Newly Nutritional Britt

"We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are."

2010-01-16T13:35:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

We had some bread lying around and I wanted to get rid of my egg whites and half a pear so french toast it was. Unfortunately this bread soaked up way more of the egg, apple sauce, cinnamon, vanilla concoction than I anticipated. A little soggy french toast never hurt anyone I suppose. I topped it with a half a pear and tbsp. of Skippy's crunchy PB for extra protein.

As I was packing up my rice krispies from last night I decided to have one. After some research I found out these 2X2 squares run only around 100 calories. Nice!

I'm off to get a work out in before I get ready to go out this evening with my friends. Pizza Hut pizza is lunch/dinner tonight.

"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. "

2010-01-16T01:37:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

My new favorite breakfast bowl combination that is making regular appearances...

2/3 cup Kashi Vive cereal

1/3 cup yogurt

1 small red delicious apple

2 tbsp. Skippy's Natural crunchy PB

I attempted to find Kashi Vive at Walmart today and it was not a successful trip. Instead, I ended up buying Kashi GoLean which seems to be similar. When I find Vive again I will be stocking up, no question it has become one of my favorites.

LUNCH

Soup:

Left over tomato soup with added broccoli, tomato, onion, and red pepper flakes

Sammie:

Arnold thins, toasted

Lettuce, tomato, onion

Laughing cow cheese

I was a bit too full after this meal, probably because I ate it too close to breakfast, but yet again I wanted to get something in my stomach before going into work. Working a schedule that begins at 5PM is terrible for my diet.

DINNER

"Hujass" salad:

Bed of romaine lettuce, celery, tomato, and onion

1/2 pear

Morning Star chick'n patty

Walnuts

Raspberry vinaigrette

I forgot I had feta cheese to top this with until I finished it and was super bummed!

After dinner I decided to make rice krispie treats for some friends tomorrow considering I have the things lying around, but haven't made them yet in fear that I would eat them all myself. Okay...I may have eaten some of what I made off of my spoon, but I didn't indulge in a treat just yet.

Who doesn't love this old classic? Marshmallows, butter, and cereal...how can you go wrong? I do want to try this with a cereal other than rice krispies though, but can't be sure that people will care much for them.

SNACK/DESSERT

Making those rice krispy treats had me craving this more than the treats themselves. Rice krispies in 2% milk topped with 2 tbsp. sugar! Hehehe. It felt so good to eat this combination, almost as if I were a kid again sneaking table spoons of sugar onto my cereal when no one was looking.

I am officially finished with the driver's manual book, now it's review time! Originally I gave myself a two week span, but I am so ready to get this done and over with. For once I actually feel excited to drive. True I am still nervous, but the feeling is passing once I think of all the positives! Watch out everyone you may see me on the road soon enough. ;)

Netflix added Man V. Food to instant watch so I know what I'll be doing tonight!

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself."

2010-01-14T13:27:00.002-05:00

Last night I spent time with my friend Michelle instead and we played Wii for hours. Usually I don't care for Wii, but I enjoyed the game Just Dance. So silly, yet fun. I have yet to try out the fit fit though. By the way...I did have my twisted frosty with extra m&m's and I do not regret it one bit! My problem is indulging and feeling terribly guilty, but as time goes on I am learning to cope with that feeling and realize indulging on rarity will not hurt me.

I opted to wake up earlier than usual today and I did. Yay. I like having more free time to myself before going into work and I usually find myself rushing around. Well, not this time.

BREAKFAST

Chocolate walnut oatmeal pancake!

Pancake:

1/3 cup Quaker oats

About 1/3 cup egg whites (The kind from the carton)

1 tbsp. unsweetened Hershey's cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tbsp. yogurt (In batter)

1/8 cup walnuts, chopped

Topped with warm apples and yogurt

This recipe is still slightly new to me and this pancake way by far the best one I have made. Originally I planned to make it with a banana, but as usual they were all gone.

LUNCH

I attempted to make hummus today, but ti turns out it doesn't work well at all in a blender. Oh well, I smashed the rest of the chick peas with garlic, onion, chili powder, ground pepper, and salt. The mixture went into the refrigerator for about an hour before I decided to eat them over a bed of romaine, tomato, and broccoli.

DINNER

This feta cheese always taunts me when I walk in the store so I figured I would try it. Feta cheese may be my new favorite cheese. I found myself wanted to eat the entire container. Haha. I decided to have a sandwich and soup tonight and of course I used the feta!

Sammie:

Arnold Thin

Turkey lunchmeat

Lettuce, tomato, onion

Feta cheese!

I made sure to toast my sandwich and melt the feta on my turkey. Oh my god! Delicious.

A cup of Campbells' low sodium tomato soup with extra tomato and broccoli. I added in hot sauce for a nice kick. This meal was just what I was looking for.

For dessert I had an oatmeal raisin cookie, but I'm thinking I would have been more satisfied with a piece of chocolate. Tomorrow's breakfast will be a bowl of Kashi, apple, and PB no doubt...I have an enormous craving! I also bought banana's today and can't wait for them to rippen so I can try them in an oatmeal pancake.

Work out update:

I haven't been keeping up with 5 days a week, it's been rough. Lately it seems as if I have a lot going on emotionally and physically so I am not making my work out a number one priority at the time. It's a possibility that I have tendinitis so it's making a lot of movements difficult at the time. It hurts to even brush my teeth! =[ I do feel that I have been maintaining my measurements, if not losing. There will be another update soon.

On a good note; the snow seems to be melting! It's in the 40's! Yes, this is something to celebrate in my eyes. Okay I know it won't last, but I can dream. Off to study for my permit some more...I'm almost done.

"Most obstacles are imaginary; the rest are only temporary."

2010-01-13T14:31:00.003-05:00

BREAKFAST

The picture isn't fantastic I know, but it's a banana split for breakfast. Mmm. After browsing KERF's tribute to oatmeal I was inspired.

1 medium banana sliced in half (Had to break off the end for it to fit in the bowl)

Stuffed with 1/4 cup Bear Naked apple cinnamon granola

Topped with 1tbsp Skippy's Natural crunchy PB

All over a bed of 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

Sprinkled with cinnamon

Things to do today:

Get a good work out in
Make an eye appointment, I need a check up
Finish studying chapter 3 and 4 in the driver's manual for my permit
Eat a yummy Wendy's chocolate m&m twisted frosty without guilt
Make something with the avocado I have
Spend time with Matt
Clean up my room...how does it get so messy?
Be positive and stay motivated!
Try going to bed at an earlier time

LUNCH/DINNER

Cell phone picture...

Sirloin steak

Wild rice

Green beans

Crescent roll

I didn't have gravy over my sirloin, but I added a dap to my plate to dip my roll into. Chipotle brown gravy as a matter of fact, it was good.

Turns out I am not doing well with my list of accomplishments. My avocado was bad. =[ I am not familiar with them and I suppose I bought it too ripe and it went bad quickly. Oh well. Silly me cut my finger while cutting the avocado in half and I didn't think it would ever stop bleeding. Ugh!

"Happiness is not a destination. It is a method of life."

2010-01-13T01:01:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

A lovely bowl of oats with coffee.

1/2 cup oats

1/2 red delicious apple

About 1/4 cup dried cherries

1/2 tbsp. crunchy Skippy's PB

Instant coffee mix

I originally made overnight oats with the cherries and coffee, but heated it up and added the rest in the morning. Instant coffee isn't good as an actual beverage, but is a nice addition as a spice. Yes, coffee is a spice.

LUNCH

Sammie:

Arnold Thins

Turkey lunchmeat

Romaine lettuce, tomato slice, onion

Laughing cow cheese wedge

Side:

Nectarine

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt

Pistachio's

SNACK

I ate lunch after work today so it was around 3:30 or 4. I went to Matt's house and was still too stuffed so I passed on dinner, but around 9:30 my tummy was growling while we had a mini marathon of watching Are You Afraid of The Dark (Does anyone remember this show? A blast from the past!) so I pulled out a Kashi pumpkin granola bar. I stole one of his hot wing pretzel's and a few fries from Wendy's later on.

DINNER

Leftover baled turkey penne pasta with added broccoli
Morningstar chick'n patty

DESSERT

1/2 of my apple from breakfast dipped in some yogurt and PB.

Let me be honest with you with my craving...for the past two days I have been craving a Wendy's chocolate m&m twisted frosty and must fulfill it before I eat everything in site. I turned one down two days in a row, but nothing will satisfy the craving. If I can get it made in a small cup I will, if not I am afraid of the outcome. It is what it is. I must find an avocado recipe tomorrow or I will end up pitching the one I bought and I hate wasting food. Top priority. ;) Studying for my permit test is my actual priority right now. I broke it down into a 2 week period to make sure I will indeed pass. This is something I need to do for everyone, not just myself. That thought alone is keeping me motivated. Staying motivated and positive is coming along well.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

"The body is an instrument, the mind its function, the witness and reward of its operation. "

2010-01-12T01:14:00.002-05:00

The past few days I haven't been focusing on blogging as much because I haven't been in the best of moods. Some times I need to truly focus on what is going on in my life or what I would like to be going on in my life. After much frustration I am beginning to work things through. Step by step with everything I am becoming a better person. =]

JANUARY 10th

BREAKFAST

This is the same as my dinner the night before, haha. For some reason my body responds to this combination like no other I have tried thus far. I was tempted to eat it later in the day, but I refrained.

LUNCH

Silly me forgot to photograph this wonderful experience! Matt and I tried out Panera Bread for the first time and both of us found it impressive. I went with a two for deal. Fuji apple chicken salad and french onion soup. My salad contained a bed of leafy greens, grilled chicken, apple chips, pecans, red onions, tomato, and an apple vinaigrette. The french onion soup was also delicious, I skipped out on the croutons and went with a french baguette. Matt had the Italian combo sandwich with a side of chips. Both of us agree that we must go there more often. Hands down, I would try everything on the menu. If it wasn't aware that I am a big soup, salad, and sandwich person...now you know.

