a next time because I love zucchini and am all for adding it to my breakfast now!

Morning snack:



Good ol' banana and strawberries.

Lunch:



Leftover slice of spinach mushroom pizza (ended up having once slice last night and gave the rest to Doug; I'm officially over pizza this week!) with a spaghetti squash salad. Last night I hacked open a spaghetti squash that I bought a while back and stuck it in the microwave. I was hungry all day yesterday, so to keep from filling up on crap, I went for the squash because it never fails to fill me up.

There's still a ton leftover, so today I took some romaine salad mix and slapped some squash on top (when I cooked it last night, I added: olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder) and sprinkled it with fat-free feta for extra protein. Soooo looking forward to this meal!

Afternoon snack:



Pear and some string cheese.

For dinner, I'm planning on trying some Fiesta Flapjacks from Kath at KERF. I've actually been wanting to try the Kodiak Cakes mix for a couple of months now, so I was super-stoked when a) I saw that King Sooper's sold it and b) I saw this recipe a couple of days ago! Some things are just meant to be. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Yawny, Yanni.

I'm a tired gal today. So tired that I skipped my run this morning. Ah well. I was only planning on doing 2 miles anyway, so maybe I'll still bust it out later when I get home from work. This week seems to be dragging a bit, so my motivation is dwindling down as the weekend slooooowly approaches. On to pics, eh?



I was pretty undecided about what I wanted for breakfast this morning, so I went with an ol' favorite that I haven't made in a while: the 3 Minute Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.



I replaced the raisins with dried cranberries. Love.



Some cold coffee and light vanilla Silk, served in my Geeks Who Drink glass.



And a good ol' nanner on the side.

I actually ended up mashing the last few bites of banana on to the top of the cookie. 'Twas delicious.

Morning snack:



My usual 1/2 cup of 0% Fage yogurt with some strawberries. Man, I forgot how awesome strawberries and Greek yogurt are. In fact, it's so good...


I wanna dip my balls in it!

The State, anyone? Hahahaaa. Dang it. Now I want to bail on work, curl up on the couch and watch that DVD set. And eat more strawberry Greek yogurt, of course.

Lunch and afternoon snack to follow later. And at this rate, "later" feels like "in about a decade or so." Is it 5 yet?

Rush, as in not enough time, not the band.

I really need to go back to packing my lunches and snacks the night before. The past few mornings have been too rushed and it makes me cranky. Buh. Oh well. Nothing a little Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth can't cure. Music Tangent: I wasn't a big fan of Sonic Youth before (didn't hate them, just kinda neutral). Doug on the other hand LOVES them. Between hearing him play their albums all the time and seeing them in concert last year, I must say, they've totally grown on me.

Let's back up to last night's dinner, shall we? I had a couple of ideas on what to make, but I also had a Buy One Get One Free coupon to Noodles & Company, so off we went.



I got a small order of Bangkok Curry with a grilled chicken breast on top. Added a few drops of Sriracha and I was good to go.

But y'know what I'm really excited to share? DESSERT:



What is this, you ask? Well, my inner Fat Kid took a Deep Chocolate vitatop, a tablespoon of marshmallow cremé and sprinkled on about a teaspoon of reduced-fat unsweetened coconut. The result? A mother-frickin' Sno-Ball. Only much better, in my opinion. I do enjoy me some original Sno-Balls from time to time, but I get sick of them after a few bites because there just seems to be too much marshmallow and not enough cake (is there ever really enough cake in anything though?). Well problem solved, with my version. And the vitatop has chocolate chips in it, so um, helloooo?! Heaven, for the most part.

Moving on to this morning's breakfast:



A bowl of I-Don't-Know-What and a slice of Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip toast.



Ok, so here's what I mixed together:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 tbsp ground flax
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• cinnamon
• splenda
• splash of vanilla extract

I microwaved it for 2:30 and let it cool for a bit. It was good, but maybe could have used a tablespoon or so of flour? I don't know. I just wanted a little bit of oats, but with extra sources of protein, so that's what I ended up with. I guess you could call it Stuffed French Toast in a Bowl? Whatevs. If I want to go for the French Toast effect though, I think next time I need to drizzle some syrup on top. Maybe that's what was missing...

