Ratatouille and Our Amazingness

 

Last night for dinner I made another recipe from Better Homes and Garden’s Slow Cooker Favorites Made Healthy. It was super easy, and pretty tasty.

I didn’t use the bread they suggested, instead I used just light wheat bread and it it into triangles. It’s 5 ww points per serving. For me, it was a perfect lunch portion today, but last night for dinner I was left a little hungry. I wish I would have beefed it up with a little pasta or rice.

So far this week, I feel great. I’ve been eating well. I’ve exercised. Work has been exhausting, but I am officially over the summer hump (as we call it) and have less than 50 days until Labor Day and my life turns back into something, somewhat, resembling normal.

I’ve had a few questions in comments lately about how my knees are holding up during training. They are doing pretty well. I just have to be sure to stretch them out and ice them at the beginning of any soreness. They are holding up better than I thought they would! Especially the one that was hurt awhile back.

There is so much stuff going on in the blog world these days:

Ryan of No More Bacon is celebrating his 1 year “healthiversary”!

Caitlin of Healthy Tipping Point and Operation Beautiful got some very exciting news!

Seth of Fit with a Purpose is hosting another challenge!

Lindsay at Healthy Stride completed her first cycling event!

I know I’ve said it before, but I am so happy to be a part of the blogging community. I get really excited for all of you when you achieve something amazing. It motivates me to get out there and do more!

We are all amazing.

For the first time in my life, I feel comfortable saying “We” instead of “You”. We are all amazing. We are proof that healthy living is achievable and fun. We didn’t go to a fancy ranch, we aren’t popping pills or crash dieting. We are just doing it.

Good for us! Let’s give us all a round of applause! Own your amazingness. I am finally owning mine and it feels pretty good.

Leave me a comment and tell me something AMAZING that you have done. It could be something as simple as cooking a healthy dinner to running a marathon. I know you have all done something…let’s hear about it. Let’s celebrate our amazingness together! :)

I’ll start: I ran a 10k when even at the starting line I was doubting my ability to finish. I ran it, had a great time running it and was very proud of myself at the end.

Weekly Update with Tonyne

 

So, this week was a good week.  I’m going to start off with my High/Lows.

Highs

• I am now the proud owner of a great set of golf clubs and an adorable new bag.
• I worked out 4 times this week and had some really great runs. If you count the driving range as a work out (and I totally do, I was drenched when we were finished, of course it was 90 degrees with wicked humidity) I worked out 5 times!
• I tracked all of my food and I ate within points. Staying true to my current goals.
• I didn’t drink even when faced with temptation!

Lows

• I’m fighting with the no drinking thing. I’ve realized that telling myself “No” only makes me want something more. Shocking, isn’t it?
• I was very snacky. I stayed within points (for the most part) and tracked my snacks, but I found myself eating even when I wasn’t hungry.

That’s about it for the lows. I have just had a good, happy week and I feel so much better! I cooked lots of great meals this week, all made with REAL food and my body is thanking me for it by giving me more energy and a better mood. I am now a firm believer that Junk Food makes you feel like Junk. Occasionally, it’s ok, but like everything else…MODERATION is key.

As for weigh in, I will continue to report it on Fridays, but I don’t want that to be the focus of my Friday Updates. I want the focus to me my high/lows because I feel those are what is most important and those are what I learn the most from. My weight this week is: 156lbs, down 1lb from last week.

Tonight I’m on-call for work and this weekend I really don’t have any great plans. My husband starts a new schedule on Sunday which will give us less time together, so I want to be sure to spend lots of time with him. Saturday night will be tough because I know he will want to go out because it’s his last free Saturday night. This schedule change has thrown us both for a loop. Fingers crossed I can stick to my guns about not drinking!

I plan to get a rest day in on Sunday and maybe some Yoga on Saturday. It’ll be a nice, easy weekend before my half marathon training (it’s a long training plan for my half marathon in October) starts on Monday.  It builds up slow, which will be good for my knee.