DINNER

For some reason I have been craving breakfast combination at all times of the day recently.

2/3 cup yogurt

1 gala apple (They need used up because we buy so many!)

1 homemade oatmeal raisin cookie

1/2 tbsp. crunchy PB

TODAY--JANUARY 11th.

BREAKFAST

This morning I had the above combination, minus the cookie and a pear instead of an apple. I was in a rush, half asleep, and obviously was a bad blogger and neglected a picture again. =[

LUNCH

I packed this lunch to take with me today, again in kind of a hurry.

Sammie:

Arnold Thin

Turkey lunchmeat

Lettuce, tomato, pear slices

Laughing cow cheese

Side of pear slices

DINNER

My friend Michelle decided to go to Eat N Park after our long shopping trip today. I decided to stick with the salad bar after much debate over sugary breakfast foods.

Cup of chilli and side of corn bread

Salad:

Mix of greens

Carrots

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Cherry tomatoes

Radishes

Chick peas

Sunflower seeds

Balsamic vinaigrette dressing
For dessert I had three yummy slices of cantaloupe (My favorite fruit! I can't resist it when it's ripe and juicy.)

Sorry for the lack of posting, but everyone knows to be truly healthy we must focus on our lives as a whole. Tomorrow after work I am determined to find a good homemade hummus recipe. Any suggestions?

"Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be."

2010-01-10T01:52:00.001-05:00

My laptop is FINALLY fixed! Countless hours of my mother trying to fix it and we ended up taking the easy root and reformatting it. Where do these worms come from? I may never know, but it feels nice to have a clean slate on my computer.

FRIDAY

BREAKFAST

3/4 cup yogurt

1 medium banana, sliced

2 homemade oatmeal raisin vegan cookies

"LUNCH"

I was determined to find a recipe to use up some ground turkey and whole wheat penne I had so after some intensive searching I came up with this recipe...

Baked Turkey Penne Pasta:

14 oz. whole wheat penne pasta
1lb. ground turkey
2 jars preferred tomato/spaghetti sauce (24-32 ounces, I like mine extra saucy)

Onion and green pepper to taste
Seasonings: basil, oregano, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I was unfortunately out!)
Heavy sprinkling of parmesan cheese

Brown turkey in pan with onion and green pepper along with seasonings. While turkey is browning cook pasta according to directions and preheat oven to 350 degrees. When turkey is browned pour in spaghetti/tomato sauce and cook until heated thoroughly. Drain pasta and add to pan. Spray vegetable spray in 3 qt. Pyrex dish and pour in half of pasta mixture. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on top and layer the rest of pasta. Top mixture with rest of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

My portion along with a slice of bread and a simple salad dressed with balsamic vinegar.

SNACKS

Of course having homemade cookies in your house makes you a huge cookie monster. Nom, nom, nom. I had one before having my light "dinner".

Yes, I used my Christmas mug with the hot cocoa my coworker gave me topped with a mound of lite whipped cream. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the full cup because the flavor wasn't doing it for me. Snicker doodle hot chocolate is a no go.

DINNER

1/2 cup yogurt

Small apple

Homemade oatmeal raisin vegan cookie

After feeling so stuffed I went with something light and sweet. I have an addiction to yogurt and apples, sorry they appear so frequently.

TODAY JANUARY 9

BREAKFAST

Eggs:
1/2 cup egg whites
Green pepper and onion
2 pinches turmeric powder

Topped with Chi Chi's salsa
Slice of toast from last nights dinner
1 medium orange

LUNCH

I neglected to photograph this one...I had a bowl of baked penne leftover's and a side of steamed broccoli. I feel as if these left overs will last forever. My Dad really enjoyed the dish, but my Mom was too in her world of "I need some fat in my dish". My efforts in making my parents see there are healthier options isn't extremely successful. At times I suppose I try to shove it down their throat so to speak, but it's all from my experience with food. Of course we all get a little out of hand and crave unhealthy foods, but I want them to realize baby steps will be rewarding.

DINNER

If this were anymore delicious I may have shed a tear of joy.

1 cup Kashi Vive cereal

1/2 cup yogurt

1 medium gala apple

2 tbsp. Skippy's Natural chunky peanut butter

Cinnamon to taste

Yet another steal at Big Lots...the Kashi cereal. This was my first time trying this cereal and when I saw 1 1/4 cups is only 170 calories I was sold. I only went with 1 cup because other wise I would be too full. The vanilla flavor doesn't shine through strongly, but it still gave enough flavor so that it wasn't plain. There were maybe three or four different types of cereal in the box, variety is always good for me in a cereal. One thing I did notice is that the cereal got a little more soggy than others that I have used with yogurt, but I was still fine with it because I know I take a long time to eat and that sort of thing happens. Yet again, the peanut butter shined! Usually I don't crave peanut butter, especially chunky, but my tastes change more than I can keep up with anymore.

There is so much more I could say, but I am thinking this post is long enough for today. I skipped a work out yesterday out of blah feelings, so I need to jump at the opportunity!

Computer trouble

2010-01-09T13:46:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, just letting you know that I didn't abandon my blog. Currently I am having some computer trouble and will possibly be back tonight for an update. I made some yummy baked whole wheat penne pasta with turkey last night that's getting me through my day. We can't forget about the cookies I made the other night either. ;) I'm a real cookie monster.

"People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be."

2010-01-07T15:03:00.007-05:00

BREAKFAST

Another oatmeal pancake has made its way into my week, a chocolate pancake at that. Yum. I am slightly obsessed.

Pancake:

1/3 cup oats

1/2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa

1/4-1/3 cup egg whites, the kind from the carton

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cinnamon to taste

Topping:

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt, which I will use less of next time...it was smothered

4 whole raw pecans

1/2 banana

Last night I stumbled upon Eat Me Delicious where I have discovered a great selection of decadent baked goods I want to whip together, but I will save myself the suffering and wait until a party occurs to ~~stuff my face~~ make these lovely goods as a treat for everyone to enjoy. Peanut butter squares with milk chocolate and oats, marshmallow crunch brownie bars, and oreo crunch brownies. OH MY! The blog is based on vegetarian cooking and baked goods most of which look delicious. Although I am not vegetarian, I do not eat a lot of meat and enjoy exploring recipes that are vegetarian and vegan.

LUNCH

Again, this is "dinner" as my lunch.

Italian sausage is delicious, probably because it's not exactly good for you. We don't have this very often at my house and I love it when we do. When I was younger I despised Italian sausage, was I crazy? Italian sausage packs a mass amount of flavor alone. It looks kind of gross cooking though? Oh well!

Simple salad with tbsp. balsamic vinagrette dressing. Only 5 calories!

1/2 baked sweet potato with 2 tbsp. Chi Chi's salsa.

And of course, Italian sausage.

This evening I will be tackling my disaster of a room. Boy have I been a bit lazy these past couple of weeks or what! I blame it on this Pennsylvania weather. The highs for this week are in the low-mid twenties with snow every day. Is it Spring yet? Better yet, is it summer?

VEGAN COOKIES

Alright, so I didn't very much done tonight aside from a good ab exercise and cookie baking. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com and within the hour I was baking them. Instead of eggs and butter I used apple sauce and although it gives the cookies a drier and tougher texture than a normal cookie, it's healthier and still tastes great. Next time I will be using more apple sauce though so they aren't as dry. I had two of these, one fresh out of the oven before my workout and one after. Tomorrow's breakfast? Cookies! A note: My mother actually liked these! Considering they weren't made as a normal cookie I was very surprised by this.

1 cup oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup apple sauce (preferably unsweetened)

1/2 cup raisins of choice

1/2 cup walnuts or other nut of choice

Makes: 24 small cookies

Preheat oven to 350. Spray baking sheet with vegetable spray.

Mix ingredients in medium bowl.

Drop rounded teaspoon fulls onto baking sheet.

Bake for 10-14 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool slightly before removing from pan.

DINNER

Sammie:

Arnold Thin

Morning Star veggie chick'n patty

Lettuce, onion

Sauce:

1 tbsp. fat-free miracle whip

Unknown amount of hot sauce

Chili powder

Red pepper flakes

Side of carrots and celery

"Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present."

2010-01-06T18:38:00.004-05:00

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup Bear Naked apple cinnamon granola
1 medium apple

I added a dollop of peanut butter today and oh my I want PB in my messes ever day! I wish I added more, but I wasn't sure if I would like it or not...who was I kidding?

AFTER WORK OUT SNACK

Half of an orange from yesterday. Need that vitamin C!

I managed not to skip a work out today. After reading The Chic Life's post about squashing work out excuses I told myself "I can do this! Do the best you can! It will pay off!" My work out plan is a bit too challenging for me, but I stick with as much of it as I can do. My abs are sore, but it will pay off and I will only get stronger.

I did say that I would take my measurements and weight today for my challenge, so here it is:

Smallest part of waist: 27 inches

Waist at belly button: 33.5 inches

Hips: 35.5 inches

Weight this morning: 119.8

I'm not concerned with my weight anymore I am mainly concerned with my waist to hip ratio. When I lose around 2 inches off of my waist I will look much healthier and toned. Also, I have come to realize that I do have a pear shape. Pear is a good shape and I must learn to embrace the curves that comes along with it.

LUNCH

Okay, this was more of dinner because I ate it when my parents had dinner. I wake up late what can I say? I am a little embarassed by this one, but I have become an extreme fan of bowl messes. They had sloppy joes, maccaroni and cheese, and peas. My equivalent is 1/4 cup sloppy joe, 1/2 cup Kraft mac n cheese, and about a 1/2 cup of peas. Does this sound gross? I don't care. =]

DINNER

I took a light approach for dinner and had to feed my peanut butter and banana craving I've been having all day.

