Melting Before Your Eyes

Huzzah! Finally!

2011-11-30T07:53:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? In a fit of clarity or exhausted delirium I FINALLY remembered my password to this dang thing.

Yes, that's right. I've been silent all this time because I couldn't get into it and I didn't want to fess up to forgetting the login/password combination. I've tried so many different combinations of so many things I'm pretty sure Blogger thinks I'm a bot. When I pull up the sign in screen I automatically get the word verification thingy. However I have Queen's "We Are the Champions" playing in my head and Blogger can suck it: I REMEMBERED!

That's it for now. I'll be back with something witty and life altering later. Okay so only one out of three of those is accurate. In the immortal words of the Terminator, "I'll be back."

(yeah I wrote the password down -- I've got no faith in my memory these days)

Surviving the Pork Chop

2011-04-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

The Pork Chop

Last night was MUCH BETTER than the night before. This is what happens when you implement the things you learn!

We did NOT try to make her sleep in her crate last night. So there wasn't FOUR HOURS of digging, crying, yelping, whining, banging the door of the crate, and any other freaking noise that the Pork Chop could come up with. Because we severed her water supply at 7:30 AND didn't try to make her sleep in her crate there wasn't the drinking binge at 3 in the morning that produced a 5:30am need to potty. Which means we didn't have an accident this morning because I wasn't quick enough to get my slippers and sweater on to take her out.

The licking and itching are driving us nuts but that's not her fault per se. She has allergies and her meds ran out right before we got her. So we're waiting for them and then that should solve that problem. Hopefully.

Sunday night, I would've said, "We've made a mistake."

Last night, It's more like, "Maybe we can do this after all."

Oops...

2011-04-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

...I did it again.

NO! Do not cue horrible Brittney Spears music here, please!!!

Let me explain. Every year for every holiday, I start shopping early. You know, so it's not so financially painful. And EVERY year for EVERY holiday, I squirrel stuff away and forget how much I actually have until I put it all together.

And this year is NO different.

The Easter Bunny is being VERY good to the boys this year. They have so much crap it's over flowing their baskets...

See?

(Now in all fairness The Little People's Farm is from Nana and Papa they just had me pick it up for them and the Lego Starwars III The Clone Wars game they got 3ft isn't here yet because they picked it up)

And on top of that we're adopting a dog. Yes. A. Dog. So 3ft is having like the best Easter ever because he's been wanting a dog since he could say the word, "Dog." The best part is that we've known the dog since she was 6 weeks old -- an Easter present for my sister (notice a trend?). Well 8 years later my sister has to move and can't take her dog with her. So we volunteered to adopt the dog. 3ft doesn't know. It's going to be epic to watch his little boy face light up.

The cool thing is that I'll definitely get my walking in every day because I'll be taking the pork chop for walks. Pork Chop is what I christened the dog when she became a potbelly pig of a dog. It's also what 3ft calls her so to this day anytime I serve pork I call it chicken. I will not be responsible for the therapy 3ft would need if he thought we ate the dog, you know? So the Pork Chop and I shall be slimming down together.

Someone out there please tell me I'm not the only one who does this...

K?

Not a Tuma...

2011-04-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

So, I was a day early in my pictorial debut of my porch garden. The pods on the one plant really did bloom and they're pretty, see?

"I'm not a tuma." (Hey plants can channel they're inner Arnold too)

And my dud watermelon seeds? Well this morning, when I was rearranging my plants for the morning sun, I found this!

So even my melons are growing! (yeah cuz that doesn't sound wrong) WOOT! I'm totally excited.

In totally unrelated news. I got a new workout top today. Isn't it super cute?

And do you notice it's a tank top? It's my first workout top that is. Mostly I workout in yoga pants and the baggiest shirts I can find to hide my fat and jiggles. Screw it. I've come a long way. I've lost over 100lbs. I'm proud of my jiggles because they jiggle much less than they jiggled before. I embrace my jiggles. Well, okay, I don't really go that far but I'm far less subconscious of them. Well, okay, you caught me. I'm trying to be less subconscious of them.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary...

2011-04-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

...how does your garden grow?

On my porch.

I have wanted a garden forever. For-Ev-Er. And I've never had one because I'm lacking one small thing. Ground/dirt/soil/land to put one in. Year after year I've watched in silent jealousy as my friends put up their gardens or being envious of the gardens I'd see out on my walks. Finally I decided enough was enough. So I broke the vicious garden envy cycle.

So what if I live in an upstairs apartment and have a small balcony to call my yard? Why can't I grow things out of flower pots and buckets? Have soil will grow with a little water and some sun, right?

Right.

So I've started my little porch garden. So far nothing big. Just some herbs: parsley, basil, and chives. Then I've got two different kinds of tomatoes going -- cherry tomatoes and normal sized ones. The one on the right is a hanging upside down one. I'm just waiting for my babies to get big enough to do so. Then I have some sunflowers, zinnias, and daisies to add a little color and fun -- if they ever bloom.

Then I have my snapdragons (on the right), which I totally love and then my grandmother-in-law gave me a jade plant (the one on the left) and something else. She told me what it was but I don't remember. I think it's going to flower eventually either that or it has tumorous offshoots. *in my best Arnold voice* It's not a tuma -- I crack myself up.

And then there's Flora. My grandmother-in-law gave her to me last year for Mother's Day. She's starting to bud again. When she gets full blown she's more red than green. My GIL told me what kind of plant she was too but I don't remember.

I'm also giving another shot at sugar baby watermelons. The first attempt was a dud but I need to get a rectangular type pot for that I think. I'm also thinking about doing some sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and maybe some sugar snap peas. I just wanted to make sure I got enough sun on my porch because I'm faced north and I'm sandwiched between apartments. I only get a couple hours of sun in the morning on the right side and a couple hours in the evening on the left side so I move my garden around to try and give it ample sunlight. So far everything is growing (except the stupid watermelons) so I'm going to add more. MORE! MORE!!! Muwahahahahahaha I've gone gardening crazy!

Healthy Kids...

2011-04-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

...who has them? And how did you make that happen? I would dearly love to know.

At first it was just 3ft with his asthma and his personal little pharmacy to keep him healthy and pneumonia-free. Now, the Grumpybutt has chronic ear infections. So much so that if this latest medicine doesn't clear it up he's going to be referred to a specialist to get tubes in his ears. If it's not one thing it's another with these boys. I swear any vacation their pediatrician takes is because I paid for it. So that is the fun we're having over here. I spent my morning at the doctor's office -- lucky me.

On a good note: I walked over 4 miles today.

On a bad note: I ate Mc Donalds for lunch.

On a worse note: I had french fries.

On a more worse note: I followed it with a cookie.

Guess who's doing some Wii Fit tonight?

Great, that damn balance board is going to bitch at me because I haven't used my Wii Fit in like a month! Maybe I'll just jog around my apartment for half an hour and avoid it completely. How sorry am I that I'm afraid of being berated by the Wii AI?

Yep. Pretty sorry.

Rainy Day Chef Salads

2011-04-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

I know that the rain is good for us -- no droughts and food growth -- but I just have to say I'm tired of the rain. It keeps me indoors. If I didn't have children I'd probably be one of those hardcore runners/walkers that is outside even in a downpour but I can't do it to my kids nor can I afford to be sick. Mom's don't get sick days. Ever.

Mondays are Riana lunch days where she comes over to my house and we have lunch together and let our kids play. Today I made Chef Salads with hard boiled eggs, ham, cheese, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce with lite 1000 island dressing. They were super delicious. I have enough stuff left over to probably have it for the next couple of days. Yay me. The only thing that would've made the salad better was if it had been a sunny warm day (those feel like salad days to me) instead of a dismal raining day.

(Can you tell I'm tired of the rain?)

I'm so excited. Riana and I are making a hexagon tiered cake with tropical flowers on it for a dessert auction fundraiser for our elementary school. We bought some of the supplies today and finalized our design. The tiers are going to be (from bottom to top) purple, pink, red orange, and yellow -- deep vibrant colors like a tropical sunset. Then we're going to do gum paste white tropical flowers with the inner petals dusted with different colored luster dust. It's going to be awesome. There's a prize for the top three cakes with the highest bid . So, hopefully we'll win but if not we're having a blast anyways. I'll be posting pictures as we go. We haven't started yet other than the planning phase. The cake's not due until May 13th. I'm so excited.

The flowers are our color palette for the tiers. Fabulous, right? And then I bought the hexagon cake pans today. Aren't they awesome? I can't wait to bake in them.

Dusting the Old Blog Off...

2011-04-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have a problem. I can only say the same thing in different words so many times before I'm boring myself. With that being said Melting Before Your Eyes is getting a makeover. I'm just going to babble about any ol' thing I want -- from weight loss, to food, to whatever pops up into my wee little brain.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

So, guess what I've been doing lately! You'll never guess. Go ahead and try.

Give up?

I've been buying tank tops. I can't tell you how many years it's been since I've willingly purchased and comfortably worn a tank top (bathing suits don't count). To give you an idea, I have a picture from when I was either a freshman or sophomore in high school. It was a teal sort of blue sleeveless shirt that I had a matching big floofy bowed barrette to go with it. Nunan, should remember the barrette, if not the shirt, as she wore it a time or two (unless oldtimers has set in) and I have pictorial proof that she did. You gotta love late 80's/early 90's fashion. Anyways I digress.

I've been buying tank tops like hotcakes. Like hotcakes I tell you! See?

Aren't they cute? I'm also wearing a dark blue one with a lime green under one right now (like the brown/pink one) so that's 7! And guess what? They're all XL. I don't know as if you remember but the last time I mentioned clothes sizes it was a 2XL. So can I get a woot?

WOOT!!!

Still in size 18 pants but then I haven't been really being as good a girl as I could be. So I'm dusting off this blog because I have the most success when I type on it EVERY DAY and getting down to business. Bathing suit weather is just around the corner and last year I was a 28. Wouldn't it be fabulous if I could squeeze into a 16 by June? Oh yes, it'd be FABULOUS!

You've heard it here, folks. I'm back.

Again.

Yeah, I know.

The Secret Word of the Day...(Part 1)

2011-03-07T14:39:00.001-08:00

CUPCAKES!!! *hollers and jumps around crazily in memory of the old Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse days*

I've been inventing cupcakes *jumps and shouts* again and I've gotten a lot of requests for their recipes. So since my three favorite things to do on this blog is: 1.) brag about my exercise accomplishments, 2.) whine, and 3.) talk about food, I figured I'd post a couple cupcake *screams* recipes along with my bragging and whining.

Cherry Pie Cupcakes

(AAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!! No, the joke doesn't get old. Yes, I am cracking myself up!)

Cherry Compote (store bought -- I was lazy)

Butter Cake
6.75 oz all purpose flour
2 oz potato starch (also called potato flour)
1 1/2 TSP baking powder
1 TSP salt
1 3/4 C sugar
10 TBS unsalted butter (room temp)
3 eggs
3/4 C almond milk
1/4 C half and half
2 TBS Jim Bean Whiskey
1 TSP vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven 350 degrees
1.) Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; whisk together. Set aside.
2.) Combine milk and half and half in a large measuring cup; stir. Set aside.
3.) Combine sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl; beat until light and fluffy.
4.) Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated between each one.
5.) Add in flour mixture and milk mixture alternatively; beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated.
6.) Pour batter into paper lined cupcake tin (around 2/3 full) and bake for 15 minutes or until done.
(makes 24 cupcakes)

Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting
2/3 C sugar
1/4 C water
4 large egg whites (room temp.)
1/2 TSP cream of tartar
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (room temp. and cut into small chunks)
brown icing dye

Directions
1.) Combine sugar and water in a small pot. Mix to get all the sugar wet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, without stirring, and cook until sugar reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer.
2.) While sugar boils, place egg whites in a large mixing bowl and using a whip attachment, whip eggs until foamy and frothy on low speed.
3.) Add cream of tartar and turn speed up to medium-high.
4.) When soft peaks form, add 3 TBS of sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
5.) When sugar reaches 250, pour a slow and steady stream into the meringue.
6.) Continue to whip meringue on high speed until it's room temp.
7.) When meringue is cool turn the mixer to medium and slowly add butter, a couple TBS at a time. Keep beating until buttercream is smooth.
8.) Mix in a little brown icing dye to make the frosting the color of pie crust

Assembling Cherry Pie Cupcakes (AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH! *waves arms wildly*)

1.) cut a small well into the tops of the cupcakes.
2.) spoon into the well approximately 1 TBS of cherry compote and a little extra to cover the top of the cake.
3.) then frost the cupcake tops to look like pies.

Cheater method --
1.) make butter cake from a box
2.) dye some white store bought frosting with a little brown dye to make it look like crust
3.) assemble as above.

Now on to the bragging and the whining -- I walked a little over 2 miles in 30 minutes this morning after dropping 3ft off at school. And... strangely enough, I don't have anything pressing to whine about at this moment. Lucky you!

Total steps today (so far): 12,672 (as of 3:19 pm)

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow when I give you the recipe to the "Peanut Butter Cup"cakes with my bragging and whining.

I've Been Liberated...

2011-03-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

3ft woke up fever free and went to school today. He begged and pleaded and against my better judgment I let him. Of course, when he came home, he had a low grade fever again but he's in high spirits because he got to go to school and see his friends. It's been as hard for him if not harder as it's been for me being cooped up in the house for nearly a week. The Grumpybutt was beyond excited to be out walking this morning. We've all been pretty miserable.

To celebrate my freedom of the snotty boy child, 3ft, I went on a 7 mile walk OUTSIDE! And better still, I forced my friend, Riana, to go with me. Now before you even start to feel sorry for her "forced" march, it's her fault it ended up being 7 miles.

I said: Let's walk to Safeway. I need a couple things.

She said: Let's walk to Richard's (it's a craft store here in Livermore) instead. I need some red dye and pearl dust for the McQueen cake I'm making.

So we walked and for the record, Richard's is further than Safeway. Then when we got to Richard's at 9 am they weren't open yet so we walked to Target which is further still. Then back to Richard's and then we still ended up going through Safeway before going home. It was all her fault. But it was a lot of fun!