What are you doing do be active this weekend? Do you have any fun plans? What was your high and low for the week?

Presto Pesto

 

Yesterday I mentioned that I made a batch of home made gnocchi and ohmygoodnessiminlove! Especially after I made this sauce to go on top of it. This was my Meatless Monday.

Presto Pesto (1 pt per serving, 2 servings)

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw spinach   
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese  
2 tsp minced garlic  
2 Tbsp vegetable broth
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

Combine the above and blend.

It’s that simple. This pesto would be good on anything. I left out the pine nuts due to the husband’s allergy, plus, I’m not a huge fan of them.  I had it on gnocchi with a side of zucchini and onions. It was an amazing dinner.

I was famished by dinner time because I…MADE IT TO THE POOL!!!!

 

Before	After

Swimming laps is HARD WORK! I had my Blackberry in a Ziploc bag beside the pool because I’m on call for work. I wouldn’t normally have taken pictures, but after my behavior the past week and a half, you guys should be demanding proof of my workouts. I did 20 minutes of serious laps, stopping for a 1 minute break every 5 minutes or so. I did a mixture of freestyle, back stroke and breast stroke. I also spent 5 minutes before and after really stretching out my knee in the water. It felt so good! I am so lucky to have an indoor pool at my amenity center. I can’t believe I haven’t been using it!

So, I give myself a Gold Star for Monday. I know one good day, does not get me back on the wagon, but at least I feel as if I can see the wagon now!

I want to thank you all for your encouragement and support yesterday. My heart is full.  I was really surprised by how many of you appreciated my honesty. I promise to lay it all out there, if it helps someone feel like they are not alone. This journey is hard. We have to support each other.

I just got back from the gym where I did 22 minutes on the Elliptical, some arm weights and crunches. I didn’t have nearly enough time as I had hoped I would, we seem to be having a smoke detector issue at our home this morning, I spent 15 minutes climbing up and down on a stool changing batteries. I think that totally should count as exercise.

I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday!

7 miles

It's 5:40am and I am awake! I am bound and determined to get reacquainted with this hour of the day. Would I rather be sleeping? Absolutely. However I am proud that I am awake. With my work schedule really becoming something rather hectic for the next few months, I worry that the blog will suffer. So, I'm going to try to start writing early in the morning that way it's done and posted before the mad dash begins. So, getting up at 5:15am not only gives me time for a work out it gives me a little time to blog!

As for my workout this morning, I am going to do AM Yoga with Rodney Yee. I have had this DVD forever, but I love it. He has a very soothing voice.

I chose Yoga this morning because I am a little stiff from my 7 mile run yesterday. That's right, my 7 mile run.



That is my farthest distance yet. I am proud of myself for completing the run, however it was far from my best run. I was very sluggish and slow due to the fact I didn't get enough sleep, I had a bit too much drink the night before and I didn't eat appropriately the day before either. It was ROUGH. The Lighthouse 10k is in 2 weeks, this chick will be doing some clean living until after that. I can't put my body through another run like that. I felt like I was hitting the wall for the entire run. But, I did finish it! I wanted to quit so many times, but I didn't. I finished.

So, it's Monday morning and 2 of my goals have been completed. I completed my 7 mile run (finally) and I am awake before 6am. Go me! Let's put the Easter Candy away and keep the pendulum swinging in the right direction for awhile!

We are having a heat wave here in NC. It's supposed to be 80 degrees today! It would be the perfect day to sit on the beach or by the pool! How's the weather where you are?

Meatless Monday - Spinach & Pea Manicotti

Last night after work, I was drained. I didn't feel like doing anything. I did manage to do a little stress relief yoga and cook dinner for me and my friend Kelly. I used EatBetterAmerica.com's Three Cheese Manicotti recipe as a guideline. Below is the recipe how I modified it.