Arnold thin

1 tbsp. Skippy's Natural creamy PB

1/2 banana

Cinnamon

Side of...

6 Seneca Gingerbread Apple Chips

Only $1 at Big Lots! Normally we buy the cinnamon, but these taste almost the same to me. Only 140 calories for 12 chips and they aren't doused in grease. Seneca has a wide variety of apple chips and also carry sweet potato chips, which I have yet to come across. Pick them up if you happen to spot them.

I wanted to talk to you about NuVal if you haven't heard of it yet. NuVal is nutritional value listed along with the price of items. They take calories, fat, carbs, etc. into consideration when giving a rating from 1-100. The higher the number, the better for you. Simple, right? Unfortunately only a select few stores have this for their customers. If you would like you may suggest stores near you where you would like to see NuVal. Many people are not educated in nutrition, even those of us who think we are may be surprised by their scores. Having NuVal can take out a lot of guess work plus lead the busy and slightly lazy into a healthier life style. Although they do not have wide selection of grocery items listed with their scores on the website they do have some and update frequently. Do you think this is a good idea or should people rely more on their own nutritional education?

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. "

2010-01-05T13:25:00.002-05:00

BREAKFAST

Oatmeal pancakes! Recipe courtesy of Kath Eats Real Food.

How I made my lovely pancake:

1/4 cup Quaker oats

2 egg white

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Vanilla extract

Cinnamon

I topped it with a medium warm apple, 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt, and walnuts. Delicious! Thanks again Kath for providing a new way to eat my oats.

I also had a cup of this Celestial tea. If you haven't tried this flavor yet I suggest doing so. If nothing else, boil this in a pot instead of lighting a candle. Hah.

LUNCH

Okay, lunch wasn't anything special at all. I just put together the quickest thing I could think of.

Salad:

Romaine lettuce

1/2 cup re-fried beans (Left over)

Tomato, onion, and jalapeno "salsa"

Sprinkled with sharp cheddar cheese

Dash of chili powder for spice

I also had half of an unphotographed orange a bit later.

DINNER

This was left over from my parents dinner, minus the fries.I haven't had a real hamburger in months! Oh, it was delicious. (This is also on a small plate, it makes everything look huge. I didn't have room for my fries either.)

Hamburger:

Lean ground sirloin burger

Arnold Thin

Lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles

Mustard

Side of white corn

Fries:

1/2 medium sweet potato

Season salt

Vegetable spray

I microwaved the potato for about 1:30 to make it tender ans sliced into strips.

Heated the oven to 450, although I think 400 may do the trick.

Sprayed my baking sheet with vegetable spray.

Arranged fries on baking sheet and sprinkled with season salt and spray a coat of vegetable spray.

Cooked for around 10 minutes.

I've never had baked sweet potato fries and of course will be eating them more often. Yes I do like my fries more on the burnt side, just like my eggs.

I am still feeling my work out from yesterday and am worried that if I continue tonight I may strain my muscles too much. Being a beginner with exercise I can't be sure if the soreness is alright to work through or if I may injure my muscles. Research will be at hand. I also need to take my measurements tomorrow morning before I forget so that I can track my progress.

Did I mention that I got my email from Food Buzz last night about becoming a publisher?! Tomorrow I will be filling out my contract and sending it in. Blogging has been a key element in my life the past couple of months and I am determined and excited about giving inspiration to others as well as keeping my self motivated on this journey.If you haven't checked out Food Buzz click my link under my about me. The website has tons of yummy recipes and great foodies.

Alright, see you tomorrow guys! I'm off to find more great recipes to try.

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other."

2010-01-05T00:14:00.000-05:00

I had an extreme craving again for pancakes this morning, but time did not allow for such a craving so I opted for the usual oats with cocoa. (I will be making those pancakes tomorrow!) Never will I get tired of eating in the morning, or lunch, or dinner. Ever.

BREAKFAST

1/2 cup oats

1 medium gala apple

1 tbsp cocoa

A nice glob of yogurt

I took a nice mini trip to the store today, mainly to get some produce. Who would have thought I'd come home with more than apples and bananas? Picked up some plump oranges and nectarines this time around. The last time I had a nectarine was most likely over 5 years ago I'd bet! Why don't I eat these tasty suckers on the regular? But like I have said before, most of the produce in the store is poor quality so I stick with what I know. Romaine lettuce is my new choice of lettuce, I've always been an iceberg girl. (Terrible, I know.) Iceberg lacks so much flavor! Romaine is a nice combination between iceberg and a more leafy lettuce. Never will I be making my salads from iceberg out of choice again.

LUNCH

Bed of Romaine lettuce and celery

1 small apple

1 Morning Star Chick'n Patty

Topped with yogurt and cinnamon, of course!

Yay for something different! So yummy, but I wish I added in walnuts. This was much more appealing to the taste buds than it sounds, trust me. First time trying the Morning Star Chick'n patty and I haven't been disappointed with a product from them yet. Honestly, I was almost convinced it was indeed chicken. Haha. The breading was nice and crispy, not soggy at all. I've been trying like crazy to get rid of my quart of yogurt before it expires so I figured why not use it as dressing?

SNACK

1 nectarine

1/8 cup walnuts

3 tbsp. frozen light cool whip (I'm being naughty and using cool whip for "dessert" fruits.)

DINNER

Don't you love my "dishware"? ;)

1 big ladle of my Moms chilli

1 Arnold Thin with 1/2 laughing cow cheese wedge

FINALLY STARTED A WORK OUT CHALLENGE PLAN!

This is an ab challenge based off of Oh She Glow's Whittle My Middle II and 10 Minute Solution Yoga's Ab work out. Also use shape and womens health mag as references. Just as Whittle My Middle I will be doing this exercise 5 times a week for 30days and may add in the 10 Minute Solution buns and thighs work out every now and then. I did the work out today and it was a bit challenging, but my goal is to improve and tone up my tummy either way.

Front plank: 60-90 seconds.

Side plank: 60 seconds.

Torso twists: 10-20 reps.

Plank ups: 10-20 reps. (I'm determined to finish the challenge able to lift my legs)

Low boat extension: 20

Rock N Raise: 20

Double crunch: 30.

(10 forward, 10 left side, 10 right side)

Side leg lifts: 20.

Rock N Raise: 20. (2 reps of 10)

Double crunch: 30.

Hyper back extension: 20. (2 reps of 10)

Bridge pose extension: 10-20.

Sliding mermaid: 20.

Butterfly stretch: 60-90 seconds.

"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools."

2010-01-03T20:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday update

BREAKFAST

3/4 cup yogurt

1/4 cup Bear Naked apple cinnamon granola

1 small apple

Extra cinnamon is always a must

SNACK

While watching the Penguins play Matt made some popcorn so I decided to have about a cup. It was Orville's microwave butter popcorn.

LUNCH

Later after watching Indian Jones Matt and I were really hungry and we invited his sister along. We decided to go to IHOP. I have only been there a few times and was never very impressed...until today! I never had their pancakes and decided I would go all out. I had multi-gran and nut pancakes with apple comote and whipped cream. Mmmm, mmmm, mmm. Best pancakes ever. The pancake alone was good, much better than the usual buttermilk pancake. I ate 3 of the 4 and had absolutely no regrets. I probably would have eaten all if I could. ;p

DINNER

When I came home there was Little Caesars pizza calling my name. Would I dare say no to Little Caesars? No way. They recently opened up a shop right in town so expect to see it more often on the blog. Normally I am not much of a pizza person, but who can resist a delicious $5 medium pizza and crazy bread? If you don't have one of these in your town I am sorry. I ate a slice cold and heated up a crazy bread stick. My cousin stayed over and we played Guitar Hero for awhile and somehow I managed to eat another slice...opps.

TODAY

BREAKFAST

Eggs:

1 egg

1 egg white

Tomato, onion, pepper

1 medium/large apple sprinkled with cinnamon

LUNCH

Again, my parents made a ton of sauerkraut and I hate seeing so much of it go to waste. No one ever eats the hot dogs it seems, so I had 2 with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard in Arnold Thins.

DINNER

Sammie:

Arnold Thins spread with 1/2 Laughing Cow cheese wedge

Lots of iceberg lettuce, tomato, and onion

I also have an obsession with ground black pepper

1 cup Amy's black bean and veggie soup

This was my first time trying Amy's soup and I really enjoyed it. Personally the flavor was that of chili and re-fried beans mixed with veggies. The consistency was creamy, not watery like most canned soups. Amy's brand just may become a new favorite.

Currently I am working on an exercise plan with Shape.com and from various blogs I have been reading. I am not sure how much my body can handle so this is difficult. I will be starting out simple, so you won't be impressed when I begin recording them. In all honesty too I am thinking of saving for an elliptical or treadmill, any recommendations? In general do you have any recommendations for work out beginners?

Weight loss story!

2010-01-03T17:58:00.000-05:00

Finally...I worked hard putting together my weight loss story to share with you. Here it is! =] Phew!

As a kid I was always active and my parents tried to incorporate nutritious meals and options. I never played team sports, but was always actively playing them with friends and neighbor-hood kids. I loved basketball, cheerleading, dancing, gymnastics, biking, swimming, you name it. Sometimes I even felt a little embarrassed when people claimed they wanted to "fatten me up".

Around the age of 12 or 13 I began to turn to food out of boredom and the stress of growing up. I heard many times that the weight would eventually catch up to me and sure enough it did around 15 or 16. At first I thought the weight gain was natural for my age, but I quickly learned I had a slight addiction to food. Being active in after school activities had me restoring to a ton of fast food. My weight in my senior year averaged around 148. Going from a size 4 to a size 6 the next year and so on was putting a major damper on my confidence.