So because of that happy little liberated jaunt I've already passed 10,000 steps for today.

Total steps today (so far): 18,825 (as of 2:49 pm)

Still Quarantined...

2011-03-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

Poor 3ft is still rocking the fevers and the snot. On top of that he's complaining about his ear hurting. So I was finally able to get him some antibiotics. I'm hoping he can go to school on Monday because he's not going to make it tomorrow either. Stupid fever. Stupid snot. My poor baby.

I wasn't able to walk outside again today which is such a travesty because the weather was beautiful out. But I did jog around my apartment again. I did 3.547 miles in 40 minutes. I wish I could get it down to half an hour but I'm just happy to be able to jog that long and get that "far", you know? Especially when I couldn't jog for 10 minutes with my Wii Fit when I started this whole process. I know I'm in better shape. I just wish it was more betterer shape (yes, I write. So what? :P).

I've noticed I haven't posted any new recipes or anything or even really talked about food other than Jelly Bellys. But with the Grumpybutt being picky in one direction and my other boys being picky in the other. I've really struggled to come up with meals (that I haven't already talked about) to please everyone. Last night I made 4 cheese tortellini with red sauce. Mr. Grumpybutt LOVED it and 3ft picked at it and hardly ate any while the whole time telling me how delicious it was. But then I'd forgotten that a month or so ago 3ft hurled up spaghetti with my red sauce and could just not be into red sauce right now. Oy. So I have more tortellini (thank you Costco) and I think I'll make an alfredo sauce to go with it. Which I think would be super delicious.

I've made some different healthier version cupcakes. So far the favorites have been the "Lemon Meringue" cupcakes and the "Cherry Pie" cupcakes. I'm getting an itch to make something and my husband bought me the master set of Wilton cake decorating tips just because so now I can make my stuff really fancy! Now I just have to figure out what I want to make. If given the choice, my husband will ask for the "Lemon Meringue" cupcake again because it's his favorite but I feel like experimenting. So we'll see.

Total steps today (so far): 13,262 (as of 1:45 pm)

Whoop! Wednesday.

2011-03-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! I did it again. (I love endorphins) I just jogged another 3.5 miles in 40 minutes.

I'm still under quarantine with 3ft and his cooties. Since his fever STILL hasn't broken (although it's not as high), I'm probably going to be stuck inside tomorrow as well. I miss my walks. Don't get me wrong, I love knowing I can jog a 5K but it's inside, boring scenery (I don't have any awesome landscapes on my walls), and my floor creaks (so I feel a little self conscious about what my downstairs neighbors think I'm doing). At least the music is good as I jog in my room with my tunes on low (the Grumpybutt is sleeping after all).

I get bored just jogging so I also do jabs, punches, and other fun arm movements -- I did the "swim" and the "monkey" with my arms today as well as some boxing moves. Depends on the song and how it makes me feel to determine if it's silly moves (I'm sure my neighbors are laughing their butts off watching me in my window) or serious moves. But, hey, I figure any moves counts and it's more fun than lifting my weights -- which I also do.

I'm getting serious again, at least today I am. My brother-in-law is getting married in less than a month (on April 1st), and I have to dress up -- sorta. It's not super formal or anything but I do have to wear something nice. I'm not the bride (thank goodness) as I'm already married to his brother and I think his fiance deserves a sainthood for putting up with him so I won't be the center of attention -- but there WILL be photos being taken and I know I won't be able to avoid them all. So, time to get cracking on this inch loss deal.

Trudging Tuesday

2011-03-01T19:30:00.001-08:00

I am still mired in the muck of mucus without a pair of waders. I will be absolutely amazed if I don't catch what 3ft has with the amount of snot he is producing and the exponential times I've had to man the tissue as he blows his nose. My hands are chapped from washing them so much and lotion doesn't have a chance to help because before it can soak in I've had to hold his snot and wash my hands again.

Envy me. I have all the fun. No, really, I do. I know you're all jealous.

Have I mentioned how much I love my new pedometer? I super heart it. Without even trying, I walked over 5 miles. I'd tell you how many steps that was but 3ft found my pedometer thought it was pretty cool, started pressing buttons, and wiped out my display. Yes, he's still living but just barely. It's pretty cool to just wear it all day and see how far you walk. My plantar fascia is acting up again so I didn't jog today but I walked quite a bit. Can you imagine how awesome that number would've been if I'd jogged? Over 8 miles. Crazy.

Hopefully my foot feels better tomorrow so I can make that happen. It'd be awesome.

Mucus Monday

2011-02-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

Help. I'm hip deep in snot. Please send more kleenex and some waders ASAP.

Poor 3ft has a virus. Which means he stayed home from school today. Which means I didn't get my walk in this morning. However, necessity is the mother of all invention and with my nifty spiffy new pedometer attached to my sweats, I jogged around my apartment for 40 minutes. And in that 40 minutes I jogged 3.537 miles or 7,463 steps.

Wait.

3.5 miles is a 5K.

Holy crap I just jogged my first indoor 5K in 40 minutes. That's about 11 minutes a mile. I'm totally ecstatic! *does a booty shake*

Now if I can just quit stress eating the Jelly Belly's on my counter all would be well with the world. So far I've avoided them for an hour and a half as I stopped eating them to jog and then I've been chugging water and ignoring them since I got done.

White Mochas...

2011-02-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

Are the nectar of the gods when your toddler decides to not sleep the night through the last three nights in a row. And as I really don't like the taste of coffee, immersed in white chocolaty goodness is the only way I can get the caffeine jolt past the lips and over the gums for my belly to look out cuz here it comes. I don't drink them often, I don't really do the whole caffeine thing on a whole, but once in awhile I need the buzz to take the fuzz off my brain. So I had one this morning. I'm not in the least bit guilty either. I figure wrestling with the 23ish-pound-Grumpybutt not through one store but two and then carrying him the whole way walking home from my friend, Riana's house, should've burned off the excess calories. Especially with all the squirming he did.

And that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'm totally excited to announce that I got a pedometer today. I asked my friend, Nunan (a HUGE inspiration for me), what one she had and if she loved it. So after not being able to find the brand she had (which is Weight Watchers, by the way), I at least found one that did all the stuff hers did. Especially since she said she loved it and I really want to know what kind of mileage I'm putting in a day. I think it'll be fun to see. So I'm going to start using it everyday and then, of course, brag about how far I'm going. Lucky you.

I also got a new pair of pants -- not for the ultra cool reason of dropping another size but because my washer ate my favorite pair and I needed another one because I was down to one pair that actually fits right. It was almost a horrible experience. I picked out a pair because I liked the butt pockets and tried them on (I almost didn't as they're the same brand and size and cut of the pair of jeans I was already wearing). They fit my legs and rump great but I couldn't get them buttoned or zipped over my stomach. I was horrified. So help me, Bob, I even laid down on the dressing room floor to try and make them fit.

Devastated, but putting on a brave face, I took them back to the rack of pants when I saw a couple other size 18s. For grins and giggles I held them and the one I had together and the one I had was an inch smaller around the waist than the other pants labeled the exact same (I got some sizing freak of nature pair on my first grab, I guess). I ran back to the dressing room, slapped the other 18s on and voila... fit perfectly. Much relief. I couldn't believe I'd gotten fatter when I hadn't gained any weight and was still actually losing -- albeit slowly.

So in celebration of not having gotten fatter, thank goodness (look how I say it's not about the weight but have a mini meltdown thinking I'd gained some inches -- talk about a hypocrite, eh?), I bought a couple new shirts too. They were on sale so I got three -- a white, black, and purple one. Hooray for new clothes now I feel all sassy rocking my new wardrobe.

I'm Not Dead...

2011-02-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

I just seem that way with my lack of blogging and facebooking as of late. I've just been crazy busy. Yeah, I know. Excuses excuses. It's all I got and I have a ton of them. The biggest is, of course, my youngest, the Grumpybutt, and his unfortunate decision to drop his morning nap. So now I have a narrow 2 hour window to get everything I need to get done in the day (work wise -- don't I sound so busy). And then I run into the, "I'll blog tonight." and then "Oh, crap! I forgot, I'll do it tomorrow!" as I'm already in bed and snuggled warm in my blanky.

I suck. I know. I swallow too. Dirty minds. I *innocent face* was of course talking about food and beverages. Sheesh people, this is a family blog. *chortles* I am cracking myself up over here.

Anyways. I digress (yeah, I know, what else is new?)

So, I've been on a huge walking kick. I'm up to about 4 miles a day and it takes me about 48 minutes or so to do it. That's about a 12 minute mile. I drop 3ft off at school and then the Grumpybutt and I start walking. I'm already up and dressed to take 3ft to school so it's nice to just walk and get it done, out of the way, and anything else I do is bonus. Which is crawling around on the floor after the Grumpybutt, wrestling with 3ft, and doing sit ups. *glares at my stomach roll* Why won't you go away?

I've been doing pretty good eating wise. I'm not the intake slave I was. I eat when I'm hungry, I don't eat when I'm not. But when I am hungry I eat what sounds good. Whether it be a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch w/ almond milk (my new addiction), jamaican banana bread (my newest creation -- which is just banana bread with rum, coconut, and lime added to it), or a cupcake or something perhaps not as good for me.

I'm living.

I'm still losing the weight. Perhaps not as fast as I was but then it never really was about the weight loss that was just the added bonus. I just want to be healthy and active for my kids. I figure as long as I do that my body will get where it's comfortable at. Which is good enough for me. My husband already tells me how beautiful and sexy I am (I'm thinner and healthier now than the day we met 10 years ago), and I feel beautiful, so that's all that really matters to me.

Can I get an amen?

The Power of Poop!

2011-02-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

This could be a post about the not talked about power of being regular -- absolutely a weight losers friend...

But it's not.

It's about how Mr. Grumpybutt's stinky diaper saved the day! How did his excrement save the day, you ask? I'll tell you.

I mentioned that I'd gone grocery shopping the night I lost my ring, right? Well all the Safeway bags get stored in a small cupboard to wrap stinky diapers in so I don't have a smelly garbage cupboard and I don't have to walk to the dumpster every time the Grumpybutt poops. So, I changed his diaper, pulled out a Safeway bag, and PING!

Something hit the floor at my feet. I screamed, dropped the bag and the diaper (it was closed up securely there was NOT a poopy mess everywhere, in case you thought so), and fell to my hands and knees. There under the oven was my RING!!! It must've gotten pulled off when I shoved the Safeway bags into the cupboard. I didn't even THINK to look there.

POOP totally saved the day. I have MY RING back! I couldn't be more excited. I put it on for all of one second -- to savor the feel and the knowing that I had it back -- then put it up to be resized. I have definitely learned my lesson. I still feel naked without it. I still try to fidget it with it like it's there and every time I don't feel it I have a split second of panic before I remember it's NOT lost -- IT'S PUT UP! *does a spasmodic happy dance*

A Drawback of Weightloss...

2011-01-31T08:55:00.000-08:00

Skinnier fingers. Which in and of itself is a good thing until you add into the equation one wedding ring.

Skinnier fingers + wedding ring = lost.

Yes, I freaking lost my wedding ring. I've been talking for MONTHS about how I need to get it resized because it was getting way to loose on my skinnier fingers. I'd even had it slip off a time or two. Now, did I get it resized? Nope. Did I stop wearing it? Double nope. I could kick myself.

Somewhere after dinner when I massaged olive oil and sage into chicken breasts (oh yeah, *cue porn music* the chicken liked it) but before the husband and I watched Machete (which was an awesome over-the-top action movie, btw) I lost my ring. It slipped off my finger and I didn't feel it this time.

The husband and I rifled through the garbage in the house, dumpster dived to get the garbage we'd thrown away earlier and then rifled through it, checked the car, the mailbox, the sidewalk, all the pockets of every pair of pants I own (not just the ones I was wearing), and I stuck my hand into the black, murky, disgusting depths of the garbage disposal. No ring. We turned our apartment upside down looking for it and can't find it anywhere. I even called Safeway (we'd gone grocery shopping after dinner) and no one turned it in (shock, I know).

The ring is well and truly lost. The first ring a boy ever picked out and bought just for me. The only wedding ring I've ever had. The one I've worn for the last 9 years. Gone. I'm devastated. My husband keeps telling me he'll get me a new and better one, bless his heart, but I just want the one I had back, you know?

I know there are worse things that could happen to a person than losing enough weight to lose a wedding ring but it still sucks the big one, sideways, while choking.

I know I've been awful quiet lately which some people might take as a sign that I haven't been doing my healthy lifestyle or exercising as that's been my MO in the past. And while you're not all together right you aren't all together wrong either. Mostly I haven't been blogging because when I think of it the Grumpybutt won't let me and then I forget about it til I'm in bed. So, I'll do it tomorrow, and then it's the same routine all over again. But some of it is: I haven't been doing as well as I could be.

I'm an emotional stress eater. I know I've mentioned this before. Well my one-year-old has been stressing me the hell out on a daily basis since his birthday. We're trying to wean him off his bottle and trying to get him to eat FOOD at the same time. I swear this child is going to suck on his bottle til he's 18 years old. Perhaps if he can't get a date to prom he'll give up the bottle. He is killing me. I battle with every meal and snack time to get him to eat something. Anything. Let me rephrase. Anything BESIDES Cheetos.

And so he fusses and whines constantly because he's hungry and he wants a bottle. And I battle wills with him that he has to eat SOMETHING before he can have a bottle and I only let him have 3 bottles a day. By the time I get the Grumpybutt down for his naps, I'm frazzled and just shy of an emotional breakdown. So what do I do? I eat.

On the plus side: I'm binging on healthy food.

On the negative side: Calories still add up. It's still a horrible thing to do and I know this while I do it but still can't stop but at least it's not awful for me food, you know?

However, while I've gained a little weight back it's not much -- about 5lbs. I've been walking over 3 miles a day -- at a 12 minute mile pace -- everyday before picking up 3ft from school. So that's at least some balance in the upswing of food inhalation.

I've not completely fallen off the wagon but I'd say it's dragging me behind it. I can't let stress win, so I'm dusting myself off and hopping back on the healthy wagon of life. No more binging, damn it, even if it is on healthy foods!

