"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.

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

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. "

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!

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

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.

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

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!