Spinach & Pea Manicotti

8 dried manicotti shells
Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup diced onions
1 cup chopped frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
3/4 cup frozen sweet peas (thawed)
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)
3/4 cup egg white substitute
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce combined with garlic & onion powder & Italian seasoning to taste.(and 1/4 cup diced tomatoes if you have them available)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook manicotti shells according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, for filling, coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. Add onions, spinach, peas and garlic to hot skillet. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or just until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in ricotta cheese, ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, the egg substitute, and Italian seasoning. Spoon filling into cooked manicotti shells.

3. Spread about 1/3 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti shells in individual baking dishes or large baking dish, overlapping shells slightly if necessary. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti.

4. Bake, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes for individual baking dishes or 35 to 40 minutes for large baking dish or until heated through. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese & Parmesan Romano. Bake for 5 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This is a very exhausted me holding up the finished product.



This was a really good dish. I love the flavor of spinach and peas together! It reminded me a lot of Gina's Spinach Lasagna Rolls I made awhile back. I paired it with a spinach salad and it was a very filling meal. Kelly enjoyed it as well...we paired it with a glass bottle of red while we discussed our excitement for Girls Weekend.

This morning I had a pretty good run for a Tuesday! I seem to usually struggle on Tuesdays, but I'm not sure why. Today was good though.



While I was running, I kept thinking "I can't believe how much I love running". I really can't. I'm in shock at how much it's changed my life. I'm not the best runner or the fastest, but I have a passion for it that is almost equal to my love of food. :)

I want to thank you all for your amazing comments on my SELF magazine appearance. If you would have told me 1 year ago that I would be in a magazine that didn't focus on cheeseburgers, chubby chicks or beer I would have laughed you right out of town. I've come a long way baby, and I'm damn proud of it.


I want you all to take a minute and think about something for me. What have you done lately that makes you say "Damn! I'm proud of me!"? Tell me. :)

SELF Magazine, what? That's nonsense!

I can finally tell you my super secret news!

On Saturday, I got a phone call from a friend shortly after getting home from work. "YOU'RE FAMOUS" she screamed into the phone. I wouldn't go that far, but it is pretty cool to finally be able to share my super secret news with you.



That's me, down at the very bottom, sharing a magazine page with Jessica Alba in SELF Magazine's April issue! I was asked and the pictures were taken back in November (well, except the running picture which had to be retaken...still not fond of that one) and I didn't want to tell anyone until the magazine was on the shelves. We all know how these things can fall through.

How did it happen? Well about 9 months ago SELF asked a question on Twitter (I don't remember the question or my answer) and I answered. They didn't use my answer for whatever it was but several months later I got an email from one of the editors telling me about their new "My SELFy Day" column. They thought I would be a good fit and they wanted me to submit some tweet-like updates about a day when I did SELFy things, healthy and balanced. I used a day when I was in Greensboro as an example. They liked my submission and therefore made me the first My SELFy Day in print form.

It's really surreal, but I have to say, it's a pretty awesome way to turn 30...which will happen on March 31st. :) Speaking of that, on Friday I leave for Savannah for Girls Weekend and I couldn't be more excited! My meal plan for the week is pretty lame because of it, but here it is:

Meatless Monday - Healthified Three-Chesse Manicotti from EatBetterAmerica.com
Tuesday - Boca Burger and French Un-Fried Potatoes
Wednesday - Butternut Squash Orzo
Thursday - Tuna Cakes and some vegetable side

Since I'm leaving Friday morning I have no idea what my Friday night will be like!

Oh and just in case you're interested, on Sunday I had a kick ass 6 mile run. Yes "Kick ass" is needed to describe it.



How was your weekend? Did you do anything active? Cook any crazy good healthy recipes?

Rare Saturday Post

Ok, I know I don't normally post on Saturdays, but I'm having a "Holy Crap" moment.

