Plan-a-rana-ding-dong

 

It’s Monday. You know what that means, a plan to tackle the next 5 days. A plan to keep my ass in check. A plan that I am relaying to you so that you will give me a swift kick in the butt if I happen to tweet that I an lounging around in a hammock being fed chocolates by Greek God replicas. I’m helping you, help me. After all, that’s what’s important here. Me. :)   

Meal Plan!

Monday – Crock Pot Ratatouille with Parmesan Toast

Tuesday – Corn & Basil Cakes with a side dish of veg

Wednesday – Jerk Fish Tacos with Peach & Mango Rice (way easier than it sounds, I’ll show you the way)

Thursday – Crock Pot Chicken with Rice & Peas (a WW recipe I can’t link for some reason? Don’t worry, I will still share it, if it’s any good)

Friday – Surely there will be leftover food and I will eat it.

Work Out Plan!

Monday – 30 Minute Run (Boo-yah already done! My legs felt like lead, and the whole run was hard, but I did it.)

Tuesday – Weights or DVD

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – 5 Mile Run (I am 1/2 Marathon training, let’s not forget!)

Friday – Yoga

Saturday – 30 Minute Run

Sunday – Rest

If I happen to get a little golf in there too…BONUS!

So there it is people. That is this week’s plan. I am going to do my best to stick to it. Because if you know you are doing your best, there is no need for excuses.

This post, like my run this morning, is brought to you by one my favorites:  Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.

Watch me cook up some time!

 

This time of year, my every free moment is savored. I live for each one. It’s hard for me to sit down in front of a computer when that is what I do all day every very long summer day. However, this blog is important to me. You guys are important to me. I care about your stories, your comments, your blogs…all very much. I need to make time for this. This is why my Unlikely Success Story is exactly that. Without this blog and without the wonderful blogging community I’m pretty sure the name of this blog would be “Watch Tonyne Booze and Eat herself into coma” or something equally as lame. So, that being said, while I may not have the amount of time to spend here as I do Fall-Spring, I will do my best to set aside blog time during the week where I can write and read until my little heart is content. That way I can hopefully stay an Unlikely Success Story and maybe I can give you a few hints, tips or tricks on how you can become one too.

I made another trip to the library for another cookbook, oh a whim I got  Slow Cooker Favorites made Healthy by Better Homes and Gardens. I happen to  think that the crock pot is the most underused kitchen appliance I own. It’s ridiculous. I mean, really. Do basic prep work like chopping, etc. before bed, go to sleep, wake up, dump said stuff with some more stuff in crock pot, turn it on, have dinner ready when you get home.  This is yet another way I can make time. For blogging, for running, for whatever! Be on the lookout for an increase of crock pot recipes. I’m going to search the internets for recipes like Jacques Cousteau searched for sea life because honestly, who couldn’t use more time? Think about having an hour saved because dinner cooked itself? Why do we under utilize this genius crockery so much? Also, by using the crock pot I’m not heating up my house with the oven making the A/C work twice as hard. Always a bonus.

I used the crock pot on Monday to make sesame chicken lettuce wrap.  Tonight, I made Lentil Taco Salad. A meatless wonder of a meal, chocked full of protein, vegetables and yumminess. Sorry to post a picture of the recipe, but my not retyping it…guess what I saved? TIME! :) If you click on it, it will get big and you can read it, I promise. I did take the time to punch the ingredients into WW Recipe builder to find out that if you serve this as 6 servings (that’s what I did, it says 8, but you know I like big portions) it’s 3 points per serving, without taco chips, sour cream, etc. Not bad at all! Tomorrow I plan to wrap it in a sandwich wrap like a burrito! Very tasty and all I had to do was chop and dump. Love it!

Don’t be scared to try lentils if you haven’t before. They are a wonderful meat substitute or they go great with meat! You can cook them in stews or soups, make burgers with them, anything. They are so versatile. They are also very inexpensive and go a long way, saving you a buck or two! In a meal like tacos, they work great because they have a meaty texture and consistency. They hold flavor well too, so the chili powder and garlic really stand out.

What is your favorite slow cooker/crock pot recipe?

I don’t like excuses

 

I don’t like excuses, but I seem to be full of them these days.

I’m working my ass off at work, so I’m too tired to work out after work.

I’ve had a rough week, I deserve to indulge in too much (insert sinful delight here).

I have nothing good to blog about, so why bother.

I’m EXHAUSTED. Mentally, physically and emotionally.

Those are just some of my excuses that I’ve been using lately to be unaccountable. Unaccountable for taking care of myself. I just don’t think that’s acceptable anymore. I knew this summer was going to be rough for me. I thought I had planned accordingly. I guess I was wrong.

I need to get it together. I am going to focus on the little things.

This weekend was amazing. A friend of mine from Greensboro decided to come down. I was excited to see her, but then, my sister decided to come down too and surprise me. I had no clue she was going to be here! We had a wonderful time and I am yet again thinking how lucky I am to have such amazing people in my life.