6 AM -- Day 2

2011-01-17T20:39:00.000-08:00

Oy and Vey!!

6am is incredibly early. Incredibly early. And I say this when I haven't been able to sleep in til 7 since I had my first son almost 6 years ago (3ft's birthday is this Thursday). Maybe because I'm rolling out of bed to put on clothes instead of just trudging around the apartment for a couple hours in pj's but 6am sucks. Just saying.

However, what doesn't suck is having my workout done for the day. So, yes, I will drag my tired butt out of bed tomorrow and do it again.

This morning was cool. I made my friend, Riana, go with me. She beat me to the gym, couldn't figure out where the light switch was (insert my snickering here), scared herself silly with her overactive imagination (cue more snicker and even full on chuckling), and so we ended up going for a little over 2 mile power walk around the neighborhood because there could "rapists" lurking in the gym at 6am, don't you know. (more laughter) When I made fun of her (yes I'm that kind of friend) she assured me she was going to tell me, "I told you so," when I'm raped at 6am in the gym.

So that was the excitement that started my morning. We walked in the dark, passed a woman walking by herself, to which we both thought that wasn't the smartest thing ever -- at least get a big dog, and got home before the sun came up (we were both a little disappointed by that). But we got a good walk in, and felt pretty good. Tomorrow it's the gym so we can workout a little harder on the equipment.

So tomorrow, imaginary rapist be damned, we're working out in the gym.

Oh, and yeah, Riana is WAY prettier than me, just saying!!!

(more snickering)

Trying Something New!!

2011-01-16T20:06:00.001-08:00

Well...

Between 3ft having pneumonia, the Grumpybutt having double ear infections, and me getting a cold I didn't get a whole lot of working out in last week. Not to mention the time I liked to workout has disappeared. Mr. Grumpybutt doesn't want to take his morning nap anymore and if I can convince him to sleep, he only sleeps for 15 minutes. So not enough time to get a workout in.

I tried working out at night again. But the husband isn't getting home til after 9pm these days and the "gym" is locked up at 10. So by the time I get over there, I'd barely get a half hour in before they kicked me out. And we don't even want to mention how exhausted I am after 9pm when the kids are in bed and all I want to do is veg.

So this morning, I got my lazy butt out of bed at 5:55am, threw on my workout clothes, and zombie walked in a half-dazed-sleep-stupor to the "gym" which they unlock at 6am. I did the elliptical for 35 minutes. Went 2.5 miles and burned over 425 calories (so the machine told me).

The first 10 minutes were killer. I'm not sure I was totally awake and my bed called to me like a siren from across the apartment complex. I wanted to quit. But I figured WTH, I did it for 10 minutes I can do it another 25 -- and so I did. The best part: It's after 8, I'm exhausted, and my workout is ALREADY done for the day. Super awesome.

I've already set my alarm clock for 6am tomorrow. Here's hoping for 2 days in a row!

Is It Normal...

2011-01-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

...that my toes go numb when I jog on the treadmill? (Shhh don't tell my husband or my doctor that I jogged for 10 minutes instead of just doing the stationary bike). They don't go numb when I jog on the street (*whistles innocently* Not that I did that on the way to the "gym"), they don't go numb when I jog in place in my apartment, they just go numb on the treadmill. Weird, right? I don't know what's up with that. And it's my left foot, not my right foot where my plantar fascia is all irritated with me.

I'm proud to say I tried something new. In the cookbook my sister-in-law, Leora, got me there was a snack idea of mandarin oranges and cottage cheese. When we saw that, Leora told me how much she liked it. I mentioned how much I hated cottage cheese and she said she did too except for with mandarins. So I figured what the heck and tried some with clementines (I didn't have mandarins) and it was actually pretty good. I don't think I liked it as much as Mr. Grumpybutt did. He inhaled his and then made sure to get some in his hair and ear for a snack for later but I thought it was pretty good and I'd eat it again.

That's about it and now I have to go be a rock god in Rock Band. 'Night.

Still Kicking...

2011-01-03T20:24:00.000-08:00

I survived the holidays and my birthday. It was no easy feat. I gained a couple pounds back but I didn't gain all 75 of them back, so that's like a win, right? Right.

I'm feeling good. I'm back on track -- kind of. I have plantar fasciitis. I've somehow managed to tear, inflame, or strain the fascia that connects my heel to my toes in my right foot. So I'm not allowed to do any high-impact exercise (no running for me) I'm allowed to do water aerobics (which would be cool if it wasn't freaking freezing outside or I had access to a gym pool) or stationary bike. So I'm on the stationary bike. I rode for about 45 minutes last night and for 45 minutes tonight.

Today, I made a popcorn trail mix that I got out of a cookbook my sister-in-law, Leora, got me for my birthday. I have to tell you right now -- it's delicious.

7 cups popped popcorn (I used 94% fat free butter microwave popcorn as I don't have an air popper)
1 cup Quaker Oat Squares (the ones with a touch of brown sugar)
1 cup Craisins
1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Throw it all in a bowl, mix it up, and EAT!!! I split it into 3 servings (one for me and one each for the husband and 3ft) and we all devoured it. A perfect snack with just the right amount of sweet and salty and a lot less fat than a trail mix with a lot of nuts.

So, now I'm back from my holiday vacation and raring to go.

Return of the Sweaty Bike Guy...

2010-12-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that right. I went to the "gym" last night. Wahooo for me! I made my friend Riana go with me. I'd been threatening to forever but last night we made it happen. I jumped on the Elliptical because I'm a nice girl (hey, quit scoffing, I can be nice) and Riana wanted the Treadmill. And naturally, "The Walker" wasn't there so she was able to get right on.

And who should come in while I was sweating away on the elliptical but Sweaty Bike Guy!!! We shared the same awkward smile as he got on the bike next to me and then promptly ignored each other.

So I did 2+ miles on the elliptical and then I did about a mile or so on the other bike (the one that used to squeak) by the treadmill so Riana and I could visit while she finished up her half hour. I went a little earlier because I wanted to do 45 minutes. Then feeling empowered we promised to try and go again tonight and walked our separate ways home.

Family Pictures

2010-12-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

We got a new family portrait done today.

Don't we look cute? I super love this new family portrait way more than our old one. Can you guess why?

Duh you say, the reason is that I look a TON better in the new one since I've lost 70lbs since May 2010. However, in this picture I'm at my heaviest so I'd say the weight difference between the two pictures is around 125lbs.

In all the poses we took to get the old family photo the photographer always put me in back. I didn't mind, I didn't want to be in the front. In all the poses we sat for today, I was always in the front, surrounded by my boys. I don't know for sure if it the weight made the difference on my placement or my attitude and how I projected myself did it. I know I was miserable 125lbs ago as you can tell by my half-assed smile and I'm a happy girl now as you can tell by my big teeth-baring grin. Don' we all look much happier? I wonder if the old adage is true: "If Mom ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

Partied Like It's 1999!

2010-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

So, I lost 6 lbs last week, right? Guess how I celebrated on Sunday night. By eating my weight in Doritos Spicier Nacho Chips and espresso fudge crunch. Yep. Our neighbors brought over some really heinous coffee flavored cake with peanut butter frosting (super gross) and some espresso fudge crunch that was incredibly good. I'd been craving chocolate for girl reasons so I ate a square, then needed salt and spicy so had some chips, then needed sweet so ate another square, then needed salt and spicy so more chips... you get the idea. I partied like it was 1999 with food.

Am I guilty? Nope. Am I on a shame spiral? Nope. Should I have not overdone it as much as I did? Probably. But do I care? Nope. I'm living. I wanted it. I ate it. And when I thought I would puke if I had another bite (yes I really did go overboard, I'm not kidding) I threw the rest of it away (not the chips... those are the husbands) but the fudge and icky cake so I wouldn't be tempted to eat it again yesterday.

Yesterday, I walked 5 miles to the post office. My legs are sore today. But, as soon as I get the Grumpybutt down for his nap I plan on jogging my 30 minutes anyway. Go me.

Last night I made fish and chips for dinner. I breaded some Red Snapper in Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs -- better for you than normal bread and crispier too when you cook them) and then fried them in a little olive oil with seasonings. Turned out so good. 3ft had two servings of fish he liked it so much. He has declared that Fish is his favorite and we need to have it more often. The husband, who hates fish and fish smells, is ecstatic about the idea of more fish in the house... really. Not!

I baked a ton of brownies yesterday and only ate a couple crumbs. Doing coconut macaroons today and hoping to only eat a couple. Plus I've got to frost an army of gingerbread people. Christmas baking = busy girl.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 189

Total Pounds Lost - 70.9 lbs

Switch ups and Jogging

2010-12-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

So...

I don't know if it's the cereal switch up, the jogging 30 minutes a day 5 days a week, or the fact I've been eating provolone cheese on my sandwiches instead of mayonnaise but I lost 6.1 pounds last week. Let me say that again SIX point ONE pounds last week!!! So I'm point one pound shy of having lost 71 lbs. I'm beyond ecstatic. And I'm totally stoked to have achieved my mini 15-pound goal with 5.9 pounds to spare. How awesome is that? SUPER AWESOME!!!

On Friday, I jogged, had a play date with my friend Riana and her kids at their house, did some baking, and made Enchizagna's for dinner (enchilada/lasagna).

On Saturday, the husband had to work but was able to carpool in so I had a car. I did a lot of running around and shopping. I hit Target for more baking supplies and Christmas shopping, and then I had 20 bucks of Kohl's money so I went there and found some ornaments for this year.

And I still have more running around to do today. 3ft's got a birthday party, then we need to go to Safeway, Costco, Richards (a craft store), and back to Target for some things I forgot. But before I got swamped I just had to share my elation that I've lost SEVENTY POINT NINE POUNDS!!!!

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 187

Total Pounds Lost - 70.9 lbs

Child for Sale.

2010-12-09T21:03:00.001-08:00

I'm finally getting to sit down for a second and have a moment to myself. I've had a crazy busy day.

I jogged for 30 minutes this morning. That makes 4 days in a row this week. I'm ever so proud of myself and so is the little balance board on the Wii Fit. Or so it tells me. He looks a little shifty to me though, so I don't know if he can be trusted.

I chased after Grumpybutt all day. He's pulling himself up to a stand against anything and everything. That kids gone on so many headers and butt plops I'm just beside myself. I'm thinking about getting him toddler football gear complete with a helmet so he survives this phase. So, that has kept me busy.

And if those weren't enough, 3ft suckered me into making Gingerbread Cookie Pops for his class. Now, could I go the easy route and buy a couple boxed kits to make them from? Oh, no..... I've got to make the gingerbread from scratch, cut down the "pop" sticks, sand them, then wash them, then roll out the dough, cut the shapes, bake them, make homemade cinnamon royal icing, and then frost those bad boys. However they're totally not that bad for you as it's my gingerbread recipe. I think they turned out pretty cute, though:

After 34 cookies baked, cooled, iced, and packaged -- I'm pooped and would sell my first born for a back rub. Actually, make that my second born -- he's the one who makes me feel like I should be in the Notre Dame Cathedral (get it? I'm hunchback from bending over him while he holds my hands and walks. So I'm like Quasimoto. Get it? I crack myself up).

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 184

Total Pounds Lost - 64.8

Evil Spawn.

2010-12-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

Oy. and Vey. My children got me up at 5 am this morning. FIVE A.M.! I keep trying to tell them that it's an ungodly hour and that only Satan's little playmates get up that early so they must be evil children. They snicker wickedly and continue on with their devilish ways. It's not right I tell you. Not right. How did such an angelic girl such as myself get saddled with spawn of evil? That's what I want to know.

So, I've already jogged this morning. I woke up grumpy, irritable, and downright bitchy if I do say so myself and I knew it was going to be a long day. So I remembered babbling something about endorphin highs yesterday on Facebook and how great I felt after jogging. So at 5:30 I pulled on my sweats and sports bra, turned on the Wii Fit, and started jogging. My husband did his best to keep the Grumpybutt entertained and 3ft enjoyed watching my Mii fall (which proves 3ft really is evil). If you run to fast your Mii trips and falls and this morning you'd have thought my Mii didn't tie her shoes. But I jogged for 30 minutes and felt much better after. Now I don't have to worry about it the rest of the day, how awesome is that?

I made homemade Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes for dinner last night. They turned out really good. I was impressed with myself. Next time I think I might throw a little ham or bacon inside them and make them a main dish instead of a side dish (especially for how much effort they were to make). 3ft liked them but what he went back for seconds on was the green beans. I spend over an hour and a half making scalloped potatoes and my son goes back for the canned green beans that took me 3 minutes to pour into a bowl and nuke. *sighs* At least he's eating his vegetables.

So we're up and at 'em and ahead of schedule this morning. Go Team Dovichi!

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 183

Total Pounds Lost - 64.8

Cereal Shake Up

2010-12-07T09:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got tired of FiberOne Honey Cluster cereal. After having eaten it everyday for pretty much 4 months I don't think I could eat another flake. I tend to do that, eat something to death and then don't eat it again for a long time. So I've moved on to Kashi GoLean Crunch. I'd had it suggested to me by an old friend awhile back, but I was still loving the Honey Cluster, so I put it off. So, I bought a box and it's actually not that bad. It's not Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Frosted Flakes (Mmmm) but then again what healthy cereal is? I slice up a half banana to add to it and pour a 1/2 cup of homemade almond milk over the top of it and munch it down. I find that it keeps me fuller longer with the protein/fiber combo instead of just the extra fiber of FiberOne. And since I've been jogging everyday, that's a good thing.

I experimented with my take on a Reuben Sandwich yesterday. Sort of gave it a makeover to make it a little better for you. I made homemade sour coleslaw instead of sauerkraut and then I used a ham/turkey meat combination with a slice of 2% Provolone cheese and stuck it in the oven. It turned out pretty freaking delicious. I'm going to have it for lunch again today. I made my friend Riana, who came over for lunch with her munchkins yesterday, try it too and she said it was really good. I think her favorite part of lunch was the S'more Brownie I "forced" her to eat, though.