And another shot of the toast, because it made my soul smile:



Quick 'n' Dirty Review of Jari Love's Get Extremely Ripped DVD: Love it! Another great strength & resistance workout. There's definitely not any cardio moves in this one which kinda bummed me out at first, but since it's based around high reps with no breaks in between, my heart rate and sweat output stayed steady the whole time.

It's well over an hour and does move slower than the Get Extremely Ripped! 1000 DVD, but overall, I still enjoyed it. Using the step makes a HUGE difference! Especially when doing stuff like reverse lunges and side squats. Good lord. I had to step off of it occasionally because my quads were on fire.

After the first two workouts (each 30 minutes each), I did the push-ups and plank interval, but skipped the abs routine because I was running out of time and needed to start getting ready for work. Plus, after the ab work I've been doing on the Jackie Warner DVD this week, I was sooo not in the mood for more abs.

Tons of squats, lunges, bicep curls, shoulder presses, rows, tricep kick backs & extensions. Some of the pulsing squat moves killed me, but I could feel my butt and abs working overtime, so I couldn't complain. And you pretty much keep dumbbells in your hands the whole time, so my lifting gloves came in handy for a better, less sweaty grip.

After being disappointed with her Body Rock! DVD the other morning, I'm glad this one met my expectations.

My shoulders and rump cheeks are officially killing me now though, so I don't think I will follow through with my original plan of doing the Jackie Warner DVD again tomorrow. I think I'm just gonna do a 2 mile run (maybe) and call it a day. I know I said last week that I didn't want to break my runs down into smaller distances over the course of more days, but this week, it seems like a better fit.

That's all for today. I think I'm gonna skip lunch and snack photos today since they're basically the same as yesterday, more or less.

Three-minute cookies & 3 second revelations.

Before I get all serious and heartfelt, I HAVE to spread the word about my new favorite recipe, the 3-minute Oatmeal Cookie, thanks to Tina from Carrots 'n' Cake. I tried it this morning for breakfast because I actually had raisins for once and it was basically like eating a warm, fluffy and hearty treat. Made for a great post-workout meal. I'd highly recommend following Tina if you aren't already. It's fun to read about health, good great food, fitness and see many pictures of her adorable pug. Since I love pugs, it's pretty much the best one-stop blog for me, ha.

I did in fact make it to the gym this morning. Did some running, incline training and the stairmaster. Getting up that early is always the hardest part, but once I make it through the first 5-10 minutes, I'm good to go.

Now for the sappy stuff... I was watching Biggest Loser last night and usually when Bob and Jillian are giving their little speeches to individual team members, I must admit, I kinda zone in and out and don't really pay full attention to what they're actually saying. Well, last night while Jillian was talking to Migdalia (sp?), I paid attention and I'm glad I did. I'm paraphrasing it somewhat, but Jillian basically said that "it takes strength to show vulnerability."

Seeing as how I had just admitted yesterday how vulnerable I've been feeling, hearing her say that almost felt like a punch in the chest. I think I stopped breathing for a bit as I started to choke up. I know it's just a TV show (a controversial one at that) and I know a lot of what goes on is being done for dramatic effect, BUT there's no way I can hear a speech like that and pretend that it did not speak to me on a deeply personal level. Here I was, associating my own vulnerability with weakness, only to be told the exact opposite by one of the toughest women in the world. So naturally, I no longer have just a girl-crush on Jillian Michaels; I want to straight up marry that bitch (sorry Doug).

Zzzz.

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

Dinner last night was awesome. Cooked chicken breasts in a skillet with my favorite rotisserie seasoning, then tossed them in some buffalo wing sauce. Served with mashed cauliflower and grilled zucchini & tomatoes. Quick, healthy, filling and delicious. Yes, it IS possible.

FOOD:

breakfast:
f.f. cottage cheese w/ pumpkin- 2
kashi waffle- 1
coffee & 1/4 c. almond milk- 0

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

lunch:
healthy choice chicken pesto- 6

snack:
protein powder- 1

dinner:
tuna w/ 1 tbsp. BBQ sauce- 2
brussels sprouts w/ 1 tbsp. dried cranberries- 1
olive oil- 1
raspberry fudge holey donut- 5

total points used: 22/22
activity points: 20 min lifting routine- 1.5
WAPs: 20/35 remaining

Pumpkin and cottage cheese was awesome! Added some splenda and cinnamon. Super filling (especially with the waffle) and felt like I was starting the day with dessert. Mmm.