After graduating high school I started a new job. Everyone at my new job ate even worse than I did and I got sucked in. Day in and day out I ate McDonalds, Dairy Queen, pizza, chips, sweets...You name it, I ate it. Food became completely mindless to me. I got to a point where I'd be literally sick from eating so much. There were times I knew I needed to quit, but I didn't know how to go about it aside from crash dieting. I bought a scale and weighed myself to be 151 as my highest weight to my knowledge. Yikes! Yes, I was officially over weight and felt disgusting.

About a year into my job a few people quit and the staffing at work was quite different. This time around I found myself working with someone who is very health conscious and I was inspired more than ever.

When I began watching what I consumed in June 2008 I weighed around 148. First and fore most I cut down on fast food and cut soda out of my diet completely. As bad as diets are, I started off with The Special K Challenge and within 2 weeks I quickly saw the weight coming off. But, after so long I realized this diet led to a lot of binge eating. I felt starved! Luckily internet is a useful tool. I searched day in and day out about eating better and finally had a decent concept.

Around August I was weighing in around 136 and a few people began noticing. Although people noticed and asked what I was doing I sort of denied I was trying to lose weight out of embarrassment. Losing 10 pounds made me proud and kept me motivated.

In September I began a food journal and also started counting calories. Many people don't like counting calories, but it has been a major part of my weight loss. Around this time is when I realized I needed to incorporate more fitness into my life to help me lose the extra weight. Yoga has been a life saver considering I have never been fond of exercise.

By October I lost 5 more pounds. 130! I originally thought I would be happy at this weight, but I decided to push for 10 more. The problem with this month is that I neglected to treat myself to some of the things I enjoy most, which again led to some binge eating.

November was the time I reached below 130. 125 was more of my weight average. I stepped up to working out 2 times a day and making more of my own meals, rather than resorting to prepackaged meals for every meal. My body looked and felt better than I have felt in years! My confidence was boosting, but with all of the weight loss comes a wardrobe loss. Bummer.

In the beginning of December I dropped below 125 and now range between 120-123. Unfortunately, I am not very happy with this month due to my insane holiday food binging and lack of exercise. On the bright side I am much more knowledgeable now than ever about nutrition. I discovered the world of food blogs this month and they have been immensely helpful in my journey! People now tell me how thin I am and even though at times I still get slightly embarrassed discussing my weight I am more open to say "thank you" and share what I did with them if they ask. In the new year I will be keeping up with my journey to become more nutritionally aware as well as becoming physically fit. A work out plan is on its way. 120 is a healthy weight and I plan to stick with it, but toning up is in order.

Now, here you have it in pictures...

Younger days:

Freshman year:

Still very thin around 14 years old. Most likely a size 3.

Sophomore year of high school:

A size 4 and happy with it.

Junior year:

This is when you begin to see my weight gain.

Senior year:

This was nearing 148. You can really see the weight in my face.

Summer 2008:

I assume I was weighing in over 150 at this point, my highest weight. I tried to convince myself that having on a wet t-shirt made me look heavier.

August 2009:

I was finally losing weight instead of gaining. 136 pounds.

October 2009:

Ranging around 127. I was finally confident enough to wear a costume like that!

December 2009:

Finally at a happy weight of 120-123(minus my holiday pounds). Now it's just about toning. =]

"Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment."

2010-01-01T22:20:00.002-05:00

BREAKFAST

Medium banana

Kashi pumpkin pie bar

This was my first time trying the Kashi bars and I did like it, but most of the reviews I read said this one did tastse like pumpkin pie and to me it wasn't close. I am very picky with my food textures and this was a good medium between crunchy and chewy. Like I said, I do like it, but next time I will be trying a different flavor.

LUNCH

My Mom made a ton of sauerkraut with kielbasa, smoked sausage, pork, and hot dogs so of course I had to have something. I chose to have smoked sausage of half an Arnold Thin with sauerkraut to top it off. I made veggies my main concern in my simple salad with 1 tbsp. balsamic dressing. My lunches and/or dinners will most likely contain sauerkraut ingredients for the next few days.

DINNER

I was basically starving by the time I ate dinner, but yet again I kept it easy. After not getting much sleep and getting up in the morning for work I can't say that I feel like doing much of anything. Tomorrow I will be sleeping waaaaay in. =D Anyway...

1/2 cup oats

1 medium banana

1 small apple

Dollop of yogurt

Cocoa and cinnamon

Can I eat this everyday for every meal? Haha.

My bed will be seeing me earlier than usual tonight. *Yawn*

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things."

2010-01-01T21:57:00.001-05:00

NEW YEAR'S EVE

BREAKFAST

1/3 cup Quakers Oatmeal

1/3 cup Dannon Light and Fit yogurt

1 small apple

Lots of cinnamon

This was my first time trying the oatmeal and yogurt combo and I must say I liked it a lot. The yogurt gave my oatmeal a creamy texture without being too creamy. Generally I like my oats more on the sticky side. Yogurt and oats for the win.

LUNCH

Toasted Arnold Thin with original Laughing Cow Cheese

1 small apple that isn't pictured

The laughing cow cheese was purchased the other day and I couldn't wait to try it. Why haven' I tried this cheese sooner? It's the perfect cross between cream cheese and soft cheese. I do prefer my cheese to have a stronger flavor, but I was still very satisfied and will continue to purchase them. I tried to keep my lunch very light because I knew lots of New Year's celebration was in store.

FESTIVITY

It was great to finally go out for New Year's! Yes, I live with my parents and they are indeed protective and I can't blame them one bit. Well, lets say eating more than you drink on New Year's is not such a good idea. I haven't binged like this in a LONG time. In all honesty I am rather embarrassed about how much I actually did eat and knowing that people acknowledged it as well. Get ready for some of the things I ate: Hot dogs and sauerkraut, bun included, bbq little smokies, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, tortilla chips with yummy spicy guac, pie....yuck. Hanging out in the kitchen where all the food is while drinking is a terrible idea. In the new year social eating is one thing I need to tackle.

My lovely friend Cortny mixing up our "jello chugs". I had my first jello shot!

Let me tell you a bit about Cortny...she is a wonderful free spirited person. She's a vegetarian, recycles, and love whole foods and Trader Joe's. Oh and she also loves yoga. She just may be a foodie's best friend, when she isn't drinking of course. ;) We had a nice discussion about food, nutrition, and exercise last night. When she found out I've never been to Trader Joe's she immediately opted to make a trip with me soon. Exercise is really our downfall...we discovered we like and dislike the same things about it and are thinking of becoming work out buddies to stay motivated. Yay.

I also had my first jager bomb. ;) Indeed, I was pretty excited about it after hearing a lot about them.

Awe. Matt and myself. (Yes, that's another jager bomb.)

Over-all I really enjoyed bringing in the new year with my boyfriend, our friends, and our friends friends. It's always a good time with them. A lot of fun, but nothing too crazy.

On to the resolutions...

Now I really don't like making resolutions, I prefer to say "things I would like to do or improve".

Drive! - It's true everyone...I do not have my driver's license. Why you ask? I am past the blaming my parents for making me wait to drive, now I am procrastinating. Part of me is terrified to drive. I know I need to get over the fear of driving, because it's something I need to do to function.
Enroll in college. - Again, procrastination. I AM enrolling this fall for paralegal studies. I changed my mind a few times on my major and I finally have my mind set. Originally I wanted to go for theatre, but I feel being a paralegal is much more stable in times of economic turmoil.
Eat less processed food. - I find it difficult to make a lot of food because: A) I am not experienced in the kitchen. B) It isn't easy making meals for one. C) I don't want things to go to waste.
Learn more about exercise and utilize it by making a workout plan. - I have never been fond of exercise and I don't know if I ever will be. I hate sweating, as bad as that sounds. It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't like the feeling of pushing myself physically. There has to be something out there I can get into! I do like yoga, but I need to incorporate it more. I've lost the weight I wanted to, now it's time to tone up.
Read more. - Simple, I need to read more! Technology can be such a time waster.
Save money. - With school coming and possibly a car of my own I need to crack down on my spending. I must realize and education is more important than petty things I don't need.
Be more social and outgoing. - When I was younger I would talk to anyone and everyone about anything, but lately I have been more on the reserved side. Being outgoing will benefit in many ways, especially career wise. Also, I think me being more on the reserved side has made me boring. I'm not looking to be crazy and loud, but I need to let loose.
Recycle. - Over the past year or two I have been talking about it, but I haven't made the steps. I posed it to my parents and they feel it's more of a hassle than anything unfortunately. Even if I recycled myself it's more of a contribution than I currently am making.
Explore new hobbies. - Sometimes I need an outlet, but I don't have much to turn to. It's time to look for new hobbies!
Show more appreciation. - I know I don't praise people enough for the wonderful things they do and I must.
Strengthen relationships. - In general with my parents, boyfriends, friends, etc. I have a need to feel closer to people lately.

Simple enough. This isn't nearly close to what I would liek to accomplish, but I like to have ideas and won't beat myself up over not accomplishing something. This past year I accomplished my weight loss goal and then some. I am very proud of myself! =] I will have to post my weight loss story soon. Off to my New Year's Day post.

"Touch passion when it comes your way...it’s rare enough as it is. Don’t walk away when it calls you by name."

2009-12-31T00:08:00.001-05:00

Today was an odd day of eating...I basically rolled out of bed and went to get Chinese with some friend, which I was disappointed with. I ordered chicken and broccoli without sauce, but I received it with a reminiscence of brownish liquid. Hmmm. I had the lunch special so I managed to eat all of the broccoli, carrots, and chicken. I also had around 1/4 cup of white rice. The local Chinese restaurant we went to didn't have very many options at all. Tofu, brown rice, and steamed veggies was my original option. I may have still been half asleep because it didn't cross my mind to take a photo, sorry.

LUNCH

Sammie:

2 slices whole wheat bread

A bit of peppered turkey lunch meat

Lettuce, tomato

My side was a apple and yogurt salad

DINNER

I was in the need of something on the lighter side after my previous meals today.