I've decided I really like jogging. Granted because the husband is working overtime a lot and the weather being cold I've been jogging in place, indoors, on the Wii Fit but I jog pretty fast and do a lot of sweating so I figure it's just as good. Plus I can do it while the Grumpybutt takes his morning nap. So I've been jogging for 30 minutes 5 days a week (taking the weekends off -- too hard to do it with all the boys underfoot and at night I'm too tired) and jogging a little further everyday, according to Wii Fit.

Week of 11/29 through 12/05 Recap

2010-12-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

Guess what?

I've lost 64.8 lbs. Do you know what that means? It means that if I lose another .2 lbs by Christmas I'll have achieved my mini goal of losing another 15 lbs by Christmas. Can I get a Hallelujah? Oh yeah! HALLELUJAH!

Not that I'm excited or anything. Really.

WOOOOOOFREAKINGHOOOOOOOOO!

A quick week recap: I jogged everyday for at least 30 minutes nonstop. I'm building up my endurance for when I get off my butt and find a 5K to run. I decorated a graveyard of melting snowmen for a fundraiser/contest at 3ft's school without eating a single cupcake. I sneaked vegetables into my boys by grating zucchini and carrots into my spaghetti meat sauce and they devoured it. I got a yen for s'mores so I created a new brownie recipe I call, "Gimme S'more Brownies". (and in case you missed the picture)

Gimme S'more Brownies

Ingredients
*Graham Cracker Crust

5 graham cracker sheets (crushed)
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS butter (I use Brummel and Brown Spread w/ Yogurt)

*Double Chocolate Brownie

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 TBS butter (Brummel and Brown Spread w/Yogurt)
1 egg
1 TBS water
1/2 TSP vanilla extract
1/2 TSP instant coffee granules
1/4 TSP baking powder
1/4 TSP kosher salt
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 TBS semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 cup mini-marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1 tbs melted butter, and 2 tbs sugar together in a medium size bowl and mix together thoroughly.

Line an 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment paper and then spray bottom only with cooking spray (leave enough parchment paper on 2 opposite sides to use as handles to lift the brownie out)

Press graham cracker crumbles into bottom of prepared baking dish and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Combine first 9 ingredients (cocoa powder through kosher salt) of Double Chocolate Brownie in a large bowl and whisk together until smooth. Add flour; mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour on top of graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Bake for 12 minutes.

Top with mini marshmallows and bake another 5 minutes until marshmallows are browned and melted.

Let cool in glass dish on wire rack for at least 30 minutes, lift out by parchment paper, and cut into 16 equal squares. (cutting tip, use a warm, wet knife to reduce stickage)

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 180

Total Pounds Lost - 64.8

Back on the Wagon... Miss Me?

2010-11-29T18:25:00.000-08:00

Not that I ever technically left the wagon. I just didn't pay as much attention as I usually do to how much I ate. So, I didn't lose any weight but more importantly I didn't really gain any either -- a couple ounces. I'm not worried about it.

I had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I ate what I wanted, how much I wanted, and whenever I wanted. I had some of everything. But I have to tattle on myself and confess it just wasn't Thursday. I also ate what I wanted, how much I wanted, whenever I wanted of leftovers til Sunday.

With the holiday, 3ft out of school, and my husband having nearly a week off of work my routine got all sorts of jacked up. So instead of stressing, I just let it go. I'm living. Life does that. So now it's Monday and the world is running the way it should: 3ft went to school and husband went to work. I was able to jog this morning, which was awesome. And tonight after I get the kids in bed I plan on playing some Wii, either Just Dance 2 or The Michael Jackson Experience (which is like Just Dance just with MJ songs -- old school, oh yeah).

I also returned to my normal eating habits and feel better for having done so. I ate a lot of chips and other things not quite fabulous for me and it's amazing the difference it makes in the way I feel. No chips today, no baked treats today, just lots of veggies, fruits, and a Turkey Pot Pie creation for dinner.

I took about 2 cups of chopped leftover turkey, with 1/2 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/4 chopped onion, and about 3 cloves of chopped garlic. Sauteed them in a pan and then added a cup of leftover turkey gravy. Cooked it until simmering and then put it in a square baking dish. Topped it with about a cup of leftover mashed potatoes mixed with 1/2 cup 2% cheddar cheese and then tossed it in the oven at 350 until it was all bubbly and the potatoes were crusty. Turned out so good. Serves about 4 and around 300 calories a serving. It was a great and healthy use of leftovers. Tomorrow I'm making Turkey Noodle Soup and then the turkey will be all used up.

What are some of your favorite ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers?

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 173

Total Pounds Lost - 58.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Leftover Challah Roast Beef Sandwich, cucumbers, carrots, and grapes
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 a banana
Dinner - Turkey Pot Pie creation

I Know It's Late.

2010-11-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

Ack! I'm running late tonight. I have a good excuse. I had to go last minute shopping. I ran out of eggs and needed whole nutmeg so I had to run out and get some. Of course I had to go to two stores because the first store didn't have the nutmeg. Then of course I found a bunch of things I couldn't live without so it took that much longer.

I took another stab at Eggnog. It was bothering me that it wasn't the right color. So I got whole vanilla beans, whole nutmeg, and cinnamon extract which is clear. I used a little less condensed milk and less flour (bring the calories down) and was able to use less egg yolks too. So I'm hoping this batch is good. It looks right which is important.

I also baked gingerbread people today (yes I'm getting ready to do my Christmas baking) because gingerbread is an awesome cookie, lasts forever in airtight containers, and freezes really well. So what the heck, I had my gingerbread out to make gingerbread bears to take to a play date and figured it wouldn't hurt to bust out some people while I was rolling and cutting dough. So I baked 3 dozen people.

I also baked my Pecan Tart w/ chocolate drizzle for Thanksgiving. It turned out so pretty and smelled so good (and I got some on the spatula when I moved it to a cake container so naturally I had to eat it and it tasted amazing). I'm really hoping it makes it to Thanksgiving (cuz you know I might eat it before hand -- but that's okay I have all the ingredients to make another one).

I exercised. Did Wii Fit Free Step for a half hour. I hit over 3000 steps but I don't remember the exact number. Then 3ft and I went on a walk, not too mention all the housework, laundry, baking, cooking, and chasing the ever busy Grumpybutt around the house. I'd say I got enough exercise.

Before I forget, I had a fabulous moment today. It was pouring down rain when 3ft and I took the Grumpybutt over to my friend, Riana's, house for a play date. I was able to fit comfortably in my husband's size L jacket. Oh yeah. I'm loving it. :)

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 167

Total Pounds Lost - 58.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - (early lunch)
Lunch - spaghetti sandwich
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (still full from lunch)
Dinner - roasted pork and cheese quesadillas

Whole Lotta Bakin' Going On...

2010-11-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

So the Spiced Eggnog that I invented yesterday turned out pretty amazing. It was super thick (too much flour I think) so I thinned it out with a little more almond milk and now it's the perfect consistency and perfectly delicious. 3ft likes it too. He calls it "Cinnamon Milk" and he didn't like store bought eggnog. So I don't know if that means mine is super great or it doesn't taste anything like eggnog. But that's what I'm calling it, it has eggs in it so that makes it eggnoggy enough for me. (It's brown instead of white because I put cinnamon and vanilla in it -- next time I'm going to use cinnamon extract which is clear and that might make it more the right color.)

I made Parmesan Herb Challah Bread today. It was totally fun to make. After it rises twice you cut it into six equal pieces and then braid it. It looks so fancy. I'm very proud of it. I haven't eaten any yet because I'm saving it to make small finger sandwiches for Thanksgiving appetizers. The one on the left is going to be black forest ham and provolone and the one on the right is going to be roast beef and provolone. Mmm mmm good.

I also knocked out the 1 dozen hard boiled eggs that I'm making 2 dozen deviled eggs out of. I peeled, cut, and made the guts and then stuck them separately in the fridge to assemble the morning of. I have to do a lot of what I'd normally do on Wednesday early because my husband signed me up to make Pumpkin Pizzas for his work party on Wednesday. So I'll be baking those that day and then running off to a party.

Let's see, what else? I worked out today. I jogged for 45 minutes then did 250 crunches and 50 push ups. I don't expect to lose any weight this week but I'd really like to not gain any either. Mostly, though, I'm not worried about it. I'm going to ENJOY Thanksgiving and all the food I'm making.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 166

Total Pounds Lost - 58.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - (early lunch)
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich, grapes, and carrots
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter sandwich and tried my homemade eggnog
Dinner - Spaghetti

Weekend Report #4

2010-11-21T20:26:00.000-08:00

WAHOOOO!! I lost two pounds this week. Oh yeah. My one pound streak has been broken. Bring on the extra pound lost, baby! Oh yeah!! (I'm doing the cabbage patch and squealing -- just so you all know) So that makes it 58.3 pounds lost since the end of May. And I'm 7 lbs away from hitting my Christmas goal! Oh yeah! I think I'm going to make it -- lose 65 total pounds by Christmas.

I've been busy in the kitchen. I don't have any pictures but I will come Thanksgiving of all the stuff I've been baking and putting together.

I've made 4 mini loaves of marbled chocolate banana bread (which you've all seen), 4 mini loaves of regular banana bread, a pumpkin roll filled with marshmallow cheesecake frosting (picture a ginormous pumpkin ho ho filled with marshmallow cheesecake and you'll know what I'm talking about), gingerbread cookies, and I just got done throwing together a Spiced Eggnog (nonalcoholic, of course but that could easily be changed). I'm waiting for the eggnog to set up and get cold, but it tasted pretty amazing when I licked the saucepan I made it in. The best part is it's half the calories and fat of the store bough variety. I'm thinking it tastes better too.

I licked the bowl I made the marshmallow cheesecake frosting in last night as well as dipped an Oreo in it. So because of that, I jogged last night for 30 minutes to make up for the extra calories. Other than that little taste of heaven (I didn't even eat the whole cookie, 3ft came along and ganked half of it), I did pretty good food wise this weekend.

3 days til Thanksgiving. Next up on my baking list is Herb and Cheese Challah bread.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 165

Total Pounds Lost - 58.3

Too Cold for Salad.

2010-11-19T17:37:00.000-08:00

The day started out alright enough. I got my 30 minutes of jogging, 50 push ups, and like 250 crunches. I also started some baking. I love baking. Then the Grumpybutt woke up in a foul mood, which is always fun, and we shared a granola bar -- meaning I ate the granola and he ate the chocolate chips out of it. Then to get him to his "happy place" I bundled him up and we went for a walk.

The weather was overcast, cold, and windy. It hasn't rained yet but it really looks like it wants to. So we went for a walk and then picked up 3ft. We had a playdate scheduled for today which included lunch so I didn't have to make lunch which is ALWAYS fabulous. There were even homemade mint chip and nut cookies. I had two. I'm so ashamed (not really). The best part, the Grumpybutt showed off a new skill. He can sit up all by himself from laying down. It's super cute to watch.

When we got home, 3ft pretty much posted up on the couch and that was fine by me because I had to get the Grumpybutt down for his nap. Then I looked at him and noticed how peaked he looked, took his temp, and he has a low grade fever. Can't this kid ever stay healthy? So far no coughing, just a stuffy nose. So here's hoping we avoid pneumonia this time around.

Well, because 3ft is under the weather he got to pick what he wanted for dinner. He wanted eggs and jelly toast. So even though I usually only let him have one breakfast for dinner, I acquiesced and let him have it. With the weather being so cold and ick I didn't feel like a cold salad. I wanted something warm. So I had a leftover hamburger, an egg, some hashbrowns, and a pickle spear. So, hopefully I'll eat the salad tomorrow.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 163

Total Pounds Lost - 56.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Hotdog, cucumbers, grapes, and 2 cookies
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (still full from lunch)
Dinner - Hamburger w/ egg, pickle spear, and small portion of hashbrowns

Thanksgiving Insanity

2010-11-18T17:39:00.001-08:00

I'm on a roll.

This morning I did over 3000 steps on Wii Fit Free Step while watching Rachel Rae impress and amaze me with Shnitzle. (I have no idea if that's spelled right) and I also had no idea what it was. She made a beef broth and mushroom soup over egg omelet crepe noodle thingies. She called them something but I don't remember what. While the shnitzel doesn't seem to be anything but breaded and fried meat with anchovies on top (shudders over the anchovies) the soup looked pretty amazing. I also went for a walk with Grumpybutt (taking advantage of the nice weather while we have it) and then took 3ft to the park for a playdate. Not too mention all the trips lugging things up and down my stairs -- so all and all a busy day activity wise.

I did breakfast for dinner tonight for 3ft. Once a week I make him whatever breakfast food he wants for dinner. He opted for Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes. Now before anyone gets all excited about how fancy that sounds -- it's not. It's Krusteaux's Pancake Mix with a little water, cinnamon, and vanilla mixed in before cooking it. Super easy but super delicious. He smothered those bad boys in syrup and went to town. I didn't even look longingly at his plate (I love pancakes) because I had my Asian Chicken Salad again for dinner. I've got one more serving of it after tonight which will be for dinner tomorrow then I'll have to move on to something else.

I've been watching shows on Food Network about Thanksgiving -- something I really shouldn't do because now I'm adding a Brussel Sprout dish that looked absolutely divine to my list of things I'm cooking on Thanksgiving as well as being reminded about the pumpkin roll I make that I'm going to serve as an appetizer along with marbled banana chocolate bread, finger sandwiches, fancy olives, fancy pickles, layer dip, veggie tray w/ ranch, and chips.

I have mentioned I'm going to be eating all freaking day, right? I can't wait! I figure I can't undo the months of progress I've made in one day. Besides, all my dishes are healthier versions so while I'm saying right now I know I'm going to eat WAY TOO MANY CALORIES (look at my "I don't care" face) it could be worse! So since I've clearly gone insane over this Thanksgiving and can't seem to make enough food to graze on all day, what are your go to Thanksgiving dishes that I can't live without?

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 162

Total Pounds Lost - 56.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, dill pickle, and Chicken and Stars Soup
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - Asian Chicken salad with toasted almonds on Napa cabbage.

Feels Used.