My husband randomly said "Let's go to the thrift store". That alone was the shock of my day, he hates shopping, until I got to the store and found this really cute coat when I first walked in. I was bummed to see a "EXPRESS (already not usually my size) 7/8" on the label, but I wanted to try it on anyway thinking "One day, it might work". Well, guess what?



It totally fits. :) *happy dance*

A Friday Funny!

I want to start with one of my favorite jokes, it goes like this:

A guy was riding the elevator into work one morning and a lady got on and said "T.G.I.F.!" He looked at her and "S.H.I.T.!". A bit more determined she repeated "T.G.I.F.!", he replied again and said "S.H.I.T.!". She's a little angry now and says "T.G.I.F., you know, Thank Goodness it's Friday?". He looks at her and smiles when he says "S.H.I.T., Sorry Hun, it's Thursday."

I love that joke. :)



Well, it's Friday, this I know! I'm am so looking forward to the weekend! I don't have any real plans. Saturday I may take Chaser to the new dog park. Then the husband and I are planning to go out Saturday night, nothing major, just a few drinks, just us and then meet up with some friends later to celebrate a birthday. Then on Sunday I have a 5 mile run. The weather won't be nearly as warm as it was last weekend, but it will be sunny!

I know there's something I'm supposed to tell you guys on Fridays...it's slipping my mind though....

I have my meal plan ready for next week, here it is!

Monday - (Meatless Monday Meal) Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Tuesday - Oven Fried Chicken & Hungry-Girl's Butternut Squash Bake (the recipe link I can't seem to find now)
Wednesday - Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
Thursday - Butternut Squash Orzo and Brussels Sprouts
Friday - BBQ Chicken in the Crockpot

Yummy! I'm looking forward to eating next week!

Man, I know something is slipping my mind...

I finished reading My Sister's Keeper last night and it was such a great book. I totally did not expect the ending. I haven't seen the movie yet, not sure I want to. I don't want to give it away, but if it's a great book and I recommend it!

Maybe I forgot to tell you my mini-goal for the next week.

Have only 1 snack after dinner. I have a problem of snacking several times after dinner. I know I'm a night-time snacker and I allot points for that. I want to limit myself to 1 snack after dinner.

I remember what I'm supposed to tell you know...I'm supposed to tell you to Have a great weekend!!!

Right?

Ok, ok, I remember! I weighed-in this morning at 162.7, -.3 lbs for the week. You were all right, the scale surprised me. I will take the .3 loss and be VERY happy about it. :)

Do you set mini-goals for each week? If so, what is your mini-goal for next week?

This feels more like me.

Happy Thursday Folks!

I feel more like me today. :)

Cracking jokes, smiling, laughing, talking...it feels good to be back.

I want to thank every single one of you that had encouraging words for me yesterday. You have no idea how much I needed to hear them and how much they helped me. I am so grateful for every one of you and you all helped to get me back to my good spirits.



Oh, my bad...was Rob Pattinson in there? Gosh, I'm sorry. I don't know how he found his way into my Thank You. So strange...

Last night I had a tasty dinner! I made a variation of the Weight Watcher's recipe for Italian Sausage and Pepper pasta.



I'm not going to retype the recipe because I didn't change it much and I don't want to take credit for it, all I did was add some chopped asparagus and chopped fresh spinach. It was very filling and very yummy! I have the leftovers for my lunch. Tonight I'm making Chicken Souvlaki Pitas!

I had a pretty good run this morning. It was on the treadmill. I am growing to hate the treadmill. I used to prefer it to running outside, but now it's just the opposite. I had good speed on the treadmill though and that I like. :)



Tomorrow is my official weigh-in and you know what, I don't care if I'm up. I over ate this week, big deal. I still worked out when I was supposed to, logged everything I ate, even the bad stuff and I made it through the week without killing anyone. I will reign in my eating, I always do. This will not be a set-back. I call that a huge success.