Going to quiz tonight, so I'm planning on just wingin' it for dinner. Plenty of frozen veggies, veggie burgers, canned beans, canned veggies and tuna for me to work with.

EXERCISE:

Did my first lifting session with the new set this morning. Barbell (which hardly weighs anything) plus 30 lbs.

Today's routine:
-5 min. warm-up (jump rope, jumping jacks, high knees, butt-kicks)
-1 set 12 squats, no barbell
-3 sets 12 squats, with barbell
-4 sets of 12 bench presses

Need to work on my form still, especially with the bench press. Seems easy enough, but I'm still getting used to my new bench and figuring out which adjustments to make for the best fit.

Started to do yoga afterward, but said "fuck this" after about 20 seconds into the warm-up. Since I haven't taken a whole day off from working out the past few weeks, I figured at the very least, I needed a "lazy" workout day where I kept things under 30 minutes. Yes, it's an excuse and yes I probably could have benefited from the yoga, but whatever.

Lastly, my guns are starting to look/feel loaded. I'm kinda falling in love with them now. Thank you, weight training! Haha.

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Also did a body fat percentage measurement this morning. First week, I was at 20.9% (approximately). Second week, no change. Third week, I didn't bother measuring since I was on my period. This week: 19%. Not bad! I have noticed some visual changes the past couple of weeks, especially in my upper body, so I was hoping that would translate into an overall fat loss.

Never enough time.

So last night I went on a cereal mini-binge. Ugh. I think after anticipating how I'm going to be lowering my carb intake over the next few weeks, I, without really thinking, knocked out 2 cereal sample boxes that I got in the mail earlier this week, haha. (And in case you were wondering, the new Blueberry Pomegranate Total is pretty damn tasty.)

I'm not going to cut carbs completely, but some of the things I'm going to just stop buying are: bread, granola bars, crackers (in fact, I have a lot still sitting around going stale, so I won't bother trying to finish them off) cereal (though I might make an occasional exception for Kashi) and probably english muffins. And I need to wean myself off of popcorn. Baby steps though, haha.

I'm not going to make any specific changes starting on X day either though. The reality is, I'm broke until next week and I need to make do with what's already in the house until I can go shopping again. There are very few things I will flat out throw away because wasting food just isn't an option on my current budget. Also, these changes are going to be gradual. I'd love to hit the ground running with this, but it's just not realistic and I don't want to set myself up for failure.

FOOD:

breakfast:
egg beaters- 1
1/4 c. oats- 1
blueberries- 1
coffee w/ .25 c. almond milk- 0

snack:
lightfull smoothie- 1
11 almonds- 2
carrot/celery sticks- 0
PB2- 1

lunch:
healthy choice honey ginger chicken- 6
popcorn ball- 1

snack:
cucumber/bell pepper- 0
apple- 1

dinner:
salmon- 3
broccoli/carrots- 1
1 oz. avocado- 1

post-dinner:
peaches- 1
kashi waffle- 1

total points used: 22/22 (Wendie Plan)
activity points: 50 min HIIT routine- 7
WAPs: 4/35 remaining

Breakfast this morning was interesting. I was basically trying to re-create this recipe. I used 1/2 c. egg beaters, 1/2 c. blueberries, 1/4 c. old fashioned oats, about 1.5 tbsp. granulated splenda, cinnamon and about 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract. I mixed it all together and dumped it in the skillet.

It was by far one of the most visually unappealing things I've made in a while, seeing as the juice from the blueberries turned everything, including the eggs, a nice blue-gray color. BUT, it actually tasted pretty damn good. The cinnamon and the blueberries clashed though. I added the cinnamon first, forgetting that I was going to add blueberries later. Had I left out the cinnamon (or used peaches instead of blueberries), it would've tasted even better. I couldn't get it to hold into a single piece though (I think there was too much juice from the berries), so it ended up being this weird, discolored scramble. But again, the taste was pleasant. Definitely something different that I'll look forward to improving in the future.

EXERCISE:

Made it to the gym this morning for HIIT.