2010-11-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

My legs are a little sore today. I guess the 4.5 miles wasn't quite the cake walk I thought it was. Or it could've been all the trips up and down the stairs or the Wii Free Step. Regardless, my legs feel like they've been used.

That didn't stop me from working out today, though. I jogged for 30 minutes while I watched Chopped. I would never make anything from the baskets, probably, but I like watching how creative real chefs get with sometimes gross ingredients. Then the Grumpybutt and I took a half hour walk before picking up 3ft. Oh yeah, and I also did 50 push ups and 180 crunches incorporating leg lifts so I can really feel them in my abdomen which is cool.

I had Asian Chicken Salad w/ toasted almonds again for dinner. I've been on a kick for it so I'll probably be eating it for the rest of the week or until I run out of the ingredients. Do you guys ever do that -- get a craving for something and then just eat it for four days to a week straight? Or am I the only weird one?

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. I'm already planning the food I'm going to make. I'm going a little overboard this year, I know. I'm making a homemade healthier eggnog, 3ft's pumpkin pizza, a healthier pecan tart instead of a pie, then some homemade cheese and herb challah bread to do roast beef and ham finger sandwiches for an appetizer along with the standard turkey, stuffing, candied yams, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, and good lord I don't know what else. I can't wait. A whole day dedicated to eating. Luckily, all my dishes are going to be healthier versions so I can eat a little more guilt free.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 161

Total Pounds Lost - 56.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich and carrots w/ranch
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - Asian Chicken salad with toasted almonds on Napa cabbage.

Holy Hot Dogs, Batman!

2010-11-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

I definitely think I got my exercise in today.

I did Wii Free Step for half an hour -- 3000 steps, oh yeah! Then I went on a 30 minute walk when I went to pick up 3ft from school this afternoon. The Grumpybutt was being fussy and the easiest way to get him to "happy up" is to take him outside. Then this afternoon I went on a 4.4 mile walk with 3ft and the Grumpybutt.

3ft's new glasses came in today. 3ft had the choice of going on a VERY LONG walk or waiting until tomorrow when Daddy could take us. He was so excited and couldn't wait so he insisted he could handle the walk. I asked him multiple times and told him it was super far. He wouldn't change his mind so we went. (Talk about really wanting his glasses!)

He rode his scooter and I pushed the Grumpybutt in his stroller. It took us about 45 minutes to get there. 3ft would switch on and off from riding the scooter and walking (he walks slow). It took us about an hour to get home because 3ft was so excited about having the glasses and new case for them he had to carry it which meant walking. I finally convinced him to ride and we finally made it home.

For dinner, I made an Asian chicken salad with toasted sesame Asian dressing (light), chicken cooked in teriyaki sauce, and sliced almonds on Napa cabbage. It turned out super delicious. But because I missed my snack because we were somewhere between home and the optometrist I ended up having a hot dog with 3ft too. It's totally okay, I buy Chicken Franks so they only have about 100 calories, granted most of them are fat, but I figured after the long walk on top of everything else meant I could handle it.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 160

Total Pounds Lost - 56.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich and carrots w/ranch
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (walking)
Dinner - hot dog on a bun, and Asian Chicken salad with toasted almonds on Napa cabbage.

Too Tired, Completely Forgot.

2010-11-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

Darn it. I was so tired last night I completely forgot to blog.

Had a pretty good day yesterday. I jogged for a half an hour while I watched cooking shows. Is it wrong that I watch Tyler's Ultimate just to watch Tyler Florence? His food looks yummy too, though, so it's not JUST for him. I was able to jog the whole time and it really flew by. I love being in better shape.

I also did 180 crunches yesterday that incorporated the lower abs by doing leg lifts at the same time and 50 push ups. I was going to do another couple reps of both after having put the kids to bed last night but I was too tired. It was a long day and I'm still recouping from being sick. I can't quite seem to shake this cold completely. It's annoying.

I also did the standard chase the baby and baby lifts. Now that's he's about 20lbs and 10 months old it's actually quite a workout. And let's not forget the torturing of 3ft although yesterday I think it was him torturing me.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 159

Total Pounds Lost - 56.3

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich, carrots w/ranch, and cucumbers w/ Italian dressing
Mid-Afternoon Snack - chocolate banana bread and crackers w/ tuna salad
Dinner - (not hungry)

Weekend Report #3

2010-11-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a hectic weekend. Can I get a weekend from my weekend please?

First things first. I'm happy to report that I've lost another 1.4 pounds last week bringing up the grand total to: 56.3lbs lost. Which is pretty good considering I've been sick and haven't been doing much exercise. So, I'm doing a happy dance right now even though I'm exhausted from the weekend.

On Saturday, we had "Italian Thanksgiving". We're not going to make it to my husband's family's Thanksgiving gathering for three reasons. I love cooking so I want to cook the Thanksgiving feast (I know I'm sick, right?),I'm cooking it for my family's gathering this year, and it's too far to drive to just stop in when we have Mr. Grumpybutt. So I thought we'd have my husband's family over and do an early Thanksgiving type deal and so we did an Italian theme (hey, we're Italian, I thought it sounded like a good idea).

So I made lasagna bowls again... and again I forgot to get a picture of them. They seemed to be a big hit. Everyone ate it, no one horked it up, and no one keeled over and died. So that's a win for me. Then I made delicious garlic bread which I practically burnt. I'm really good at keeping so close an eye on it it doesn't seem to cook and then forgetting about it completely until I smell burnt coming from my oven. I also did a giant garden salad.

For dessert, I made 3ft's creation The Pumpkin Pizza again and I perfected it (carries along the Italian theme well, yes?). Instead of throwing chips on to the "sauce" I made a chocolate ganache and drizzled it over the top. Yes, I made the ganache with almond milk instead of milk or heavy cream and it turned out super delicious. You couldn't tell it was healthier for you. The crowd was a little apprehensive about trying it but did so because 3ft was so proud of his creation. It was a big hit and everyone loved it, telling 3ft he was a genius. He naturally ate up the attention.

Today, I threw together a new invention then Enchilasagna or Enchizagna. My husband likes the second name better -- I think I like the first. What do you guys think? It turned out super delicious and it only has about 175 calories and 8 grams of fat per piece. It was really filling and didn't taste like it was remotely healthier for you. I used 1/2lb lean ground beef and 1/2lb lean ground turkey.

If anyone wants to be a guinea cook and try out this recipe, just let me know. It was super easy to make, tastes super delicious, and it even has hidden veggies that pack it full of nutrition that you can't even taste!

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 157

Total Pounds Lost - 56.3

Cinnamon Frosting and Apple Gravy

2010-11-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

I tried out a new recipe tonight. I made Roasted Pork with Apple Gravy. The roast pork wasn't anything fancy just rubbed with some olive oil, chopped garlic, and salt and pepper. I'm pretty proud of the apple gravy. It's apple cider, chicken stock, apple sauce, Chinese 5 spice blend, and sauteed onions. It was super delicious. If anyone's interested, shoot me an e-mail, and I'll send it to you.

I'm proud to say that even though 3ft and I played in frosting and gingerbread all day long I barely had any. Sure, I had some frosting. It's homemade cinnamon frosting. How can you avoid it completely? But I didn't eat it straight from the tubs like I wanted so that's something. It wasn't any issue to avoid the gingerbread. I burnt it. 3ft and the husband are hovering like vultures but I'm totally fine with NOT eating it. Now when I bake it again and do NOT burn it, then I might have a problem.

I didn't do any extra exercising. I just did the normal everyday chasing after kids and housecleaning. I'm starting to feel normal again. I should be back at it by Monday for sure. Have a great weekend!

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 157

Total Pounds Lost - 54.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - banana w/ peanut butter
Lunch - mini pizzas, cucumbers w/ Italian dressing, and a slice of chocolate marbled banana bread
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (not hungry)
Dinner - Roast Pork w/ apple gravy, herb pasta, and green beans

Baked Goods and Cinderella

2010-11-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

I felt better today, but not completely back to normal so I took it easy again.

Well, kind of.

I mopped my kitchen floor, the bathroom floor, wrestled with children, baked...twice, and did 3 loads of laundry. No wonder I'm so tired. I was a busy girl.

I had bananas that were practically dead and begging to be put out of their misery on my counter, so this morning I made Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread. It turned out so delicious. The best bananas for baking are the ones that are practically disintegrated they're so ripe (which would be the state of the bananas I used today). So I made 4 mini loaves (I love mini loaves, they're so cute and you can trick your mind that you're having a lot by having multiple slices for the same calories as one full sized loaf slice). I had to take a picture because I love the way the marbled looks and I'm still all proud of the epiphany about how to do it that I had.

I'm also working on a Gingerbread Sleigh Project. I made gingerbread dough after the kids went to bed and did a single sleigh cutout to see how well it'll put together before I do an assembly line sort of thing. So I made a ka-ton (it's a word, I just made it up) of gingerbread dough, rolled out some and shoved the rest in the fridge for another night. I already designed and cut out the sleigh pieces (I geeked out on that yesterday). I set my shapes on the dough, got a sharp knife, and cut them out. In retrospect, I'm going to bake the dough about halfway next time and cut it out then. The cookies had some expansion, which I didn't even think about (I did mention I was tired) so I can negate that from the final shape by cutting it out after it's expanded but not fully cooked yet.

As you can see, I got distracted and let the cookies get a little more "done" than I had wanted. My husband keeps telling me he'll eat them (he's weird and likes his cookies a little on the burnt side anyway). Normally I'd fret, but this was just an experiment which makes me extra glad I did it as such, because I'd already do things different in the baking process. I'm assured the dough is delicious and tastes like gingerbread (I haven't had any since I don't eat after 8pm). So tomorrow I'll make the "glue" and frost that bad boy together and see how it turns out.

Naturally, my mixer went nuts and spewed dough all over my freshly mopped floor. I didn't have a clean floor for even a freaking hour so after I got all the dishes washed (I cannot stand having dirty dishes in my sink) I got on my hands and knees with a washrag and cleaned my floor again. I felt like Cinderella. Except I already have my "prince". Do you suppose she ever mopped the floors after she "lived happily ever after"?

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 156

Total Pounds Lost - 54.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - (early lunch)
Lunch - Chicken Salad w/ ranch
Mid-Afternoon Snack - Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread
Dinner - Mc Donalds Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/out mayo

Getting Better... Hopefully.

2010-11-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

I think I'm starting to feel a little better. My throat isn't hurting quite so bad and my nose quit running. Here's hoping I feel normal again tomorrow so I can do some exercising. I wasn't completely without any today. I walked to pick 3ft up from school pushing the Grumpy's heavy butt in his stroller. Then, after lunch we walked over to the park to play with our friends and then back home.

Then Mr. Grumpybutt thought he'd help in the weigh lifting department and insisted on getting into the electronics constantly. No sooner would I pick him up, tell him no, and then try to distract him with his toys, he'd roll back over and get right back into it. There was absolutely no distracting him. So after doing that "game" for about an hour I did the unthinkable. I set up the playpen and popped his ornery butt in it just to give me a little break. He hates it. Maybe he'll have learned his lesson (not bloody likely).

I tried out a new recipe invention tonight: Grilled Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches. I chopped up a couple cloves of garlic and threw it in a 1/4 cup hot sauce with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. I mixed it all up and marinated chicken tenders in it for 24 hours (I was originally going to cook it yesterday -- I don't ever marinate for 24 hours intentionally, I never think that far in advance) and then threw it on a grill pan and popped it in the broiler for 5 minutes. After it was done cooking, I slapped it on a whole wheat orowheat sandwich thin with a slice of provolone and then threw it back in the broiler to melt the cheese. Topped it with a couple tomatoes and ranch sauce (a packet of ranch mix and a tub of fat free sour cream) then ate it. Super delicious. A spicy sweet chicken that is a lot better for you than bar food hot wings. I served it with 3ft's favorite veggie, broccoli, and homemade french fries. It's definitely a keeper and super easy to make.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 155

Total Pounds Lost - 54.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich with provolone and cucumber chips with Italian Dressing
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 5 Reduced Fat Ritz Crackers with a teaspoon of tuna salad on each and a dill pickle
Dinner - Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with provolone and ranch sauce, broccoli, and french fries

Sick...

2010-11-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

...and wishing I was dead.

Grumpybutt woke me up at 4 am (I believe I've mentioned how much I HATE switching the clocks) yesterday morning and by mid morning/early afternoon I had a sore throat and a runny nose. I was going to workout after I got the kids to bed -- actually go to the gym. That was the plan anyway but by 7:30 last night I felt even worse, if that's possible, and was asleep by 8.

Today was better because at least the kids slept til 6:30, which is normal for them.

However, we were crazy busy and I've practically lost my voice.

I had to get over to Costco for bananas and formula (I know, what a combination, right?). 3ft had his very first parent/teacher conference ever. The biggest problem he has is too much talking and my husband was really very quick to point out that 3ft came by it naturally while pointing at me! As if. (It's true.) Then right after, 3ft had an optometrist appointment because during school eye screening they thought he might have astigmatism. Which he does. He's very excited to be getting glasses (weird kid).

We had Carl's Jr. for lunch today and I'm proud to say that even though I really wanted to try their new Philly Burger I saw they had a Hawaiian Chicken Salad that looked pretty good and opted for that instead. We pretty much avoid fast food except for Mc Donald's once a week for 3ft where I get a chicken sandwich or a salad or something. So I was super proud that I stuck to salad even though there were a ton of greasy burgers I wanted instead. I was hoping the salad would be kind of like the drowned Asian salad I got from Applebees (minus the drowned part of course) but it wasn't. Still pretty good but I don't know if it was worth the nearly 6 bucks for it.

So, I'm still sick. Have a wicked cough and no voice -- which my kids and husband love of course. Not the cough but the no voice part. I'm giving my body a break to recoup -- so other than the running around I did trying to get everywhere I needed to be when I needed to be there I didn't do any exercise. I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow.

