"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."

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.

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

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

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

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.