I made this JibJab video yesterday to make me smile. This is what the husband and I would look like if we were bobble head figure skaters. :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Ok, time to actually get some work done. I am so happy it's Thursday! So happy in fact I sang a cheesy song at the top of my lungs on the way to work. I sang "I wanna know what love is....I want you to show me!" You know the one. What's your favorite Monster Car Ballad? :)

Weekend Update of Love

I hope you all had wonderful Valentine's Days! :) My husband surprised me by leaving a dozen roses on the kitchen counter for me to find when I got home from work on Friday. We don't see each other on Friday due to our work schedules, and he has never bought me real flowers (he did buy me beautiful handmade paper roses for our 1 year wedding anniversary) before so I cried like a baby. They are beautiful! If you look closely you can see a picture from our wedding day in the background...I noticed it when I was picking pictures for this entry! :)

Friday night, my friend Kelly came over and we booked hotel rooms for a Girls Weekend trip to Savannah, GA for my 30th (ugh) birthday next month! I am so excited. We are staying in the super lovely Inn at Ellis Square and planning a Haunted Pub Crawl for Saturday night. 38 days to go and I am so excited!

If you remember, on Friday I was talking about how we were rumored to get a very rare beach snow on Friday night. Well, we got 3 inches, which is VERY rare for this area and it was beautiful!




Chaser The Wonder Schnauzer wasn't really sure how felt about it.



Jeff and I went out grocery shopping and the roads were completely clear. It was the perfect snow, beautiful to look at, clear roads and it melted quickly!


Saturday evening Jeff and I decided to stay in and watch movies. I had it in my head that I was going to order pizza. I was going to eat as much pizza as I could stuff in my mouth and enjoy every bite. I took a few minutes and thought about it and decided that I would make a pita-pizza at home. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but to me, it was a huge victory. You know what? It tasted just as good as delivery and was so much better for me!





Sunday, I had a great 4 mile run! This is my longest outdoor run yet! I felt great, took a few walking breaks when I needed to and still averaged a pretty decent pace...for me at least!



After my run I decided it was finally time to buy some new running shoes. I love my current Asics GT-2140s, but they are causing me blisters now and the support is all but gone. I have well over 300 miles on them and it's time to replace them. I found a GREAT deal on Asics GT-2110s at Amazon.com. I got them in the White/Periwinkle. I can't wait until they get here! I never thought I'd be so excited about running shoes!

All in all, I had a fantastic weekend! I hope you did too!

How was your weekend? :)

I did it! A weekend on-point!

Do you see that people? That is every drink and morsel of food that entered my mouth from Friday-Sunday night. (Just add 1 point for a bag of 100 calorie popcorn that I ate after I snipped the above image) I only went into my flex points by 3.5! They thought I was crazy last night, logging onto my Weight Watchers account from my Blackberry logging in every beer and even 1 shot, but I had to keep track! Too many times I just drink and say "forget it, I lost count!" Not this time!

So I would call this weekend a great success for me! I managed to go to the movies and resist temptation, I made White Bean Burgers on Saturday, I made 3 so I knew I would have healthy meals easily available on Sunday. I'm not going to share the recipe here because I didn't really care for them that much, no great shakes really. In summary, some simple planning made it easier to stay on track!

How about that Super Bowl? I was rooting for The Saints and I guess it paid off!



Me and Kelly with our Mardi Gras beads.

I had a wonderful time at the bar with friends. I missed so many commercials! That's my favorite part...I love the Betty White Snickers commercial though! And the Budweiser one with the Horse and the Cow on either side of the fence. So adorable!

Chaser Update: He is almost 100% back to normal. He's still a little groggy, but he's happy and playful and no worse for wear. He was so pitiful. For those of you who missed it, Chaser The Wonder Schnauzer had a vaccine reaction on Saturday.

Be sure to check back tonight for my Meatless Monday recipe. I'm playing with Tofu again with a Broccoli, Ginger and Tofu Stir Fry with brown rice.