On a side note. I'm changing up how the blog works again. The Grumpybutt has all but given up his morning naps (sad face) and it's hard to get on the computer when he's rolling around the house getting into things. So instead of blogging for the previous day the next morning. I'm just going to blog after bedtime for the actual day of. I don't do anything interesting after then anyway. So I played catch up today and did Monday (uneventful cuz I was sick) and Tuesday (pretty much the same) so tomorrow night will be for Wednesday.

We'll see how that goes.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 154

Total Pounds Lost - 54.9

Weekend Report #2

2010-11-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry about missing Sunday but holy moly I was busy this weekend. I left the house early yesterday morning and didn't get home til late and man was I beat.

On Saturday, I had 2 sick kids. 3ft had pneumonia and Grumpbutt had a cold. So that pretty much sucked up my day except for doing laundry and baking Cinnamon Mini Coffee Cakes for my brother-in-law's birthday.

Saturday was also my sister's birthday which we celebrated on Sunday with a family get together. I made her Triple Chocolate Brownies which she assures me she loves as well as got her a hand mixer -- she's getting into cooking. I like having something in common with her again.

We went to Applebees for her birthday dinner so our mom could buy her a drink. She just turned 12 (although she keeps trying to say it's 21 but I refuse to believe I'm that old). I got the Oriental Chicken Salad with Grilled chicken and I ordered it with the dressing on the side. Well. I got dressing on the side alright along with it swimming in dressing. When I asked what happened with the dressing being on the side the waitress looked at me like I was stupid and said it's right there. So, apparently I was specific enough that I didn't want ANY dressing on my salad, I wanted to do it myself. I was too hungry and tired of fighting with the misunderstanding waitress that I just ate it. WAY. TOO. MUCH. DRESSING. C'est la vie. Next time I'll be more explicit I guess. Although I'm not sure how.

I also had a few bites of birthday cake. It was pretty delicious with butter cream frosting -- my favorite. So, aside from the salad dressing incident the day went pretty good. And it was nice to hang out with my sister and her boyfriend. I don't get to see them very often.

*drum roll* As to how much weight I lost last week. Well, I lost 1 pound. With Halloween candy around, the extra baking, the horrible weather, birthdays, and sick kids I'll take 1 pound. Could've been worse. Could've been no pounds or gained pounds -- so I'm a happy camper. I've lost nearly 55 lbs total.

The highlight of the weekend: my sister told me my jeans made my butt look great. And that I was getting so skinny. Have I mentioned how much I love my sister?

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 152

Total Pounds Lost - 54.9

Cake Invention and Castle Defense

2010-11-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

What are these you ask? These are Mini Cinnamon Coffee Cakes and another creation of yours truly. It's a cinnamon infused cupcake with a brown sugar, cinnamon, and oat crumble topping. I filled the cupcake wrappers too full so the crumble isn't solid like I'd wanted it. Next time I'll only fill them half as much and that way it'll "look" more like a coffee cake than just taste like one.

I haven't tasted one yet, but I'm assured they're fabulous by the husband. I made them last night after the boys went to bed and it was too late to eat one. But you can bet your bahooka that I'm going to have one today for a snack. Is it 10 am yet. Cuz that's snack time! Wahooo. I actually made them for my friend, Riana's, birthday. It's on Sunday and she's coming over with her munchkins for a playdate today so since I'm going to be out of town on her birthday she's getting her baked goods today. I gave her a chance to put in an order and she said, "Whatever. Surprise me."

So, that naturally means that I threw caution to the wind, saw the cinnamon oil extract in the cupboard which started calling me. I thought a cinnamon cake would be delicious and then it sort of morphed into the mini coffee cakes. They're a little higher in calories than I usually do, but I blame that entirely on my over filling the cupcake wrappers. I'd have gotten 2 dozen cupcakes if I hadn't been so heavy with the scooper and then they'd have been around 100 calories per cake instead of the 200 these are. Oh well. I'm still having one.

Took the boys to the playground yesterday and met up with Riana and her boys. While her baby girl slept in her stroller she played with the Grumpybutt and I chased around 3 active boys (one of which was 3ft). I got up on the playground structure and defended my castle from the boys' onslaught. I owned them, guarded my castle, and I got a lot of running around in. It was fun and naturally the kids thought it was hilarious and an awesome game to play. I still love, Love, LOVE, that I have the energy to do that with the kids, especially my own. 3ft absolutely adores when I play tag, chase, and rough house with him and I love having the energy and the flexibility to do so. When it comes down to it, I'm doing it for him, the Grumpybutt, and the husband so I can be around a LONG time to torment and torture...er.. I mean love and nurture them.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, chasing three active boys around a playground, 400 crunches, and 90 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 150

Total Pounds Lost - 53.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Lunch - Tuna Sandwich, pickle spear, and organic yellow corn tortilla chips
Mid-Afternoon Snack - apple chips and a triple chocolate brownie
Dinner - Spaghetti and eggs (it's a family tradition thing)

Uneventful.

2010-11-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

Unless you call a mountain of laundry eventful.

A sick baby pretty much leads to an uneventful day. I got my crunches, push ups, and laundry done (the highlight of my day, really) and not much else. But really with 4 loads of laundry to wash, dry, fold, and put away all while toting around 20lbs of baby who absolutely did NOT want to be set down yesterday is quite a workout. I did get some walking in as we had to go pick up 3ft from school.

I didn't cook anything spectacular yesterday. I didn't have time. Mr. Grumpybutt would not let me out of his sight or out of my touch. So I did breakfast for dinner for 3ft (which he loves) -- eggs and jelly toast. Grumpybutt tried some eggs, he didn't hate them but he didn't suck them down like he does pasta shapes. I threw together a quick spaghetti sandwich -- bread, spaghetti, eat. Super simple.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, 400 crunches, and 90 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 149

Total Pounds Lost - 53.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and hot tea
Lunch - Tuna Sandwich, pickle spear, and one fun sized Snickers
Mid-Afternoon Snack - sliced cucumbers w/ fat free Italian Dressing, ham and crackers, and carrots w/ hummus.
Dinner - Spaghetti sandwich

Chocolate Victory.

2010-11-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

I did it. No sweat. Not even a blip on my radar.

I'm, of course, talking about the ginormous candy bowl filled with Halloween treats -- more importantly all the chocolate (I'm a sucker for chocolate). I had no desire whatsoever to have any candy yesterday even though 3ft had it right in front of me. I even had to open some of them for him and even the delicious smell of the chocolate didn't tempt me. Letting myself have it on Monday seems to have worked quell the chocolate allure. I don't want any today either.

We had another playdate yesterday with 3ft's best friend from school. This one included lunch as well. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is to have someone else make lunch for me but better still how great it feels to not tweak on what it is they're going to make because of "dieting". I had a delicious roast beef sandwich made even more so because I didn't have to make it and apple slices. Now my friend (because it's not just 3ft's best friend), she knows about my healthy lifestyle (how can she not, I talk about it cuz I'm passionate and she sees me daily) so it could be she caters to that a bit -- I don't know -- but it wouldn't matter what she made, I'd eat it and just balance out the rest of the day with healthier eating guilt-free.

I also made Shepherds Pie last night for dinner. Underneath that delicious layer of cheesy mashed potatoes is ground turkey and lean ground beef, a rich gravy made with low fat beef broth and tomato paste, onions, garlic, lots of mushrooms -- cremini and baby portabella, carrots, and seasoned with fresh parsley and thyme.

It serves 6 and 1 serving has approximately 288 calories and about 6 grams of fat.

It was a huge hit. 3ft absolutely loved it and cleaned his plate. I mean it's basically meat and potatoes with gravy, what's not to love? It's also a great recipe for leftover mashed potatoes with the holidays coming up. I made the mashed potatoes specifically for the dish but I know when I have leftovers this is definitely going to be a go to recipe. I'm already thinking of making one with a turkey twist -- like a pot pie but made in the style of Shepherds pie. It'll be a nice change to the turkey noodle soup that's usually made. Who am I kidding -- I'll end up making both.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, chased after multiple kids at the playground, 400 crunches, and 90 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 148

Total Pounds Lost - 53.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and hot tea
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich and apple slices
Mid-Afternoon Snack - craisins
Dinner - Shepherd's Pie

Siren's Call.

2010-11-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

I know I said the candy wasn't calling me in yesterday's blog, but the siren's call was loud and clear yesterday and...well, I might have done a small overkill on it. But the upside -- because I let myself have it, all I that wanted of it with no guilt, I don't want any today. So while I might have eaten more than I should've, I think it balances out because I'm done with it. The bowl is sitting not a foot away from me and I couldn't care less. By making it something not forbidden I took away the allure. And the best part I don't feel guilty. I enjoyed my candy day yesterday and now I'm over it.

I took 3ft to the playground to have a play date with one of his friends yesterday afternoon. I ended up chasing him, his friend, and his friends little brother all over the park/field next to the play structure. I'd catch them, toss them up, tickle them, and then release them. And then do it all over again. They had fun and I was totally enjoying the fact that I was chasing after some pretty fast runners and catching them -- loving that I had the energy to do it and had the stamina to keep it up.

I upped my push ups and crunches again yesterday. I'm up to 400 crunches and 90 push ups. Now I'm trying to figure how high do I go before it's ridiculous? I figure I might stop at the 400 crunches for awhile and stop raising the push ups when I hit 100. I'll cruise with that a bit and see what happens. They seem like nice round numbers.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, chased after multiple kids at the playground, 400 crunches, and 90 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 147

Only Water - Day 141

Total Pounds Lost - 53.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - candy (couldn't resist the siren's call)
Lunch - Tuna sandwich, a pickle, and homemade french fries
Mid-Afternoon Snack - more candy and 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - wasn't hungry

They're Heeeeeeeere...

2010-11-01T09:08:00.000-07:00

The holiday season is officially here. The fattest time of the year with four holidays that focus on parties, eating, food, eating, family, and...eating. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve. Am I the only one that thinks that it was poor planning on our forefathers to put them bam, bam, bam instead of spacing them out better over the year?

Normally I'd be worried, but so far I've survived Halloween unscathed. I spent the evening carting around 20 extra pounds, Mr. Grumpybutt the Skeleton, as we walked around the neighborhood trick or treating. I had one Payday fun sized candy bar the whole night. The bowl of candy isn't really beckoning to me too much -- not like it is for 3ft who stands over it, stroking the bowl, and murmuring, "We wants candy, my precious. Yes we wants it. Lots of it, don't we my precious?" Apparently we have the one "bowl" that rules them all. 3ft started off as a ninja but morphed into Gollum once his bucket was filled with candy.

I'm just going to hold on to my key word this holiday season: Moderation. I can have the candy, if I want it, in MODERATION. I can have the cakes, the pies, the food, the treats, all the deliciousness, if I want them, in MODERATION. Plus, I'll make sure that I have a lot of healthy snacks and better for you food around so that I can enjoy it in MODERATION and not have to worry about my waistline as much.

Now that I've achieved my goal of getting down to my prepregnancy weight (GO ME, I even surpassed it). I want to lose another 15 pounds by Christmas. Seems like a reasonable goal -- I have a little over 10 pounds to go (10.1 lbs to be exact). I'm making sure I have a goal so I don't get complacent over the holidays and just promise myself I'll start back up diligently after my birthday (January 1st). A lot of damage can be done with complacency so I'm doing my best to ignore it. Besides if I start thinking, "I can start back up after my birthday" well then that becomes a diet and not a lifestyle, doesn't it? Which goes against everything I believe in. So, I shall put up the good fight this holiday season, I shall lose another 15 pounds, and I shall do it while LIVING!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, carrying the Grumpybutt around while Trick or Treating, 350 crunches, and 80 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 146

Only Water - Day 140

Total Pounds Lost - 53.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - Slice of Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread
Lunch - Soup and Salad at Olive Garden
Mid-Afternoon Snack - didn't need
Dinner -Tuna sandwich, pickle, and a fun sized Payday

Weekend Report #1

2010-10-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

With the holidays coming on and my seemingly increasing busy weekends, I've noticed a trend of me missing Saturday's blog. So from here on out until I say otherwise (It's good to be boss) I'm going to just do a two day blog on Sundays. We'll see how that goes and then maybe I'll quit feeling guilty for completely spacing Saturday's blog because I was so busy.

I tried out a few new recipes:

Chocolate Marbled Banana Bread

I had an baking epiphany. I'd been trying to swirl melted chocolate within banana bread batter forever trying to get this effect. As I was stirring the melted chocolate this time, I happened to look at my banana bread batter and though what if I just mixed the chocolate in and make chocolate banana bread -- it'd be easier. Then it hit me. Why didn't I mix the chocolate into half the batter and then plop the two different batters into my mini loaves pan and then swirl it. It turned out BEAUTIFUL! And it's super delicious too. So I'm all sorts of proud of myself. I'm such a simple creature -- it really is the little things.

Pumpkin Pizza

3ft also wanted to get in on the recipe inventing action so he decided he wanted to invent a recipe for Pumpkin Pizza. He came up with the toppings -- which were chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and whipped cream and it was my job to figure out the pumpkin "sauce" and the crust. This was our first attempt. It was really good. Of course when I cut into it I thought, "How pretty would it look if I had drizzled melted chocolate over the marshmallows instead of having chip clumps?" Well, the next one I make I'm going to do drizzled chocolate and check it out. 3ft did the toppings himself this time which explains the chip clumps. The marshmallows were pretty forgiving of the clumping because they melted and oozed over the pumpkin "sauce". He ran around the rest of the night calling himself a genius and telling the husband and I how lucky we were to have such an awesome kid. Yes, we're so proud of his modest demeanor.

As you know, I'm a huge cooking show whore. I can't get enough of Food Network. Well I was watching Rachel Rae the other night while doing Wii Step and she made Lasagna Bowls. They looked super good. She made it with a Bechamel Sauce, which is a base white sauce that french cuisine uses a lot, and she added Parmesan to it. She mixed it in with a short pasta, I used Rotini, and then she made a hearty meat sauce that she spooned into the center of the pasta and while you eat it you mix the meaty sauce into the white sauced noodles and it tastes like lasagna without all the lasagna effort. Well I thought, how awesome would that be? I bet the Bechamel sauce would be healthier than all the melted cheese in an actual lasagna and if it tasted as good a total win!