Dried cherry and walnut salad with strawberry vinaigrette (I'm head over heels for these cherries)

After work tonight I managed to get some groceries. After reading various food blogs I've decided to try a few things I haven't before: Amy's black bean and veggie soup, laughing cow cheese, ground turkey, and kashi pumpkin pie bars along with other things. Reading blogs has opened my eyes to many new foods and dishes along with providing tons of inspiration. I thank every one who continually blogs about their journey.

Almost forgot...last night I snuck in a cup of hot cocoa. I mixed together 2% milk, 1 tbsp. Hershey's cocoa, some Splenda and cinnamon all in my new mug. Even my stirring spoon is a cute santa.

I will be taking tonight to reflect on the year and make my 2010 resolutions. Good luck to everyone in the new year, I can't wait to see what you have in store.

"Optimism is the foundation of courage. "

2009-12-29T13:18:00.002-05:00

BREAKFAST

I saw a lot of rave about cocoa oats, so I decided to try it today. I will be making more of this in the future. I've never added dried cherries to anything either, again I will be doing more of this.

1/2 cup Quaker Oats

1/4 cup dried cherries

1 tbsp. Hershey's unsweetened cocoa
Cinnamon and a little Splenda to add some spark

Unfortunately I have to work a weird shift at work today. Not so much weird, but I don't like working shifts that make me stray from normal eating habits. I'll have to pack something quick I can eat in 15 minutes. Nothing is worse to me than being forced to eat in a 15 minute time frame, I prefer to take my time and savor it.

LUNCH

I was a bit pressed for time so I grabbed the quickest thing from my house I could think of.

Cheese ravioli Lean Cuisine meal

1 small apple

Odd thing about mentioning the 15 minute break thing today, I found out that we will no longer have 15 minutes breaks. When we work 6.5 hours we will get a half an hour for our break. I worked 3-9:15 today, not getting home until around a 9:45...a normal person eats within this time frame. I am by no means a morning person so I eat later and don't want to eat around 2 before I go in for my shift and the eat after 10 the next time I eat. The body needs food at least every 6 hours from what I hear and I personally feel the need to eat something within 4 or so most of the time. I am very frustrated with this. I did get a nice surprise from a co-worker today though. As I walked into our break room I noticed a gift bag with my name on it...I got a nice Christmas mug set with some yummy cocoa. I'll have to try the cocoa and take a picture of the mug soon.

DINNER

"Taco salad":

Left over salad from my parents dinner

1/2 cup Ortega fat-free refried beans

2 tbsp. salsa

Jalapenos

Chili powder to spice up the salad

8 reduced-fat Wheat Thins

DESSERT

1/2 Peanut butter and chocolate Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

A few dried cherries (I think I'm hooked after trying them this morning)

A few of my friends stopped by my work tonight and invited me out for some Chinese tomorrow afternoon. I really haven't had to face Chinese with a group of friends since I've become health conscious, I've avoided it. I am thinking of getting steamed veggies and unbreaded chicken with sauce on the side, if at all. Cream cheese won-tons with duck sauce are my weakness, but I promise to myself that I will not touch them.

In the past week or so I haven't followed a very healthy diet or exercised as much as I'd like, especially with me not feeling well. There is a noticeable difference to me in what I look and feel like from eating too much junk and not exercising. The pants are fitting a bit snugger it seems. ;p I do know that I will be getting back on track and then some. Like I said before, the holidays make me a bit weak just as they do with anyone. Good news is...I am stable enough to not let myself continue with the rut.

Did I mention how cold it is here? Under 13 degrees! Brrrrrr! Hope everyone is staying nice and warm. =]

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. "

2009-12-28T14:02:00.002-05:00

BREAKFAST

A lovely bowl of mess...

1/3 cup Bear Naked apple cinnamon granola

1/3 cup Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

1 small apple

Originally I was going to have a bowl of cocoa oats and a banana, but I don't have any ripe banana's...someone at the last one. Sigh.

By the way, I recently signed up for Food Buzz. Check me out:HERE.

LUNCH

Matt had a gift card for Pizza Hut, so that's we went there along with his sister. We ordered bread sticks and a medium pepperoni thin crust pizza.

I had a bread stick dipped in some marinara sauce and 2 slices of pizza. I blotted all of the grease off of the pizza as usual because it grosses me out. I'm still too camera shy to bust it out in front of everyone for my blog. After lunch we decided to head to a mall we haven't been to in awhile...well, the weather here worsened as we drove. Longest trip to a mall ever. I exchanged a shirt from the other day and Matt found a book on sale at Border's, which is going out of business soon.

DINNER

Sammie:

1 Arnold Thin

Peppered turkey lunch meat

Lettuce, onion, tomato

1 small apple with cinnamon

OTHER

A nice cup of Celestial apple cinnamon tea. I have been waiting all day for this! Matt has been a bit sick for about a week now and it has finally passed on to me. I woke up feel tired, weak, stuffy, achy, etc. This cup of tea hit the spot.

I managed to sneak a few pieces of hard tack candy from Matt's stash tonight. I was looking for watermelon, but I kept getting cinnamon and gave up. Haha.

The weather here tonight is cold and very snowy. For me, this is a terrible mix. I will have nothing to do with the cold. Yuck. Tomorrow I want to warm up with a nice bowl of oats with some cocoa. Off to bed now because I am super super sleepy with this cold!

"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of."

2009-12-27T13:44:00.006-05:00

Holiday/Post-Holiday Recap aka Mega-post

Sorry for the lack of pictures! I've been a bit too busy to think about wiping out my camera every moment. I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday and hope everyone else did too. I'm excited to wear all of the new clothes I got. =] It's a big confidence booster to fit into the sizes I wear now and such a motivator to stay this way.

Christmas Eve
BREAKFAST
I kept it super light due to the fact we were eating "dinner" so close to us waking up and didn't want to be too full to eat the goods. I had a banana and a cup of coffee with a tablespoon of cocoa, a teaspoon of nondairy creamer, and a packet of Splenda.

LUNCH

Mashed potatoes, tons of mixed veggies, and a giant dinner roll! I don't eat ham, so I didn't exactly have a way to incorporate any meat or protein into my meal. After I finish my plate I took some time to socialize before digging into my Dad's wonderful decadent homemade dark chocolate mousse. The recipe he uses is by far some of the better, if not the best chocolate mousse I have ever had. If my body could handle it, I just may have eaten to entire bowl. ;) But, mousse is rich, especially dark chocolate mousse, so I may have had about a half cup.

DINNER

This is when I realized my eating was getting a bit out of control....I had about a 1/4 piece of my paps kaibasi on an Arnold Thin (Which I have recently tried and absolutely love! How have I lived without these babies?!) and some spicey brown mustard. Well, for dessert I had a nice big slice of my grandma's pumpkin roll.

Day after Christmas

BREAKFAST

A banana, which was ripened to my perfection, Danon Light and Fit yogurt, and some Special K Protein Plus. Mix together and yum.
LUNCH

Matt's aunt had a big Christmas party and this woman is a fantastic cook! She use to own a Cornucopia, but now she just does catering. No, she does not do the ordinary rigatoni and fried chicken catering. I should have taken a shot of her fabulous buffet if nothing else. I had the best roast beef I have tasted on a roll, lots of fresh veggies, and two giant slices of my favorite fruit...cantaloupe. Of course I couldn't pass up the table of sweets either! The first thing that caught my eye was toffee cheesecake. I could have went with the usual piece of chocolate or cookie to save on calories, but I figured what the hey. Delicious! Man, I sure was stuffed. We didn't stay long because we had some things to get done, but it was a nice short visit. Sometimes Matt thinks I don't enjoy doing things with his family, but I'm really shy when I don't know people. I love that he's a family man and would do anything with his family.

SNACK

Matt decided after not really eating any of the fabulous food his aunt made he'd go to Taco Bell after our crazy day returning things at the mall, shopping, and going to Sam's Club. They didn't have the apple empinada so they gave him two cinnamon twists....guess who ate a bag? Me.

DINNER

Alright, lets pretend this section does not exist. I told myself after today I would get back on track so i went crazy eating everything! I had some sandwich spread on an Arnold Thin, a piece of leftover crazy bread, and a piece of pumpkin roll. No...it didn't stop there. As I was passing the living room I noticed my bag of Lindor truffles and took them with me upstairs....this is the part where I get disgustingly sick. I will be saving my 60% cocoa heavenly truffles for a time in the future where I can begin to handle sweets again.

All in all I feel good that I can blog what I have eaten to motivate me to do better in the future. We all have our slips, even major ones. I am doing my best to stay positive with this and get back on track. Recently I have found many great blogs and really feel inspired! Food blogging is helping me more than you may know.

Today--December 27

BREAKFAST

1 medium banana

1/2 to 2/3 cup Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

(I scraped out the last bit so it would all be used before pitching it)

1/4 cup Bear Naked apple cinnamon granola

Bear Naked All Natural Granola Apple Cinnamon (12oz) All Natural Granola

Made with REAL whole grains.
Hand-crafted in small batches, yielding unique, soft-baked texture
Voted "Best-Tasting Granola in the Country" (Men’s Health, Mar 2005 & Organic Style, Nov 2004)
All-Natural, Bearly Processed and Utterly Naked Ingredients... that you can actually pronounce!
Vegetarian friendly
Kosher certified
Bear Naked products are priced at a premium level, because Bear Naked sources the best-tasting, highest quality ingredients they can find. For example, they use whole almonds and walnut halves, not almond and walnut pieces. In addition, Bare Naked granola is still made by hand, which is labor intensive. Bear Naked products are all natural and, by definition, all natural products cannot contain preservatives. As a result, Bear Naked does not use any artificial ingredients or preservatives, including MSG.

Bear Naked® is naturally sweetened with just a kiss of honey. They selected to use honey in their recipe because studies have shown it is low on the glycemic index, providing a long, steady source of energy instead of a spike and crash. Honey is also a natural source of antioxidants.