Did you watch the Super Bowl? What was your favorite commercial?

Eventful Saturday!

 

First off, I did GREAT at the movies last night! I snuck in two 100 Calorie bags of popcorn (one for me, one for Kelly) and a bottle of Diet Peach Snapple. Kelly snuck in some “fun size” (aka – evil size) chocolate candy!

I almost got busted at the concession stand when my dear friend Kelly, who forgot her drink and had to buy one, badgered me in front of the guy at the register about why I wasn't buying a drink. I had to give her the "giant eyeball are you serious stare-down" before she realized what she was doing. I ate my bag of popcorn and 1 evil size Snickers bar. My snacks were better than the movie “Dear John” I’m afraid. I just was not impressed at all. We rented “Whip It” to try and redeem the evening and it did! That movie was fantastic!

This morning I took Chaser to the Vet. He’s such a happy dog, no matter where he is!

 

However, after his appointment he was not too happy. I got home with him and he began panting heavily and broke out in terrible hives. Having been a Vet Tech for a few years I recognized the signs, he was having a vaccine reaction and took him right back to the Vet. They gave him some IV Meds and stopped the reaction. I’m very happy to say that he is doing much better but tonight he is a very tired pup!

After our eventful morning, The Husband and I headed out to get groceries and supplies for the Super Bowl party at the bar tomorrow. While I was out, I picked up this!

I’m sad to report that it appears my Wii Fit has been correct on my weight, only off by about a pound.  However, I am happy to have this new scale and have set up a weighing area in my laundry room along with a graph to track all the body analysis this crazy scale does! Remember, there’s a $5 off coupon at Coupons.com for WW Conair scales! I ended up paying $24 for this after the coupon.

 

Once home, I was famished, the yogurt I had eaten at 10am was gone. So I whipped up a quick Tuna Salad and ate it on tostadas with some spinach. YUM!

My Tuna Salad is simple!

1 package of tuna

2 Tbsp Miracle Whip

1 Tbsp Dill Pickle Cubes

1-2 squirts of lemon juice

Salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder and paprika to taste.

The whole shebang, with 2 Mission Corn Tortillas (baked until crisp to make a “tostada”) ended up only being 7 points.

So, it’s been a very eventful day here! I’m relaxing with a beer watching Iron Chef with the husband. We plan to watch some movies tonight and rest up for tomorrow.

I hope you are all having fantastic weekends!

My 100th Post!

Good Morning Everyone!!

Do you know what this is? It's my 100th Blog Post!! They always celebrate for 100th TV episodes, so I'm going to celebrate my 100th Blog Post. Yay me! :) I have come a long way in 100 posts. Some days I have no idea where I want to go with this blog, most days I don't even know what I want to write. It has been such a huge motivational tool for me! Encouragement that I get in emails and comments makes me smile every day! The Unlikely Success Story has been a huge tool in my journey, and I plan to continue to utilize it as such!

Ok, onward and upward!

As part of Operation Freezer I have a ton of talapia filets in my freezer that I need to begin to cut down on. I'm not a huge fan of talapia, it occasionally has a dirt like taste (to me) that I just can't get past unless there is a lot of flavor in the way it's cooked. Last night, I found my new favorite recipe and I believe I will be eating a lot more talapia. I found a recipe for Greek Lemon Fish in a Prevention cookbook that I have and can't find a link to on Amazon or their site. Here is how I changed it up a bit.

This is for 1 filet, 1 serving and is 4 ww points.


Greek Lemon Fish




Ingredients
1/3 pound(s) raw tilapia
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Spice Islands World Flavor Greek Seasoning

Instructions

Whisk olive oil, seasoning and lemon juice, set aside.

Coast nonstick pan with cooking spray and cook talapia filet for 2 minutes per side.

Pour olive oil mixture over fish and allow to cook for 1-2 more minutes.