Today's routine:
-15 min. run
-10 min. incline training
-15 min. stair master
-10 min. elliptical/cool-down

Since I went overboard with cereal last night, I decided to kick things up a notch this morning. I worked on my speed during the run. Got up to 6.5 mph and stayed there the majority of the interval. It was actually pretty comfortable (or rather, not as hellish as I thought it would be). I think my next goal to work toward will be 7 mph. Gotta keep changing things up! I must admit, I was pretty motivated by the girl running next to me who was up to 8 mph. I don't need to run that fast, but I'd like to be able to some day, just to say I can.

I made sure that I spent 15 minutes on both running and the stair master because those tend to be the big heart-rate boosters for me. And the stair master today felt particularly brutal. I did my usual "fat-burning" course (basically going up and down hills) at level 7 (highest level is 20). I've done that course before, but pushing it to 15 minutes was a challenge. Felt awesome when I made it to the end though.

All in all, it was a good workout. I'll probably go to gym again tomorrow, but will probably focus more on running instead of intervals. Maybe.
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Other than that, my morning was rushed. I got up 15 minutes earlier than usual, but somehow dragged major ass while showering/getting ready. Barely had time to finish my coffee. Ah well. I'm off tomorrow, so no more complaints.

Hooray for new things.

Went over my points a bit with some ice cream last night. But y'know what? It was light, creamy and delicious and it made my soul feel better. So there, haha.

FOOD:

breakfast:
egg beaters- 1
salsa- 0
onion alternative bagel- 1
1 oz. avocado- 1

lunch:
sandwich thin- 1
chicken slices- 1
r.f. pepperjack cheese- 1
1 oz. avocado- 1
cantaloupe cubes/grapes- 3

snack:
bell pepper strips- 0
popcorn- 1

dinner:
wine- 8
coors light- 2
pizza- 33
pretzels- 1
corn chips- 3
potato chips- 4
hummus- 2
sour cream dip- 3
peach cobbler- 6
ice cream- 2
spinach artichoke dip- 2
crackers- 2
cheesecake bites- 21
brie w/ bread- 4

total points used: 104/23
activity points: 53 min. run- 7
net points: 97
WAPs: -42/35 remaining

So, in my quest to eat more healthy fats, I've discovered that spreading mashed avocado on top of a toasted onion bagel is the shiiiiit! It's so good. I just sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper on top and it's good to go. Great alternative to cream cheese, I think (well, while avocados are on sale 3 for $1, anyway). Though, I've been known to mix weird random things and think it tastes awesome, so proceed with caution if you decide to try it, heh.

EXERCISE:

Morning run. And OMG, it was a great one! It was hard to get going because it was cloudy and kinda foggy, but I forced myself out of the house around 8 am. It dawned on me last night that I should try running around the college campus where I work. I see people running/biking around there all the time, but it never occurred to me to try it, despite the fact that our neighborhood is right across the street.

Anywho, it was fun! I did about 1.5 laps, going from one end of campus to the other. Even went on one of the trail paths in the hills behind the rec center. It was just a much-needed change of pace because there were various hills to push me out of my comfort zone and all sorts of turns that forced me to use my back and ab muscles more.

That said, there were a lot of parts that went downhill, but I seemed to hit them all at the right time, as I was getting tired and ready for a short cool-down.

I'm definitely going to do it again in the future. There were some good inclines that I would like to master at a decent speed some day. The change of scenery was appreciated, as I was starting to get bored with the usual trail I run on. And I actually love running on cloudy mornings now. It was just cool, gray and peaceful. Yet another reason for me and Doug to move to Portland, OR someday.

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Pretty good start to the weekend so far. And my weight was down a bit this morning. Hopefully that trend continues the rest of the week. I'm actually ok with weighing myself daily these days. I was reading some articles that say it's perfectly ok to do, as long as you don't allow it to stress you out and understand how much weight can fluctuate day-to-day. I think it helps to give me a better idea of what works, in terms of food intake and exercise. At the same time though, I still know that what I see each day won't necessarily dictate the results of my Friday weigh-ins. I guess what it boils down to is me just being curious.

We're having the going away party for our friends tonight, hence me burning 700 calories on my run this morning. I'm not against using some allowance points, but a little extra calorie burn doesn't hurt either, right?