So last night I made my version of Lasagna bowls. I used almond milk for the cream, I simmered it with onion, a big clove of garlic, some nutmeg, and a bay leaf. Then after it set and I strained it I did the Roue (I think that's how that's spelled) which is melted butter and flour cooked for a minute and then you slowly add in the cream. It totally thickened with the almond milk then I threw in a half cup of grated Parmesan. I mixed it with whole wheat Rotini. Then I made my favorite hearty meat sauce with half ground turkey and half lean hamburger and spooned it into the center. It was a total win!!! The boys totally loved it. The cheesy Bechamel sauce would also go great on Fettuccine as an Alfredo sauce. And with the almond milk and using only a little butter and little flour it's so much better for you and it tastes decadent. Sorry, I don't have a picture to torture you with. We were hungry and I forgot.

I'm also happy to report that I lost another pound this week. It might be only a pound but I'll take it because think I gained some muscle -- my jeans are a little looser and my shirts are too.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, rocking out on Rock Band 3, 350 crunches, and 80 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 145

Only Water - Day 139

Total Pounds Lost - 53.9

Wake Me Up...

2010-10-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Before you go-go.

Third day in a row of Just Dance 2. Still loving it. I shook it to the Beetle Juice song -- you know the one at the end that Winona Ryder dances to because she like got an A on a test or something? Yeah that one and then you probably figured out I Go-go'd with Wham! I love the eclectic mix of music on it.

I also busted out my push ups and crunches and since the weather was nice the Grumpybutt and I went for a walk before we walked over to pick up 3ft. It's funny, other than the bane of my existence (the push ups) and the crunches, I don't really feel like I'm working out. I know I am because I'm losing weight, and working up a sweat, but I'm mostly just having fun. When the weather turns I'm hoping to get back into the gym to battle it out with "The Walker" and "Sweaty Guy on the Bike" but right now I'm just enjoying goofing around.

I surprised 3ft last night with hamburgers and french fries for dinner. Well he had a cheeseburger. I perfected my patty. I used 1/4lb ground turkey and a 1/4lb lean beef. I added some Worcestershire Sauce, ketchup, sauteed onions and chopped garlic, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and some grill seasoning. I made four patties and then stuck them on parchment paper and stuck them in the freezer (I do all my dinner prep work during Grumpybutt's afternoon nap so I can just quickly throw dinner together at dinnertime). The patties had a lot of moisture and they were thin so I figured freezing them would help them keep their shape while they started cooking. It totally worked out perfectly. 3ft inhaled his cheeseburger like it was ambrosia. And was super excited about the homemade french fries.

The fries were super easy because I got a Chef's Envy for an early Christmas present. It's basically a mandolin (which I really really wanted). So it cut those fries up in no time and they were all the same size and perfect. I was so proud of them. But the camera's battery was dead so I couldn't take any pictures and 3ft was circling like a vulture so I couldn't wait for them to charge. Next time.

I also made another batch of cranberry chocolate granola bars yesterday. I cut way back on the chocolate and made a more caramel type sauce to mix into the oats and it turned out super delicious. I sprinkled a little kosher salt on the top so it's a sweet and salty type of deal and it was all I could do not to eat the whole pan. We'll see how it is the second day because I'm looking forward to horking down a bar for snack today.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute power walk, 30 minutes of Just Dance 2, 350 crunches, and 80 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 143

Only Water - Day 137

Total Pounds Lost - 52.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham sandwich, carrots w/ hummus, and sweet pickles. Split a sugar free pudding with the Grumpybutt and 3ft.
Mid-Afternoon Snack - homemade cranberry chocolate granola bar
Dinner -Hamburger and homemade french fries.

Jump Jump

2010-10-28T08:49:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention it but I made homemade granola bars on Monday with cranberries and chocolate chips. They were good but too chocolatey. *gasp* I know!! I've never said too chocolatey in my life but they were. I sent them to work with my husband in individually wrapped bars in festive saran wrap. He sent out an e-mail calling them the Too Chocolatey Granola bars and they were all gone before lunch. One of his coworkers told him to tell me they were fabulous but my husband agreed with me they had too much chocolate. So I'm going to make some more today and I'm going to cut the chocolate WAY back. Hopefully they turn out better.

I also made Orange Chipotle Glazed pork last night (forgot to take a picture). I took a small 10 oz jar of orange marmalade Simply Fruit, two chipotle peppers diced up, and a teaspoon of adobe sauce (it's what the chipotles are canned in) and after searing some pork chops I dumped the sauce on and cooked it until it glazed up. Oh wow, was it spicy. Good, but spicy. I was glad I made Cream Corn Quinoa to go with it. The mild creamy taste of the quinoa really cut through the spice, thank goodness.Next time I make it, I'm going to only use one chipotle pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of adobe sauce and see what happens. The husband is taking it to work today for lunch. He loves spicy so we'll see what he thinks of it. Needless to say, 3ft had chicken nugget dinosaurs and quinoa for dinner. If it was too spicy for me it was way too spicy for him.

I did Just Dance 2 again last night. I "jumped jumped" with Criss Cross. Remember those guys who wore their pants backwards in the early 90's? Mac Daddy make you wanna jump jump. It was pretty awesome. I hated them and that song then and now I just laughed my butt off as I danced to it. That followed by Proud Mary by Ike and Tina. What a combination, right? I love vintage music. The game is seriously so fun. I know I dance like a spasmodic epileptic chicken with white girl rhythm but I'm having too much fun to care.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute power walk, 30 minutes of Just Dance 2, 350 crunches, and 80 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 142

Only Water - Day 136

Total Pounds Lost - 52.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham sandwich, carrots w/ hummus, and cucumbers w/ fat free Italian dressing and split a sugar free pudding with the Grumpybutt
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner -Orange Chipotle Glazed Pork and Cream Corn Quinoa

Dancing Queen.

2010-10-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

The stars finally aligned and 3ft and I played Just Dance 2 yesterday for all of 9 minutes. Then he decided he was done, turned off his Wii mote, which turned off the entire game. He has a bit of his father in him and is a little competitive and the game keeps score giving a "crown" to the one with the higher score. I was rocking it so he didn't want to play cuz he wasn't getting the crown. Lame, right? Oh well, he likes Dance Dance Revolution better because he gets to flail around on the dance pad where Just Dance using the Wii mote and you just dance holding it.

It wasn't a complete waste of time because it reminded me how much fun it really is so after the kids went to bed last night I got it back out and danced for 1/2 hour on it and set up a workout counter on it to keep track of what I'm doing weekly. So I shall be dancing again tonight.

I tried out a recipe for Orange Chicken yesterday. It was pretty good. It needed more sauce though, so the next time I make it (if there is a next time) I'll double the sauce. I think most of the problem was I was expecting it to be like Panda Express Orange Chicken and it soooo wasn't. So I was disappointed from the get go, you know? However 3ft inhaled it and said it was his "favorite" chicken ever. He says that a lot so I don't get too giddy. I'm just happy when the little brat eats it with a smile.

Orange Chicken

I did make an awesome garlic chicken brown rice though. Which for me, really saved the chicken. I used boil in bag rice and cooked it in equal parts chicken stock and water then when it was done cooking I drained it, then added garlic salt and pepper and mixed it up. It sounds really simple but it really really made a difference in the flavor. Even 3ft, who doesn't really like rice much, ate all of his.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute power walk, 39 minutes of Just Dance 2, 350 crunches, and 80 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 141

Only Water - Day 135

Total Pounds Lost - 52.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Tuscan Chicken w/ beans
Mid-Afternoon Snack - homemade cranberry chocolate granola bar and cucumbers dipped in Italian dressing
Dinner -Orange chicken, garlic chicken brown rice, and broccoli

Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit...

2010-10-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

By and far the best beans I've ever eaten came out of the recipe I made for dinner last night.

Tuscan Chicken

The chicken was good, but the Italian style beans made this dish a total winner and it will be in my culinary line up from now on. It's basically cannellini beans, petite diced tomatoes, fresh rosemary, fresh spinach, bacon, onion, and fresh garlic with some salt and pepper. To. Die. For. And once you get all the prep done (which involved massacring a whole chicken with my dull knives) it's really easy to throw together. The hardest part was cutting up the bird and really, if I weren't so cheap, I'd have just bought one already cut up!

I got the base of the recipe from the October Issue of Cooking Light and then jazzed it up from there and made it more my family friendly. It was a huge success and both the husband and 3ft inhaled their food. And just so there is no confusion, you read it right, it has BACON! I love bacon. Mmmmm *drooling*. Oh, sorry. Got lost there for a second in bacony goodness.

I love trying new foods and new recipes. It helps me avoid food boredom. And that is something I've learned can be very detrimental to a healthy lifestyle. To be honest it wasn't only getting pregnant with the Grumpybutt that helped me gain nearly half the weight I lost he was the excuse I used to eat the foods I was missing in mass quantities. I've found with all the new things I'm trying, I'm not bored and not craving empty calories and junk food which, let me tell you, makes it easier to control the portions when I do eat something less than stellar for me. Plus I'd never have known how delicious quinoa is or cannellini beans.

I've upped my push ups and crunches again. I'm now up to 80 push ups (40 twice a day) and 350 crunches (175 twice a day). And then I've been throwing in the "plank" (which I hate more than push ups) and some scissor kicks and whatnot for my lower abdomen (which I hate more than the "plank"). The things I do to maintain my healthy lifestyle.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute power walk, 350 crunches, and 80 push ups

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 140

Only Water - Day 134

Total Pounds Lost - 52.9

Meals:
Breakfast - FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade almond milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Roast beef sandwich and grapes
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner -Tuscan Chicken

Birthday Party Survival

2010-10-25T09:29:00.001-07:00

3ft was invited to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. The whole family was invited which was super cool I thought. That is, until we got there. I remember Chuck E. Cheese's as being awesome. This place had to have been violating fire code occupancy levels. It was jammed back from corner to small corner with screaming kids -- mine included. They had so many birthday tables jammed in that you couldn't walk in between them when people were sitting in the chairs. It was crazy. I wouldn't want to work there.

Well, I survived the pizza party. I splurged a little, I mean it was a party. But I didn't get out of control. They had a veggie tray, a bunch of different kind of pizzas, mini sandwiches, french fries, and then, of course, birthday cake and ice cream. I had two small slices of vegetarian pizza (Mr. Grumpybutt chewed on the crusts), a mini sandwich (like three bites), some celery off the veggie tray, and I shared a small slice of cake and ice cream with the husband and Mr. Grumpybutt so I really ended up only have a couple bites.

When dinner time rolled around I wasn't very hungry so I just had some tea and mini toast.

Sure, I probably went over my usual calorie counts yesterday (not that I really count calories anymore. If the scale starts climbing again I will, but as long as I'm maintaining a steady weight loss and feel good, I'm just going to wing it) but I'm not worried about it. I don't feel guilty. It was a party. I had fun. I talked with other grown ups, snacked on terrible food, savored delicious chocolate cake with custard and fresh strawberry filling, and played with my kids. I felt normal and the birthday boy's mom told me how great I looked. So you know, the day was a win!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - Took the day off.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 139

Only Water - Day 133

Total Pounds Lost - 52.9

Meals:
Breakfast - eggs, banana slices, and 2 small slices of cinnamon swirl toast
Morning Snack - cucumbers with Italian dressing and carrots with hummus.
Lunch - Chuck E. Cheese's Birthday Party
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (late lunch)
Dinner -Tea and 2 small slices of cinnamon swirl toast

Chocolate and Jeans.

2010-10-24T08:07:00.001-07:00

I totally forgot to blog yesterday. So this is going to be a two day blog.

On Friday, I tried out a new recipe for Triple Chocolate Brownies. Let me just tell you they could be death by chocolate and they're so rich and chocolatey, you really only want to eat one. But you savor every chocolatey delicious bite while you have it. You'd never know they were "healthier". I fed them to a friend who came over for a play date and she had no idea. She just kept raving how delicious they were.

Yesterday, I tried out a new recipe for chocolate dipped coconut macaroons. OMG! They're so delicious. They actually aren't that bad for you either. I've been on a huge baking kick because the holidays are coming up and I give a lot of "baked good" gifts (I have a big extended family that I can't afford presents for). So we buy for the kids and then exchange yummy goodies with the adults. So since I'm doing the healthy lifestyle thing I'm changing up my old recipes for healthier versions and then testing out to see how they compare. You wouldn't know the triple chocolate brownies were "healthier" and the same could be said for the macaroons.

Naturally I have to taste the new recipes. So, instead of my normal snack yesterday I had a macaroon and then one dipped in chocolate to see which is better. I couldn't decide but I'm proud to say that I didn't keep eating them until the answer presented itself. I was able to stop at just 2. And that never gets old to brag about -- it's still so new and awesome that I have control when it comes to stuff like that

I 'm so excited to say that I've moved out of the Women's Plus Sized section and into regular sized clothes! Nunan, the girl that tortured me all through 8th grade and beyond (although she'd try to tell you I tortured her -- don't listen, she's a liar and a cheat), sent me the most awesome card on the planet. Not only did she hand make it (which is awesome she's so creative) but included in it was a shopping spree at Target. I started trying on pants and decided to grab a size 18 off the regular rack instead of a plus sized woman's 18 (they're different, the regular one is cut smaller) and it totally FIT!!! The sweater and jeans I got were out of the regular section!!!! I'll try to get a picture later today of me wearing them. I couldn't be more excited!! *bouncing*

I'm also excited to report that I've lost another 2.7 lbs last week and that makes the grand total 52.9! I'm hoping to drop another 15lbs before Christmas which is basically 2 months away. I don't think it's unattainable but if I don't make it to a total of 75lbs lost by then, I'm not going to cry about it. I'm enjoying the journey as much as I'm enjoying the rewards.

I was so busy yesterday, I didn't eat as healthy as I would've liked. We ended up at Costco around dinner time and the family was hungry so we ate there. I had a hot dog. But with living, things like that happen, and I enjoyed that hot dog without guilt because I'm NOT dieting! And I'd say that saying right there is one of the biggest reasons for my success. "I'm NOT dieting!"