Today, didn’t quite go as planned. I meant to wake up early this morning and run…I didn’t. I meant to work out after work but was late leaving the office, then got stuck at an open swing bridge and got home much later than expected. BUT, I still managed to eat a healthy lunch and dinner.

Lunch was a wrap with Asparagus, Sprouts, Granny Smith Apple, Laughing Cow Cheese, Dijon Mustard and Lettuce.

For dinner, I used my crockpot to make some Sesame Ginger Chicken (7 oz. chicken breast, Lawry’s Sesame Ginger marinade, a little water, onion, Sriracha sauce and soy sauce cooked on low for 6 hours) which I shredded and ate in lettuce wraps with some healthy fried brown rice, using leftover rice from Sunday.

 

I managed to write and post a blog entry today…ok, well, I haven’t posted it YET, but you get the point.

And finally, tonight instead of being home alone wishing I had more time to spend with my husband, I am actually going to just unplug and do exactly that since we are actually both home at the same time…at least until he goes to work shortly.

I have a good life. I have a roof over my head. I know the right choices to make. I do what I can. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the big picture seem not so big.

You just don’t need excuses if you know you are doing your best. It’s time I start doing mine.

Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Basil

 

I have a summer cold. They are the worst. I am exhausted. I am constantly switching between insanely cold and insanely hot. I have had to work too. So I’m miserable. I did make an awesome dinner that I wanted to share. I got it out of an old Real Simple Magazine. It’s a recipe I’ve had forever, but hadn’t tried yet.

Curried Eggplant with Tomatoes and Basil (4 servings, 6pts per serving)

Ingredients

1 cup cooked brown rice

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved

1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup fat free sour cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Serve over the rice with sour cream, if using.

Recipe mostly courtesy of Real Simple Magazine

Recipe was cooked almost exactly as published with just a few changes based upon what I had on hand. I made it based on a wing and a prayer. I couldn’t remember if I even liked curry! I knew I’ve had it before, but I couldn’t remember what it tasted like. I’m glad I tried it, because I DO like curry. :)

I hope to be back up to my old tricks soon! But for now, cooking dinner and writing this post took all I had left for the day. Time for my couch and a movie.

I miss you guys! I hope you all had great holiday weekends!

I’m a nerd and proud.

 

Yesterday my friend Kelly and I had an Eclipse brunch. We are Twi-Nerds. For the first movie, my friend Katie and I went to the midnight premiere. For New Moon, Kelly joined us, we had a whole Twi-Night. We ate “Wolf Stew”, “Vampire Dip” and “Sparkle Cupcakes”, we had several cocktails and went to the midnight premiere of that as well. Here we are that night:

Katie, Kelly and Me

Katie moved to Orlando, and you all know how busy I am during the summer, so Kelly and I opted to go to a Thursday matinee of Eclipse. Katie went too, at the same time in a theater in Orlando. Because, that’s what BFFs do. We conference called after the movie! Kelly and I opted to have brunch beforehand. I made a Lemon Poppy Seed Cake and fruit salad with a yogurt drizzle. Kelly provided Mimosas. I made my stuff the night before, since I knew I was going to get up early to run.

Yes, that is a giant Edward head on my tee shirt and no I don’t wear it normally. It was a gag gift for my 30th birthday from Katie. I thought it was appropriate to wear since she wasn’t with us today. The brunch was amazing and the movie was as well.

The yogurt drizzle was the star of the show. I mixed 1 and 1/2 8oz. containers of fat free french vanilla yogurt with 1/2 of a container of fat free cool whip. Amazing. You should try it sometime! This was definitely one of the highs of my week. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends in my life. Being around them, even talking to them on the phone brightens my day.

This brings me to my High Lows for the week!

Highs

• I worked out 5 days (if you count the driving range as a work out, and I do) this week! Totally sticking to my workout schedule for the week.
• I had my first outdoor run since my knee injury and it held up great!
• I went to the driving range with my husband. I love time we get to spend together other than sitting around because we’re both exhausted from working.
• I had the greatest meatballs of my entire life while discovering that eating at a table and not in front of the TV can be life changing.
• I didn’t let work stress get to me like it normally does.
• The Eclipse Mimosa Brunch and Movie.

Lows

• I didn’t track my food as well as I should have.

That is honestly it for my lows. I had a great week, regardless of what the scale says about it. Speaking of the scale…I am 156.4 this week, up .3 from last week. I don’t like the up part, but I know why.

I hope you all have fun and safe 4th of July weekends! I will be working tomorrow, but I will have Sunday off. I’m hoping to enjoy some fireworks on Saturday night but now that the husband’s schedule has changed and he works weekends, I have no idea what my plans will be. I guess I’ll be winging it. :)

Are you doing anything fun for the 4th? Tell me all about it! :)