I give this product a big thumbs up! The taste is unbelievably good and sweet. The granola is in tiny clusters, some is broken up though, and I love the dried apples. I actually got my bag for only $3 at our local Big Lots store. This product usually runs around $5 a bag. 1/4 cup is 140 calories so I enjoyed mixing mine with the yogurt and will continue to use their line of products. If you check out their website: eatbearnaked.com you can view their product information and order if you like. By saving bags you can earn points to cash in for a t-shirt or a reusable bag. Nice.

LUNCH

Turkey sammie:

1 toasted Arnold Thin

Peppered deli turkey

Lettuce

Tomato

I can't wait to have another one of these tomorrow. I'm boring, I could eat these every day.

1 small/medium apple

1/8 cup walnut halves

Cinnamon

1tsp vanilla extract

SNACK

Sorry for the terrible photo. I need to run these back downstairs because they tempt me. I had only one and it was delicious. Lindor truffles are one of my ultimate chocolate favorites!

DINNER
I was in the mood for eggs tonight and I came up with this tasty combo...

Sammie:

1 Arnold Thin (I'm on my last one. Oh no!)

1/2 cup egg beaters with onion and ground black pepper

2 slices of tomato

1 slice yellow American cheese

Side of small apple slices with cinnamon

My fruit choices with cinnamon are repetitious, I know. This is the first time using this sandwich combo and it just may become a regular. Mmmm so good. I love sandwiches and never find them boring as most people do. Personally, I don't need very much variety in my diet to be happy.

As much as I don't like to admit it, I was a coach potato today. Naturally I go to bed late so I will be working out tonight. Yesterday I took a day off of working out, although I don't have much of a routine anyway. One thing I'm working on is becoming knowledgeable about exercise. Baby steps!

"The only thing bad about a holiday is it is followed by a non-holiday. "

2009-12-24T23:14:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

3/4 cup Danon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

3/4 medium gala apple

A same old, same old kind of breakfast so I chose not to photograph it. I also had a little taste of the chocolate mousse my Dad was making for tomorrow. Mmm! I wish I could have just thrown my apples into that mixture. Haha.

HOLIDAY FESTIVITY

We visit the DuBreucq (My Dad) side of the family on Christmas Eve. My grandma started a new tradition for us this year with Oplatek waffers. Oplatek is just a mixture of water and flour, but most people buy it instead of making it. The waffers come in little sheets, but we sliced them up so that we didn't spread any unneccesary germs. My grandma said she always ate hers like little sandwiches with honey in between, so we did also. Traditionally the head of the house hold gets the pink waffers, but we had to make a fe exceptions. My grandmother is full of interesting things to try.

I started dinner off with 4 lovely home made potato pierogi with home made horse radish sauce on the side, 2 slices of turkey, and a nice salad with strawberry vinaigrette. I gave the other slice of turkey to my Dad because I was too full. I could have stopped after the salad and about 2 or 3 pierogi, but they only come once a year so I finished them off.

After dinner my younger cousins played the "right and left" game. I'm the oldest grandchild, so I don't play anymore. Haha. Every one always has fun with this, even just watching it. My grandma read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas after the game and then we get ready to go downstairs and open gifts.

I had a slice of pumpkin roll, my favorite! I also had one of these mini chocolate chip cookies, which were one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted. They had a cinnamon flavor to them and I love my cinnamon, plus they were packed with chocolate chips.

This is no ordinary box, it's a Japanese "trick box". All of the grand kids got a different box in which we had to figure out how to open to get what was inside. Not as easy as it sounds let me tell you. Grandma wanted to give money to the older grand kids this year, but needed a clever way to do it and sure enough this was a great idea. She even wrapped them in Japanese newspaper that was in the boxes she received them with from an Ebay vendor. We also do gift exchanges with one of our cousins every year to make it easy on us, there are 13! I got a nice set of silver bangle bracelets, just when I was thinking earlier that I wish I had some nicer bracelets to wear.

My parents and I. =]

Oh, I also had a nice tasting of some smoked kaibasi my pap made...I love that he'll buy a cheap kaibasi and jazz it up his own way. I also tasted half a piece of peanut butter fudge from my Aunt Cherise and Uncle Trevor...it tasted like peanut butter bon bon's, good thing there was only one piece in the container of goodies they gave us or I would have wiped those babies out. Tomorrow I will be going to my grandma's (My Moms) for early dinner around lunch as usual. I can't wait to dig into that chocolate mousse. ;)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

"Life is a journey, not a destination."

2009-12-23T23:51:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

(Not pictured)

Peanut butter and banana sandwich:

1 whole wheat Arnold Thin

1 banana

3/4 cup Dannon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

1 tbsp Skippy's Natural peanut butter

The past couple of days I have been craving peanut butter like crazy and had to get my fix today. I ate the last banana, which I only had two out of the entire bunch. Luckily I had a chance to stop tonight to get some bananas and apples, which I was also out of. Fruit this time of the year is so disappointing though, not enough variety..I may be resorting to some frozen or canned here soon.

LUNCH

Leftovers:

Slice of meatloaf with tomato sauce

About 3/4 cup canned green beans

About 1/4 cup mashed red potatoes

I know mashed potatoes and meat loaf aren't the most nutritious, but the meal isn't that bad either. I separated my potatoes so I wouldn't feel the urge to eat all of them. At least I ate lots of green beans.

SNACK

(Not pictured)

With the holidays of course a few people brought some things to work today. Peggy brought spiced cake, but the frosting has coconut on it...I don't like coconut. Tom brought some homemade chocolates and that is something I can't resist! I had 3 select pieces: 1 mini Christmas tree with holiday sprinkles, 1 average size caramel cup, 1 small cup with some fruit filling and walnuts. I really appreciate homemade goodies. =] I thought about baking something else soon to bring in, but we'll see.

DINNER

Lean Cuisine's chicken enchilada suiza meal

I wanted something quick that didn't dirty the kitchen and I've had a few of these in the freezer for awhile, so I figured why not? I personally like this for the rice, I don't know why. The chicken enchilda is nothing like chicken though, it's hard to explain...and I don't care for the sour cream sauce all too much so I leave most of it on the side.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! On Thanksgiving I didn't get to see the entire family (That lives here anyway) so it will be nice to see them all. Oh, I can't forget my main dish tomorrow...pierogi! I love being part Polish. My pap always makes his own kielbasa too so I'll be snagging some of that, and some chocolates or cookies. Yum, yum, yum. Just so everyone knows, I do not like ham unless it's in lunch meat form and even then I don't care for it. Hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Before I forget I neglected to mention a nice gesture given to me tonight. My Dad and I were picking a few things up at Walmart and I needed another tin for hard tack candy, but the selection was a bit scarce. I found a nice snowman tin, but they were all too big so I settled for another one. While looking at gift bags a woman came up to me with a tin and it was a small version of the one I was looking at. Yes, she tracked me down just to give me the last tin of the one I liked. How nice!

"The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with failure. "

2009-12-23T02:19:00.001-05:00

BREAKFAST

1/2 Arnold whole wheat thin

1/2 Tbsp Skippy's Natural creamy peanut butter

Apple slices with cinnamon

1/2 apple on the side

LUNCH

Burger:

Arnold whole wheat thin

Morning star black bean veggie burger with lettuce, jalapenos, and onion

Salad:

Iceberg lettuce

Onion

Broccoli

Carrot

2 Tbsp. Kraft fat-free caesar italian dressing

I exchanged Christmas presents early with Matt and his family tonight because I'm unsure if our Christmas schedule will work out for us to see each other. I bought Matt Fall Out 3 for Xbox, an HDMI cable for his Xbox and new TV he's getting from his parents, and a gift card for Game Stop. For his parents I bought a nice snowman throw blanket from Thing Remembered that has their last name embroidered on it, his Mom loved it! They unexpectedly got me the book I've been wanting, Glenn Beck's 'Arguing with Idiots'...I already started reading it. So far so good!

Kind of a rough picture of me at the end of the day, but you get the point. I am excited to read yet another good book from him, I'm a huge fan.

DINNER

(Not pictured, thankfully!)

3 slices of pepperoni and extra cheese pizza from Pizza King

In the event that I was over my boyfriends hosue tonight, they decided to order pizza. I told myself I wouldn't eat any because I could come home and eat dinner, but I did...all three slices of it's greasy pepperoni extra cheesy goodness. I haven't had pizza in awhile and I just may have gotten a bit over zealous. Grease and fat are something I am not accustomed to these days and all I keep hearing is my stomach churning. Yuck.

SNACKS

(Again, thankfully not pictured!)

1 homemade brownie after Lunch

1 homemade brownie as a snack

A few pieces of hard tack candy

Again, I went way over board today. Put sweets in front of me and they WILL vanish. I can't believe I ate so much bad food today. All this talk of holiday food almost has me putting on the "it's the holidays I don't have to watch what I eat" front. I need to kick it back into gear tomorrow, my body feels terrible! Working out was not an option tonight like I had hoped, my tummy is far too upset. =[ I do have some meat loaf and mashed potatoes left over from my Moms dinner tonight so I will be fitting that into my plans tomorrow.

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."

2009-12-22T03:31:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

1/2 cup Quaker's oatmeal made with water

1 medium banana

Cinnamon to taste

I just bought the bananas yesterday and they really weren't as ripe as I like them today, but I figured I'd try it anyway...well, I really didn't like it at all, but I ate it anyway. I learned my lesson. Bananas are perfect to me when they aren't green, but don't have a lot of brown spots yet.

SNACK

(Not pictured)

10 reduced fat Wheat Thins

I had to work later than expected today, luckily I had some crackers in my purse! I was starving by the time I got home though.