Serve talapia with pan juice spooned on top.

I served it with a side of Quinoa that I cooked in chicken stock with olives and green beans. It was a very satisfying, healthy meal!

If you haven't tried Quinoa yet, I highly recommend it! It has a great flavor and texture! From the website, here are some more reasons to enjoy Quinoa!

4 more reasons to enjoy the benefits of quinoa:

1. It’s a VEGETARIAN solution, a balanced-amino-acid source of high quality protein.

2. It’s a SENIOR solution, a high-iron food that raises the hematocrit, delivers more oxygen to the brain, fights senility.

3. It’s a DIABETIC solution, a very low-glycemic-index cereal type food.

4. It’s a TASTE SOLUTION, quite delicious.

How can you go wrong!

I did my 30 minute training run this morning.



It felt like my legs were lead and I never really found my stride. You have to take the good runs with the bad. They happen sometimes!

I had my Green Smoothie this morning, this time with Banana, Peaches and Spinach and now I'm enjoying a Chai Tea with some Light Vanilla Soy Milk. It's the first time I've had Chai Tea and I like it! With the Vanilla Soy Milk is tastes a little like a spice cake with cream cheese icing. Or at least that's how it tastes to me! I think it might be a somewhat acceptable substitute (occasionally) for my morning travel mug of coffee!

So, it's Thursday...we have almost made it to the weekend. Who's excited for Superbowl? Anyone making any special recipes for the big game? I'd love to hear about them!

I don't know if I'd call it a proud moment but...

Monday morning is back again, it's such a tricky little thing. It seems like it comes out to play so much faster than Friday afternoon. I don't know how it does that.

I had a great weekend though. Friday night I was low key, just stayed home and watched TV. Saturday the husband and I did some shopping. We also stopped at our friends new Sweepstakes place (it opened that day) to do a little gambling on computer slots. I won $76! I was the first winner!

After a trip to the grocery store we headed home for dinner. We got a call from our friend Chris who we had not hung out with in a while and he wanted us to come out and play. So, the husband and I headed out for "a few beers" those few beers turned into lots of beers, more friends showed up, many shots were consumed, dancing done, GREAT times had by all but it lead to...



One of my top 10 worst hangovers of all time. Basically, I spent several hours in the bathroom. That's all I'll say about that. It was a rough day, but my 3pm I finally started to feel human again.

I am proud of myself not for consuming large quantities of alcohol, that wasn't in my better judgement, but I am proud of myself because I tracked nearly all of it. I tracked my alcohol intake until I couldn't do it anymore (I'm guessing I stopped just shortly after midnight) and then I tracked my entire hangover day. Now, I had a fantastic time with my friends and luckily, these days, nights like that are few and far between for me. I am just proud of myself for keeping up with my points in a situation that normally would have sent me to in a no man's land of calorie consumption for a day and a half.

So, that's my weekend success (kinda) story...what's yours?

Be sure to check back later tonight for Meatless Monday! It's Black Bean Cakes with Avocado Butter. I think you guys are really going to like this one!

I started my morning with a Banana Mango Smoothie and a little 30 Day Shred! Let's make this a great week, together!

Catch ups!

I figured this morning I would do a series of "Catch Ups" I feel like I've been behind since I've been sick but I'm turning a leaf and I'm ready to start going forward again, even if it is slowly.

Oak Island 10k Training

This morning was my first (albeit a few days behind) training run for the 10k. I was supposed to run for 20-25 minutes according to my Galloway Training Schedule. I ran for exactly 20 minutes because I didn't want to push it and end up sick again. I ran outside on the road and it was approximately 44 degrees. A little colder than I expected, but I really wanted to be outside.



It felt great. I couldn't believe it. I ran the whole time, kept a steady pace and stayed pain-free. Until I stopped. As soon as I stopped it felt as if an elephant had stood on my chest and proceeded to do the polka. It took a long time for that feeling to pass, probably a good 10 minutes or so. However, since it passed, I feel great!

