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

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!

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

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."

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!

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

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!

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

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