LUNCH

(Not pictured)

Tuna wrap:

1 whole wheat tortilla wrap

2 ounces of tuna with celery, onion, and a few walnuts

No salt seasoning to taste

About 3/4 cup Campbell's broccoli potato soup from a few days ago

I was really in a hurry to eat so I chose the quickest thing I could find for lunch, plus I was really hungry by the time I did eat so I wanted to eat as soon as possible. Originally I wasn't going to eat this combination for lunch, but it did the trick.

AFTER LUNCH DESSERT

1 of my homemade mint chocolate chip brownies!

I was full, but I couldn't help but eat a brownie before I left to do the last minute touches of my Christmas shopping tonight. Yum yum!

DINNER

1/2 cup Special k Protein Plus cereal

1/2 cup Danon Light and Fit yogurt

Not a very good dinner, but again I was eating at weird times today and wasn't in the mood for anything heavy. I am very exhausted! Work was insanely busy today, I rushed to eat and get out the door. I didn't sit down until around 8:30! I literally ate my lunch standing up today. Haha. All of my Christmas shopping is finisihed and gifts are wrapped...it's almost Christmas! The number one food item I will be enjoying in a few days on Christmas Eve are my grandma's homemade perogie...my favorite food. =D We only get treated to these once a year now so it's extra special. Hmmm, maybe I need to learn the tricks of the trade to make them on my own?

"As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes. "

2009-12-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST

(Not pictured)

The same old, same old.

1/2 cup Quaker's oats

1/2 medium apple

Cinnamon to taste

Splenda

DINNER

(Not pictured)

I got home from work late so lunch really wasn't much of an option. A not so healthy dinner, but it was well worth it! I really have been craving this. I could have done without my second grilled cheese though, but it was soooo good.

1 cup Campbell's tomato soup made with 2% milk, not water

2 grilled cheese sandwiches:

2 slices each of Great Value brand white bread

2 slices each of yellow American cheese

Both sides slathered with margarine

DESSERT/FESTIVE SNACKING

My Dad and I had a fun night of making hard tack candy and I made mint chocolate chip brownies. Mmmm.

I taste tested almost all of the flavors he made tonight and had one square out of 12 brownies I made.

I may have eaten a bit unhealthy today, but I don't completely wreck myself everyday. I hate to use the holiday excuse, but it makes me crazy for everything. In all honesty though, I am much better with control that I have ever been...it all takes time and I am proud of my progress so far.

"Beauty is being in harmony with what you are. "

2009-12-19T14:44:00.002-05:00

I went out to Rumors Grille and Bar in town last night to see my boyfriend and his bands play for their Christmas party and as always had a good time out. Matt started a new band that I only heard play once so this was only my second time hearing them. I can honestly say they have improved and I'm looking forward to see where the band goes once they begin to write their own music. Sektor 7 is his main band and Head Space is his new band, both are cover bands for now. Anyway, when I left last night snow was falling, but I never expected to wake up to 6 or 7 inches of snow! The entire East Coast really got hit with snow from what I hear.

BREAKFAST

1/3 cup Special K Protein Plus cereal

1/3 cup Danon Light and Fit Yogurt

1 small apple

Cinnamon to taste (I love cinnamon!)

I ate the last of my yogurt today, which I always buy by the quart. Unfortunately the Walmart where I shop only has plain and vanilla in quarts, I'd really like more variety. On almost every food blog I read I see them using Stoney Field organic yogurt so maybe I will try it. Danon should have some yummy holiday flavors in the 6 and 8 ounce cups so I may pick some of those up as well. On this cold day I am looking forward to having some soup for lunch or dinner. Did I mention that I don't like snow? Strange, I know. It's beautiful and all, but what I really don't like is the cold that comes along with it. Brrr.

SNACK

6 Wheat Thin original cracker

1/2 tbsp. of Great Value sugar free strawberry preserves

LUNCH

1 slice split top oat bread

1 cup Campbell's broccoli potato soup with ground black pepper

About 1.5 cups of Dole salad mix with a little added tomato and broccoli

1 tbsp. Kraft fat-free caesar italian dressing

DINNER

(This cellphone picture doesn't do it any justice!)

2 ounces of Starkist canned albacore white tuna in water

1/2 celery stalk and onion

About 4 walnuts

1 tbsp. light miracle whip

1/2 medium apple

8 reduced-fat Wheat Thins

DESSERT

1/2 Skinny Cow peanut butter ice cream sandwich

I was pretty full, but wanted something sweet so I just ate half of one. Tomorrow I may have a repeat of this dinner considering I still have half a can of tuna and an apple left, but I may eat it in a tortilla. I also have about a cup of potato broccoli soup left, but I may save that for another day. Currently I am learning more about fitness and how to incorporate it into my life more each day. I do about 20 minutes of yoga every day, but I am getting bored and need to tone up my middle more. Just taking baby steps. =]

"He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own."

2009-12-18T13:41:00.002-05:00

BREAKFAST

1/3 cup Quacker's oatmeal made with water
1/8 cup Sunmaid golden raisins

Cinnamon to taste

1 packet Splenda
Estimated calories: 183

I have the next two days off of work and I am looking to get some things done around the house, especially with my disaster of a room. Usually, I don't let things get so messy...I think this cold weather is bringing me down. Tonight I will be going out to see my boyfriends band Sektor 7 play so it should be a good night.

LUNCH/DINNER?

Tacos:

2 "8 whole wheat tortillas

1 Morning Star south west veggie burger split

1/2 slice of yellow American cheese

Lettuce, onion, tomato

Estimate calories: 316

DESSERT

1 peanut butter and chocolate Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

Estimated calories: 150 (I think this is a good number of calories for an ice cream sandwich considering I've seen some around 300!)

In all honesty, I'm not sure I'm really in the mood for dinner dinner. I woke up a bit late and don't want to eat anything to heavy late tonight. If I get hungry I'll probably snack on some wheat thin crackers.

"Self-sabotage is the smartest thing you can do if you're sabotaging a self that is not really you."

2009-12-18T03:06:00.001-05:00

I know that I am blogging late, but it's been a long day. Finally got a hair cut today after quite a number of months I believe, saw A Christmas Carol in Pittsburgh, and had a nice free dinner at Marks Grille so it was an over-all good day.

BREAKFAST

1 whole wheat tortilla wrap

1 small apple

1/2 slice sharp cheddar cheese

Lettuce

1/2 tbsp. fat-free Philadelphia cream cheese

(I some how mixed my lunch and breakfast around.)

LUNCH

(Not pictured, although I thought I took one.)

Omelet:

1/2 cup Egg Beaters

Onion, broccoli, tomato in omelet

1 Small Apple

About 1/8 cup cottage cheese

This was my first time trying cottage cheese and I did not like it! I kept trying to convince myself that it was an acquired taste, but more than anything I hated the texture. I will not be eating this again any time soon.

DINNER

(Not pictured)

1 about "4 roast beef lunch meat sandwich with lettuce and tomato

Raw veggies:

carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower

2 slices of tomato flavored with olive oil and parmesan, I believe

1/2 of a giant oatmeal raisin cookie (equal of about a regular large cookie)

This meal was made after seeing A Christmas Carol at Marks Grille in Pittsburgh. Matt's professor reserved us a room and had it catered. Some of the foods there were: mini tacos, chicken strips, bacon and cheddar potato skins, chips, veggie tray, cheese and cracker tray, roast beef sandwiches, cold cut combo sandwiches, various giant cookies, etc. I ate tons of veggies to fill up so I wouldn't be as tempted to try the fried foods or actually eat the entire cookie. At the end of the day I do feel a little bloated for some reason...I'm thinking I had too much sodium or maybe more calories than I intended at Mark's. The show and dinner were a treat though, I'm very thankful Matt's musical theatre professor was kind enough to let me tag along with the class the past two shows. Tomorrow I'm thinking of making a "taco" with a veggie burger and another tortilla, but am unsure what to have with it.

"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."

2009-12-16T23:18:00.001-05:00

BREAKFAST

1/3 cup Danon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

1/8 cup walnuts

1 medium banana

Cinnamon to taste

Estimated calories: 227

LUNCH

1/2 medium sweet potato roasted with chili powder

Wrap:

1 "8 whole wheat tortilla

1 tsp brown mustard

Healthy Choice turkey breast

Ground black pepper to taste

Lettuce, onions

Estimated calories: 227

DINNER

Taco salad:

Lettuce, onion, brocoli, tomato, a smidge of parmesam cheese

(This was already made up by my Mom when I came home, so I used it.)

1 Southwest Morning Star veggie burger

5 jalopeno pepper slices

1 tbsp salsa

2 tsp brown mustard for dressing

Estimated calories: 163

DESSERT

(Not pictured)

1/2 Skinny cow chocolate and peanut butter ice cream sandwich

1/2 medium banana

Estimated calories: 128

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE: 744

I have a few things I need to get rid of soon so my meals seem a little repetitious. Yesterday I bought the Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and they tasted a bit better today than yesterday for some reason...the taste isn't what you would expect. I prefer my ice cream smooth and creamy, but this was more "icy" to me and didn't have much of an ice cream flavor. The cookie sandwich part is pretty good, but over-all the flavors aren't very strong. Tonight I pared half of the sandwich with half of a banana and I liked it much better and cut down calories. I don't know how I'm going to get rid of all of the sandwiched these next couple of days. I've tried to cut back on my sweets and desert intake, especially before Christmas, but I've come to the conclusion I can't cut it out of my life. Instead, I am eating sweets and such in moderation. Christmas is just about 8 days away, but all of the heavy goodies come to me on Christmas Eve and I have confidence that I will do much better this time around than Thanksgiving. Pierogi is a big part of Christmas Eve and also my favorite food, I'm really looking forward to them considering this is the only time this year I believe I will have eaten them. Also, I am looking forward to tomorrow. A Christmas Carol is showing at The Benedum Theatre in Pittsburgh and I will be going with my boyfriend and his musical theater class at CalU. I hear we're going to some kind of dinner event after, hopefully I will find something yummy.

"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some."

