App Drama and What's Beautiful

I just typed an entire post about my UAWell program at work and the great group of people I work with but it got wiped out!!!!  one stroke of a key and the entire flipped post got wiped out!!!!  URGGG

I can't do it again...too pooped :)

I do honestly need to get more positive with myself.  I must stop being so hard on myself.  I've gotten pretty good about not saying negative things about my body out loud but I still think them constantly.  Why do I do this?  I feel pretty sometimes...  I think I have nice hair and a nice smile.  I can see some of what makes me beautiful in my daughter...She is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen and everyone says we look just alike so I must be beautiful, right?!

When it is just a head shot I can see what could make me pretty.  However when I see myself in a mirror or if by some chance someone gets a full body photo I can't see anything but the flaws in my body and my weight.  It is hard for me to really think of myself as attractive when I think about or see my body...   My husband, bless his heart, doesn't agree with me.  He tells me I'm beautiful all the time...then why don't I believe it???  I really need to work on this...

Alright Debbie Downer has left the building :)  hehe

Today was pretty great and included egg whites with spinach and a wheat english muffin with a drizzle of honey.

Lunch was a salad with chicken, a little feta, chick peas, carrotts, beats and some croutons with some tahini dressing...Mmmmmmmm

Dinner was whole wheat pizza with ricotta, spinach and onions.  SO GOOD!!!

I hit the gym with Terri and did C25k and 5 minutes on the elliptical.  Sweating like a crazy person...workout DONE!!!  Felt great now I'm watching Furious 6 with hubby and will hit the sack early.  

Make the day great!!

TTFN

So...How'd it go??

Had a blast last night but didn't get home until 9:30 PM :/  That meant no gym b/c I was just too dang tired.  I should have went yesterday morning.  It's ok, I'll just take a pass for the day (Shhhhh, don't tell anyone) haha.  Just a quick Food Journal then I'm off to my crazy day.

Morning was same ole...bfast sammie
Lunch had 2 parts, some mushroom soup from this weekend then I met a friend and needed some greens...

Our Cafe at work was CRAZY BUSY yesterday...the lines were nuts and it took me 20 minutes to get this little baby made :)  It consists of greens, chick peas, carrots, beets, chicken, asparagus, some crumbled pita chips for texture and green goddess dressing (SO STINKIN GOOD) and healthy!!  It is made here by our catering company.  Base is greek yogurt :/  Mmmmmmmmmm 

Then the outing...  we had an appetizer of hummus with veggies

For dinner I got talked into the veggie plate by by co-worker/friend.  She is uber healthy and a marathoner so I took her advice and ordered this instead.  The salmon would have still been good but I saw it come out to someone else's table and it didn't look THAT appetizing.  Hehe...  So I went with the veggie plate.  Description below:

The mushroom was outstanding...  The spinach was just ok and the gratin was very cheesy :)  I only had half of that... but could have eaten the whole thing :)  2 glasses of wine may have happened and we had a GREAT time!!

Now on to my crazy day... more later :)

BTW...I had 169 pageviews yesterday!!!  HOLY MOLY!!!  

TTFN

Eating Out 101

OK Class, time for a lesson on eating out while you are trying to eat healthy.  Sometimes menus can be deceiving and it is good to completely read the menu and vet out all your choices rather than make a game time decision.  That can be dangerous especially if you are starving by the time you order; it may sabotage your intention for the night.  Prepping to eat out should include a full review of the online menu.  It is even better if you can find nutritional information but sometimes that isn't possible, specifically when it is a local restaurant and not a chain (restaurants are required to include nutritional info in certain states so most chains just do it for all).  Sometimes an appetizer is the best choice with a house salad (dressing on the side).  The portion is usually smaller and most entrees could feed 3 people (and of course if you are like me…you would eat all 3 servings by yourself).  If you really want an entrée, my suggestion is to ask for a takeout container when your entrée comes to the table and before you even take a bit, put half of it in the container…then Bon Appetite :) 

When looking at an item on the menu remember you can alter them.  You can get a cobb salad, just ask for it without bacon and with the cheese and dressing on the side (I HEART CHEESE so I’d add just a little).   You can get the chicken entree just ask for it without the cheese and instead of mashed potatoes ask for greens (dressing on the side) or a side veggie (prepared without butter).  Restaurants use butter on nearly everything so if you tell the waiter that you would prefer to omit the butter they are usually very accommodating.   