Operation Freezer

I have been doing great with my quest to clean out the freezer! I haven't bought anything that needs to go in the freezer (with the exception of some ripe bananas for smoothies) and I've been eating the main part of my meals out of the freezer for both dinner and lunch. I think I can make it at least 1-2 more weeks without buying any meats!

This morning I decided to try to have breakfast out of the freezer too. I had lots of frozen fruit in my freezer and I recently watched an episode of Good Eats in which Alton Brown shared his weight loss story. He drinks a fruit smoothie every morning for breakfast. He assembles everything the night before in the blender carafe and places it in the fridge so all he has to do is add ice and blend in the morning. I followed his advice on this, but used a different recipe. This morning I had a tasty Banana, Peach and Vanilla Soy Milk Smoothie in no time. Although I'm sure the husband (who is off of work today) didn't appreciate hearing the blender at 7:55am.



I liked it because I could drink it in the car, which was good this morning because I was running a wee bit late! I just hope it keeps me as full as my Chobani Greek Yogurt and Granola usually does. Recipe I used: 1 frozen banana, 1/2 cup of frozen peach slices (both of which defrosted slightly in the fridge over night) and 1 cup of fat free Vanilla Soy Milk.

Meatless Monday

Yes, I know I missed Meatless Monday, but I already have a recipe planned out for Monday. How does Black Bean Cakes with Avocado Butter sound? It's from the Weight Watchers cookbook my Mom got me many moons ago that I haven't used yet.

Ok, this has been a long entry of "Catch Ups". If you made it through, I'm proud of you! :) I am so happy to be feeling better, I know I'm not 100% yet and I don't plan on pushing it too much, but hopefully I'll start to be around a bit more.

Let's keep the pendulum swinging in a positive direction!

OIB Run for Food Race Recap

 

I just completed the OIB Run for Food! It was a 5k and half marathon, I ran the 5k. It raised money for the local food pantry, a type of organization that I believe very strongly in. It was a no pressure, fun road race! The temperature was 26 degrees, cloudy and breezy. It was COLD. We had to cross a high rise bridge, twice. Not sure if you’re familiar with high rise beach bridges, but there is a lot of wind at the top!

 

My good friend Kelly came with me to act as cheerleader and my own personal paparazzi.

While lining up at the start, my worst nightmare was realized. My Ipod, which I fully charged last night, had somehow mysteriously died. I was going to have to run this without my awesome Run Mix I made and without the encouragement of the lovely gentleman (who I imagine looks a bit like Paul Wesley and is madly in love with me) that lives inside my Nike+Ipod. I thought for a split second about quitting, it was cold and this was a major blow, but I toughed it out!

I am so glad I did! The volunteers on this race were amazing. They cheered us on as if they knew us all personally. I know they were freezing too being out in the weather. I tried to thank every one that I passed. If my Ipod had been working I wouldn’t have been nearly as observant!

My finish time was 33:31. I’m not sure what I placed, it was too cold to stick around and find out! I had a great time running this race regardless of the cold. My 2nd 5k, and if I wasn’t sure before I certainly am now…I’m addicted. I’m ready for the next!

Happy Saturday everyone!!

"You're gonna eat lightnin' and you're gonna crap thunder!"

Risin' up, back on the streets, did my time, took my chances....

Sorry, I was having a Rocky moment.

Yes, I was successful in my efforts to have a good, on-point day yesterday. It felt great!




I tracked everything I ate and I had a really great 4 mile run!



It felt really good to have an on-point, healthy day...to remember routine and to remember how much better "satisfied belly" feels as opposed to over "over-stuffed burrito belly". Let's see if I can make today equally as successful!

Coming up later today I'm going to post my 2009 year in review. I love seeing the changes through the months and looking back on the past year in preparation for 2010!

2010 is going to be awesome, I can just feel it in my bones. :)