2009-12-15T12:04:00.001-05:00

BREAKFAST

1/2 cup Special K Protein Plus cereal

1/4 cup Danon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

1 small apple

Cinnamon to taste
Mixed together and yum!
Estimated calories: 204

Got this idea from: http://graduatemeghann.com

MORNING SNACK
(Not pictured)

1 whole-wheat original triscuit

Estimated calories: 20

I visited my old high school this morning with my friend Pixie and was really glad I did. I got to talk to two of my favorite teachers during their lunch break. Mr. Hartz was eating a salad and triscuits for lunch and I had to steal one, just to taste it...I don't think that I've had triscuits before. I saw a few people that were sophomore's when I was a senior and chatted a bit, also nice. Hopefully I will be back to visit soon enough, probably around spring break. The high school is putting on Singing in the Rain as the musical this year and as always I am excited to see the outcome in spring.

LUNCH
(Not pictured)

I went to Apple Bee's with some friends and ordered my favorite thing there, the oriental chicken salad with grilled chicken, no noodles, and dressing on the side. I was still really full from breakfast so I only ate about half and took the rest with me.

Estimated calories: 201

AFTER LUNCH DESSERT/SNACK
(Not pictured)

1 Skinny Cow chocolate and peanut butter ice cream sandwich

Estimated calories: 150

DINNER
(Not pictured)

1/2 of my Apple Bee's salad

1 cup tea purchased at a Dollar General

Estimated calories: 291

SNACKS
(Not pictured)

We had a movie night and of course that included lots of goodies, but I chose to stick with chips and chili for dip.

About 6 Tostitos Restaurant Style chips

About 1/8-1/4 cup Cambell's Road House chili

Estimated calories: 93

At the end of the day I feel stuffed! I think I had a little too much snacking and not enough real food, but I did better than I expected...I'm usually one to pig out with friends. Until I get a new jump rope I think I will be sticking with some yoga for the night.

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE: 966

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."

2009-12-14T18:32:00.001-05:00

BREAKFAST
(Not pictured)

1/2 cup Quacker's oatmeal made with water

1/2 small apple

1 packet of Splenda

Cinnamon to taste

Estimated calories: 202

This was the first time I remember making oatmeal with water instead of milk and personally it wasn't my favorite. Oatmeal made with milk has much more flavor too me, plus it is sweeter. Using water to save calories is a good idea, but I won't use the method as often.

"LUNCH" (More like dinner)

Burger:

2 slices Sara Lee whole wheat bread

1 Southwest Morning Star veggie burger

4 jalapeno slices

Mustard

Salad:

Lettuce, onion, and tomato

1.5 Tbsp. Kraft fat-free caesar italian dressing

Estimated calories: 288

I haven't had the south west veggie burger until today and I must say that I love it even more than the garden burger! It has a nice taco-like flavor to it. The back of the box suggests adding it to a salad to make a taco salad, which I will have to try. After making the burger I realized that I didn't need to ass anything to it because it already tastes fantastic.

DINNER/SNACK?

(Not pictured)

3/4 cup Danon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt

1 small apple

Estimated calories: 157

Originally I was hoping to make a banana smoothie, but the banana's still aren't ripe enough. In a day or two they should be ripened to my liking.

DESSERT

2 pieces Hershey's special dark miniatures
Estimated calories: 84

SNACK

(Not pictured)

I ate this snack a little close to my "lunch", but I was pretty hungry after work and didn't want to wait.

1 celery stalk cut in pieces

2/3 Tbsp. Philidelphia fat-free cream cheese

Estimated calories: 17

I bought a jump rope today in hopes of cardio exercise, but I failed at choosing a good jump rope. I bought the cheapest one I could find without thinking that it looked to light. I got a little bit of a work out with it, but over-all it was too frustrating. I will most likely purchase a beaded rope the next time I'm out.

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE:749

This is shocking to me considering I'm so full!

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.."

2009-12-14T01:06:00.001-05:00

BREAKFAST

French toast:

2 slice Sara Lee whole wheat bread

1/4 cup Egg Beaters

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 packet Splenda

Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

1/2 medium apple

1 cup 2% milk

Estimated calories: 346

With shopping all day I didn't exactly have time to eat lunch, but I guess it's a good thing considering what I had for dinner tonight!

DINNER

If you know what a Primanti Brother's sandiwich is you know that it is ridiculously good, yet ridiculously bad all at once! Let me explain....

Primanti's sandwich:

2 slices Italian bread

Turkey lunch meat I presume

Provolone cheese

A hand full of fresh cut fries

A nice heap of Amish style cole slaw

1 tall glass of water

Yes all on one giant sandwich! Normally I wouldn't eat something like this, but it isn't often I go to Primanti's. I ate the entire sandwich! I could have well stopped at half, but the sandwich doesn't travel or re-heat well. Even though I feel like I gained a few punds from one sandwich it was completely worth it. Best sandwich in the world, hands down.

Estimated calories: 775

Later this evening I had a cup of coffee which may run around 30 calories.

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE: 1,160

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

2009-12-12T13:20:00.001-05:00

BRUNCH

Roasted sweet potatoes:

1/2 medium sweet potato cut in wedges, seasoned with no-salt season and ground black pepper

Wrap:

1 "8 whole wheat tortilla

1/2 slice yellow american cheese

Healthy Choice turkey breast lunch meat

1 lettuce leaf

1/2 tbsp. light miracle whip

1 tall glass cranberry flavored water

Estimated calories: 236

Originally I was going to make sweet potato fries, but this was a shorter process so I went for it instead. Before I go into work this evening I'll probably have a little bit of yogurt and the other half of my banana from yesterday.

"LUNCH"

1 medium apple

3/4 cup Danon Light and Fit vanilla yogurt with 1/8 cup walnuts

Estimated calories: 266

DINNER

Sandwich:

2 slices Sara Lee whole wheat bread

Healthy choice turkey lunch meat

Mustard

Horse radish sauce

1 cup steamed broccoli and carrots with seasoning

1 tall glass water

Estimated calories: 257

"DESSERT"

2 Hershey's special dark mini bars

1 Danish cookie

Estimated calories: 128

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE: 887

Tomorrow I finally get to go Christmas shopping for myself. I plan to buy clothes and only clothes because I actually need them. Since June or July I've lost around 23 pounds and went down 4 pants sizes. I have a few things I can wear, but not very much so it will be nice to finally get some things. I'm not looking forward to the holiday crowds though! After shopping I will be going to Matt's house (my boyfriend) to help decorate their tree, which is especially nice because I didn't get to decorate mine this year. I think I'm getting into the holiday spirit. Oh and tomorrow I'm thinking of possibly having french toast for breakfast, it's been too long! If the bananas are ripe enough I may add those on top. I really have a craving for sweets and comfort food this time of the year.

"Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts."

2009-12-11T15:14:00.001-05:00

BREAKFAST

Whole wheat low-carb tortilla

1 tbsp. Skippy Natural peanut butter

1/2 large banana sprinkled with cinnamon

3/4 cup 2% milk (We didn't have much milk left unfortunately)
Estimated calories: 314

Luckily we should be going grocery shopping tonight. I am in the mood for a veggie burger! I most certainly will be picking those up. Lately I've been eating walnuts, but I think I may switch to almonds this time around. Hopefully I'll find some yummy recipes this afternoon so that I can pick up what I need tonight.

LUNCH

While out shopping my parents decided to stop at Burger King, so I tried to find some healthier options while there.

(Not pictured) 1 Morning Star veggie burger with lettuce, onions, and mustard

1 Salad (removed cheese as much as possible) with about 2 tbsp. light italian dressing

1 bottled water
Estimated calories: 440

DINNER

Chicken salad made with chicken from last nights dinner and fat-free Kraft caesar italian dressing

1 tall glass of cranberry water

Estimated calories: 200

SNACKS

6 Reduced fat Wheat Thins

1 tbsp. fat-free Philadelphia cream cheese

Estimated calories: 64

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE: 1,018

While shopping today I came across sweet potatoes, which I have never had aside from Thanksgiving so tomorrow I will be trying one! Eatingwell.com has some pretty good recipes for them. (and in general) Most likely I will be trying sweet potato fries. 1/2 of the sweet potato I bought cut up, drizzles with olive oil, and seasoned with some no salt seasoning I have. There are a ton of whole wheat tortillas left that I need to eat soon so I will be making a turkey lunch meat wrap to go with the fries.

"Do-so" is more important than "say-so."

2009-12-10T15:59:00.001-05:00

I'm starting this blog in hopes to inspire and get ideas from others on healthy living. I also think that a visual food journal will be more helpful in my journey. While searching on Self.com I came across a food blog written by their nutritionist and will be using similar ideas in my own blog. Each day I will track my food intake along with pictures if possible. Not only is this blog about food intake, it's about over-all health--fitness and emotional well being included.

BRUNCH

Scrambled eggs:

1/2 cup Egg Beaters, chopped broccoli, onion, tomato, and ground black pepper

1 slice Sara Lee Whole Wheat toasted bread

1/2 macintosh apple sliced

1 tall glass water flavored with sugar free Great Value cranberry drink mix

Estimate calories: 194

DINNER

Not a very good picture, sorry.

1/2 oven roasted chicken breast with seasoning (Half of portion shown)

About 1 cup roasted vegetables with seasoning

1 tall glass of cranberry flavored water

Estimated calories: 302

DESSERT

(Not pictured) 1 large home made chocolate chip cookie

Estimated calories: 196

SNACKS

(Not pictured) I had a little slip while seeing A Christmas Carol tonight and had half of a snickers bar.

Estimated calories: 140

1/2 apple from brunch sprinkled with cinnamon

Estimated calories: 54

OVER-ALL CALORIC INTAKE: 879

Tomorrow I plan on taking the half of portion of chicken I didn't finish from dinner and make a chicken salad. Yum, yum. I will try to stray away from the sweets tomorrow, but they really are my down fall!