OK…now you've made your choice early in the day when you weren't hungry so when you get to the restaurant, make sure your item is on the menu then CLOSE THE MENU!!!  Don’t look at anything else!! J  One more note…the freebie on the table at some restaurants?? bread and/or tortilla chips??  Don’t Touch Them!!!!  Unless they are worked into your choice – LOL.  When we go to Bertucci’s I order a cup of the minestrone soup (180 Calories) for my dinner so I can have 2 of their rolls.  It is SO WORTH IT!!!  Make the conscious choice – don’t mindlessly eat stuff.  Most importantly remember you are there to spend time with people not to sabotage your healthy progress.  RIGHT>!?!?

Tonight I am prepping for a business dinner outing.  We are heading to Heavy Seas Ale House (I've heard good things about this place).  I pulled up the menu online and discovered this restaurant is not known for it’s healthy choices...haha.  Everything has bacon and cheese on it but looks really yummy.  I found this area of the menu which seems better than others (no nutritional info on the website since it is a local place).

I really want the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (it has bacon in it…I’ll ask if it can be omitted but if not I still want it).  I’m very picky about my crab cakes so I’m not sure about that item...but the fennel salad looks really yummy.   I’ll probably end up with the soup and the  Chopped Salad (dressing and cheese on the side - no olives) but may ask after the Crab Cake (no bacon) to see what the server says…hoping he/she is a local and will give me an honest opinion.  So that is my plan…I will take a brief look at the menu when I get there then move on to the conversation.  Oh and I will probably have a glass of wine.  Yes Yes I know it is an ale house but I am not a microbrew girl. 

I’ll check in either later tonight or tomorrow morning…
TTFN
221

P.S. just found this after a second glance at the menu.  This Salmon has a high probability of happening :)  Sans Soup but I may still have a side salad :)

Milkshake Monday

Hola friends...busy day, I'll explain later :). Just a check in with food journal tonight.

I started with a veggie sausage and English muffin bfast sammie

Snacks included a protein bar (I won't buy these again...too many ingredients). And a banana...

Lunch was blackened tilapia from green turtle (vendor lunch)...it was just ok and a bowl of crab soup:)

Vendor lunch, so no pic...sorry

After lunch I had a halo clementine:)

And dinner was shrimp fajitas:). So good with Greek yogurt on top....

Of course it was milkshake Monday for the kids...I almost made a green monster but decided to paint my nails instead...haha

Now I'm watching Juan Pablo.  

 More tomorrow I promise.  

Oh just a note; I hit the gym- win!

TTFN

Chili Secrets

Hola Amigos :)

Recipe time... but first was lunch.  I found a soup mix at Giant (minestrone)...Mmmmm  Just add water

I was able to get lunch for the whole week out of that little package of soup mix and 10 cups of water :)  

Be excited...I'm about to divulge all of my most prized Chili secrets to you...hehe.  I actually made 2 pots of Chili today.  One veggie and one ground turkey.  

I'll point out the differences as necessary..

First I started with a big green pepper, a big yellow onion, 2 jalapenos, 1 pablano pepper, 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash sauted in 2 tablespoons of EVOO

In a second pot I started the ground turkey for DJ's man version without the beans :)

After the meat was ground I split the veggies by adding half to the meat, I added one can of black beans and one can of kidney beans to the veggie pot.

Secret #1: I add 1/4 C of Cocoa Powder to my chili...  adds a very deep and rich flavor.  Similar to the Mayan chocolate concept of chilies in chocolate.  I added a 1/4 C to each pot...

I also added 1 packet of chili seasoning to each (I like Old El Paso Brand)

Next I added one and a half cans of diced tomatoes to each pot.

Secret #2: I add beer to my chili.  I added 1/2 a beer to each pot and let it reduce till there was very little liquid left.  about 20 minutes on medium.

to boost the veggie value I added a half bag of baby spinach to each pot

at the very end I added 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to cut the acid in the tomatoes.  

To the veggie pot I added brown rice

And there you have it!!  I let it simmer for a few more minutes then served with a little low fat cheddar cheese and a scoop of non fat plain green yogurt.  YUM!!!

I also made a little pan of corn bread :)  

After our chili eating we chilled and watched Pocahantas...Livie is currently obsessed with it.

Livie and I had 2 cuties (those little oranges are addictive)

Then I hit the gym for about 35 minutes of walking and elliptical with the girls.

I'm not feeling so hot (other wise I would have done C25k today)...and now I'm watching Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2.  Ready to start a new week :) 

Good night Moon...TTFN

Laughter is Exercise?!

Last night was one of the funnest nights of my life... We had a BLAST with our friends celebrating Mindy's birthday.  We had dinner at Macaroni Grill then tickets to McGooby's Comedy Club.   

First dinner...I love this willpower thing I have going on.  I wasn't even tempted by the bread.  Usually when I'm trying to avoid something it is all I can think about.  However, last night even tho the home made foccacia bread looked amazing...I was able to pass without a second thought - Small Victories are the BEST!  LOL....  Friday I looked up the menu for nutritional info and found out that the chicken ceasar salad with the dressing on the salad was 600 calories.  I opted for this but with the dressing on the side...which probably saved me over 200 calories.  I dipped my fork in the dressing and probably only used 1/3 of one of the ramekins shown in the picture (about a tablespoon total).  It was delicious and filling :)  The conversation was even better!!  I started with some mushroom soup in veggie broth and it was really delicious too... (no pic).

Now...of course I had a glass of wine (ok maybe a glass and a half) but that was totally worth it too...a red blend that was their house wine and it was really good.

After dinner we headed to McGooby's and laughed out butts off (I wish, haha).  The headliner was Ralph Harris and he was hysterical!!!  I laughed so hard I was crying at one point and couldn't breathe...  It was the hardest I've laughed in a long time.

When I woke up this morning my stomach muscles hurt really bad.  It could be from my workout yesterday but more then likely it was from laughing for an hour straight.  I think everyone should laugh more...  I happen to be married to a very funny man which makes me laugh on the regular but it has been a long time since I could physically feel the effects of laughter :)  haha

After being curious I decided to ask Google...  I found this little little tid bit from this website: http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/laughter7.htm

What may surprise you even more is the fact that researchers estimate that laughing 100 times is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike. Laughing can be a total body workout! Blood pressure is lowered, and there is an increase in vascular blood flow and in oxygenation of the blood, which further assists healing. Laughter also gives your diaphragm and abdominal,respiratory, facial, leg and back muscles a workout. That's why you often feel exhausted after a long bout of laughter -- you've just had an aerobic workout!

Well that explains it!! haha  Whether it is true or not I don't care...it is a nice thought :)

Didn't get home until 12:30am but it was so worth it and I slept like a rock.  Kids even slept in - wahoo!!

This morning we have just chilled and vegged around the house.  I made breakfast and some yummy coffee. I am obsessed with my sweet potato hash...  and the egg creates a sort of sauce that is decadent...almost like cheese sauce but without the calories of cheese sauce. 

It is really easy to make...just a sweet potato, diced quarter of a green pepper and quarter of An onion. Added to a skillet with a little EVOO salt and pepper.

Cook on medium heat with a lid (which helps steam the potatoes to make sure they are cooked through). Be sure to stir frequently because as the potatoes caramelize you have to turn them.

That is it....mmmmmmm

 Later today I may head to a home show 31 party and will definitely hit the gym later tonight (like 7pm).  Honestly tho...this is why I don't like to sleep in.  It means that 11:21 comes around and you haven't really accomplished anything :/  Oh well...everyone needs a lazy day IMO.

That is pretty much all for now...

TTFN

P.S. I have a great hairdresser and LOVE my highlights!!

Mr(s). Clean

Rainy weekends are the best...  (sometimes).  I have gotten so much done this morning but it is pretty nasty outside.  It makes me feel like Mr(s) Clean when I am so productive in the morning...  all the kids rooms and straight and the first floor and basement and CLEAN!!!  I'm about to leave the house to get my hair done, then I'm  going to hit the gym.  I know some of you may think that is crazy but with it being rainy...my hair won't stay nice anyway :)  

Quicky to my food from yesterday...I'm a loser and forgot AGAIN to take a picture of my lunch but it was an amazing minestrone soup and a side of curry chicken (all FitMeals)...I'll explain fitmeals later.

Snacks were a pear, an apple and veggies with my spinach dip:

Dinner was veggie pizza and I remembered to take a picture...AFTER I put the leftovers in a container - Sorry peeps.  I'll get back into this I promise :/

I did go to the gym  last night to walk/run and for a cool down I hit the eliptical (I'm a nerd)  It was a nice workout for my legs...I don't usually use that machine but it felt good...

This morning I had some coffee from my Christmas present...I HEART my Keurig!  Thanks Mom!!

Breakfast was an egg scramble with mushrooms, green peppers, onions and an english muffin.  DELISH!

Lunch was some left over veggie pizza and now I'm running out the door so I'll have to check in later.

Date night with friends tonight!!!  More later

TTFN

(note: my Blogger app doesn't check spelling :(  Sorry for any spelling errors)