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 300 crunches, and 70 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 138

Only Water - Day 132

Total Pounds Lost - 52.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - chocolate dipped coconut macaroons (had to taste test a new recipe)
Lunch - McDonald's Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack - none
Dinner - Coscto Hot Dog

Orange Zest and Pumpkin.

2010-10-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've been baking.

I perfected my cranberry scones recipe. They turned out so delicious. I added some orange zest because on one of my cooking shows they said that orange zest really brings out the flavor of cranberries. So, I threw some in and voila, it was absolutely the best cranberry scone I ever ate. See how my cooking show addiction has paid off. I also had some pumpkin in the fridge leftover from the pumpkin pie muffins that I didn't want to go bad so I threw together a quick off the cuff pumpkin scones recipe. They actually turned out really good.

I have two scone lovers in my life: my friend Nunan (who I owe scones too because her mailperson ate her birthday present *grr face* since she never got her original batch) and my friend Gini Koch, author of the Alien Series, and since Alien Tango (the second book in the series) is releasing soon (December 7th, btw -- buy her book it's GREAT!) I thought I'd send them both some cranberry and pumpkin scones. I certainly don't want them living at my house and trying their siren's call on me. I love the baking, I think, more than I love the eating. Weird, right?

I've also got all the ingredients for Honey Cinnamon Swirled Cinnamon Bread which the Bajaffe (Amy Mullis) won in the giveaway so I shall be baking bread today to ship off to the lucky winner tomorrow. The Zebra (Angie Mansfield), the other winner, is waiting until she can torment some children with baked goods before placing her order. I knew I loved that girl!

This new trend of Mr. Grumpybutt not taking his naps has got to stop. He's only 9 months old for crying out loud and he still needs them. Not to mention I NEED them so I can get my workouts in at a decent hour. It doesn't really affect my push ups (mores the pity) and crunches but I think I'm going to have to start to get creative on the Wii stuff. I guess it'll be a HUGE workout to hold his 20+ pounds while I do the Wii Fit Free Step (my back is already groaning in protest). I don't know, I'm going to have to figure something out. Anyone got any ideas? Other than working out after the kids go to bed which, I guess, if another solution doesn't present itself is going to have to be my go to plan.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 300 crunches, and 70 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 136

Only Water - Day 131

Total Pounds Lost - 50.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - scallops and cream corn quinoa
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter sandwich and cranberry scone
Dinner - scrambled eggs, hash browns, and a pumpkin scone

Winners and Chutney!

2010-10-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

I made homemade Cranberry Chutney yesterday. And wow, did it turn out so good. I dolloped some on a garlic seared pork medallion and served it with some Parmesan pasta, and steamed broccoli. Even 3ft and the husband liked the chutney and neither of them are huge cranberry fans. I'm so proud.

I still didn't get to Just Dance 2 yesterday. Had a crazy stressful day, starting with Mr. Grumpybutt not taking his morning nap and then gracing me with only an hour nap in the afternoon. Both naps are NORMALLY 1 1/2 to 2 hours long. So I didn't get a lot of no children down time. 3ft just wanted to watch cartoons and I had a ton of stuff to get done in a short amount of time. So I made sure I got my walking, crunches, push ups, and the new crunches I'm doing with leg lifts incorporated done. By the time dinner, baths, homework, reading, and both the kids were in bed I was too frazzled, drained, tired, and didn't want to do anything but veg on my couch. So that's just what I did. Just Dance 2 might have been neglected but my couch appreciated the love.

So for those of you tuned into the giveaway, today is the day and the lucky winners of the 50 Pounds Lost Giveaway are: Amy Mullis and Angie Mansfield! So ladies let me know what you want baked and shipped to you from the Baked Deliciousness List.

Baked Deliciousness List

Pumpkin Pie Muffins (or mini loaves)
Cranberry Scones
Snowy Brownies
Double Chocolate Brownies (new recipe)
Cinnamon Honey Swirled Cinnamon Bread (w/ or w/out cranberries)
Cinnamon Sugar Cookies (better than a snickerdoodle)
Cookie S'mores
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (if you want to wait until my bananas are ripe)

Thank you all for celebrating my 50-pound-loss with me. And don't worry, giveaways are fun and I'll have another one at 75lbs lost or 200 days -- whichever one comes first. (Who am I kidding? We'll have a giveaway for both!)

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic chopped
1 scallion chopped
2 tbs yellow onion
1 cup Craisins
1 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider
2 tbs dijon mustard
1/4 cup toasted pecans chopped
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Directions
saute garlic, scallions, and onions in olive oil until tender in a medium saucepan

toast pecans in a dry non stick pan until browned and you can smell them. then chop them up.

throw pecans and all the rest of the ingredients in the saucepan, bring to a boil, and then turn down heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.

Serve warm or cold. It's good either way. Makes quite a bit, I filled a couple small canning jars with it to save for Thanksgiving. I figured it'd go super well with turkey!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 300 crunches, 60 new fangled crunches, and 70 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 135

Only Water - Day 130

Total Pounds Lost - 50.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - scallops and cream corn quinoa
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter sandwich
Dinner - pork medallion w/ homemade cranberry chutney, parmesan pasta, and broccoli

Foiled Again.

2010-10-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

3ft is a brat. I can call him this because I'm his mother. Some would say he comes by it honestly and I'd agree if you meant he got it from his dad. Anyway, I digress, back to why he's a brat. We got Lego Harry Potter in the mail from Blockbuster.com. And as you can very well imagine he'd rather play that then flail around to music he doesn't even know with his mom. It's sacrilege I tell you.

So I ended up doing Wii Free Step again yesterday. It's alright, really, because then I get to feed my foodie addiction by watching cooking shows. I watched Tyler's Ultimate and his Ultimate Orecchiette and he made some Panna Cotta that I definitely want to try. Then I moved on to Rachel Rae and watched her do a Kaiser Roll Calzone that I'm all over healthifying (yeah, it's a word. I just made it up) with a pan roasted garlic dressing that looked pretty amazing for salads.

It's so funny now that I watch the quality of calories and fat I put into my body and not just eat what's handy whether it's delicious or not, I've totally become obsessed with food and cooking and inventing recipes. I've always liked to cook but not to this extent before. My Christmas list has a few books (cooking books) and the rest is cooking gadgets.

Garlic Seared Scallops and Cream Corn Quinoa

So this was dinner last night. For those of you who don't know what Quinoa is, it's a small whole grain that is packed full of nutrients. You can use it like rice. OMG. It was so delicious. It's definitely a keeper and paired with the scallops (which I love) it was an amazing dinner. I got the idea for the Quinoa from a Clean Eating Magazine and then I changed it up to fit my tastes a little better and made it my own.

Ingredients for Cream Corn Quinoa
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tbs chopped green onion
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed under cold running water
1 cup chicken broth
2 cobs of corn, kernels removed (about 1 cup), hold onto one naked cob
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach leaves
garlic salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs nonfat sour cream

Directions
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic, celery, and green onion and saute until garlic is golden and celery is soft.

Add quinoa and cook until quinoa is dry and toasted.

Add chicken broth and naked corncob. Bring to a boil and cover. Then reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until quinoa is soft and the center of the grains are translucent. (most if not all the liquid should be absorbed into the grain)

Turn off burner, remove corncob and add corn, chopped spinach, some garlic salt and pepper, and the nonfat sour cream. Stir it all up and be ready for heaven. It's so delicious.

Makes 4, 1/2 cup servings
Calories 146.8
Total Fat 3.6g
Carbs 24.9g
Fiber 2.9g
Protein 5.1g

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 30 minutes Free Step on the Wii, 300 crunches, and 70 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 134

Only Water - Day 129

Total Pounds Lost - 50.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Raisin Bran Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham Sandwich, dill pickle, cucumbers and fat free Italian dressing
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter sandwich
Dinner - Garlic Seared Scallops and Cream Corn Quinoa
Dessert - Pumpkin Pie Muffin with Cream Cheese Marshmallow frosting

Change of Plan.

2010-10-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

So, we didn't do Just Dance 2 yesterday. Apparently 3ft thought Scooby Doo and the Curse of the Lake Monster was way more important than dancing. *gasp* It's scandalous I know. So we're going to try and do it today.

However, I did bust out Wii Fit last night and do 30 minutes of Free Step while watching a couple episodes of Giada at Home (a cooking show -- I'm addicted). I made cream cheese marshmallow frosting last night for the pumpkin pie muffins and of course I had to taste the frosting and lick the spoon. Then naturally I had to eat a muffin with the frosting on it to make sure they tasted good together, right? Right. So, I made the wise choice to throw in a little 8pm workout to make up for the muffin and frosting consumption. I also am proud to say that while I wanted to eat a lot of muffins with frosting (they really were off the hook), I only ate the one. Go me.

The frosting is super easy: 1 8oz package of cream cheese (room temp), 8oz of marshmallow creme, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, 1 tbs Brummel and Brown yogurt spread. Whip it all together and there you go. It's creamy but runny so it works really well to pipe into muffins or cupcakes and then use a little to cover the top. You don't need a lot on the top when its in the center as well.

I've upped my crunches and push ups again. I'm now doing 150 crunches and 35 push ups twice a day. Have I mentioned how much I hate push ups? But did you notice how fat my arms are? That is why I keep doing them even though I completely loathe them. The things we do in the name of health. I'm also going to implement another crunch exercise that I found in my Clean Eating Magazine. It not only has you "crunch" but it has you include your legs and lifting them, trying to touch your toes and whatnot while you're crunching. I really want to tighten my tummy and hopefully negate a lot of excess skin. I figure I'm going to end up with some. You don't go from 350lbs (which was my highest original weight), having your skin stretched to it's absolute limit, to 150lbs and not have some skin issues -- but I'm hoping to minimalize them.

The giveaway is still going. Make sure if you want to be included you let me know. I'm going to make the Husband draw two names out of a hat on Wednesday night. Don't miss out on a chance to win the delicious baked goods!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minutes Free Step on the Wii, 300 crunches, and 70 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 133

Only Water - Day 128

Total Pounds Lost - 50.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (early lunch)
Lunch - McDonalds Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/out mayo and apple dippers
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (was busy and forgot it)
Dinner - Cider Glazed Pork w/ fettuccine alfredo and broccoli
Dessert - Pumpkin Pie Muffin with Cream Cheese Marshmallow frosting

Baking and Dancing

2010-10-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

Or more like spasmodic dancing. I sort of just flop and flail around. I have zero rhythm.

I got Just Dance 2 for the Wii. My sister, Brandy, had mentioned playing it with her daughter and how much fun they'd had. I figured 3ft isn't that much younger than the Princess so it'd be a good game for us too. Well 3ft hasn't played it yet but I did. OMG, it is sooo much fun. My husband was mortified to see that Wham was in the play list. Even more so when I made him dance to "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" with me.

We'd just turned it on to check it out and ended up playing it for an hour. I'm going to get 3ft to play it with me today after school when the Grumpybutt is taking his second nap. It's going to be AWESOME! Because unlike DDR (which we only have one dance pad for -- the other one is the Xbox 360 one that I make look like it's hooked into the PS2) it's a two player game and we have two Wii motes. So he'll actually be able to flail right along beside me and actually have it count (he has no rhythm either). He'll be stoked.

Yesterday, I baked Pumpkin Pie Muffins. They turned out so delicious. Today I'm going to make some cream cheese marshmallow filling to pipe inside of them. I think that'll make them EPIC instead of just delicious and at 164 calories a muffin how can you go wrong?

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Other than that it was a pretty uneventful day yesterday. Well, other than LOSING FIFTY POUNDS!! (Yeah, I'm still stoked.) And the giveaway is still going until Wednesday, so get your comments in on the "I DID IT" blog or on it's post on facebook, or what the heck, just let me know you want to be included and it'll be so!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 250 crunches and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 132

Only Water - Day 127

Total Pounds Lost - 50.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (early lunch)
Lunch - Ham Sandwich, carrots and hummus, and a sweet pickle
Mid-Afternoon Snack - Pumpkin Pie Muffin and tea
Dinner - Broiled barbecue chicken (homemade sauce), garlic rice, green beans

I DID IT!

2010-10-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

I've lost 50 lbs. FIFTY! FIVE ZERO!

OH YEAH!

I'm officially lighter than I was when I got pregnant with Mr. Grumpybutt. I officially fit into all my prepregnancy clothes (although some are a little snug still), even my skinniest "skinny" jeans. I'm officially on cloud 9!

So, as promised here is a before and a couple after pictures the hubs took of me this morning.

Disneyland before 50lbs weight loss

size 28 shorts -- super tight around the middle; size 4x shirt

This morning after 50lbs.

size 18 pants -- a little give in the middle; size 2x shirt -- fits loosely

These pictures really make me notice the difference. Not only in my midsection which is seriously pronounced but also in my face. Gone is my double chin. I also have a collar bone. Who'd have thought?

I still have a ways to go. I'd like to lose at least another 50 to 60 lbs. I basically want to get into a size 12. My ultimate goal, aside from being healthy and in shape, is to be able to walk into ANY store (not children's -- smarty pants) but any adult clothing store and be able to buy anything right off the rack. No more "fat girl" specialty stores for me. No more ugly clothes because designers don't think overweight women want to wear cute clothes. No more baggy ill fitting clothes trying to disguise my rolls.

Can I get an AMEN?

Celebrate a huge moment with me with a delicious baked good toast! In honor of my milestone I'm doing another giveaway! 2 lucky people will win delicious baked goods of their choice from the list. I'll ship anywhere. Comment here or on facebook if you want to be entered.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Pie Muffins (or mini loaves)
Cranberry Scones
Banana Chocolate Muffins (or mini loaves)
Snowy Brownies
Lemon Angel Food Mini Cakes
Honey Cinnamon Swirled Cinnamon Bread (w/ Cranberries)

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 30 minutes of Just Dance 2 (Wii dancing game), 250 crunches, and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 131

Only Water - Day 126

Total Pounds Lost - 50.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (early lunch)
Lunch - McDonalds Classic Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/out mayo and some Apple Dippers
Mid-Afternoon Snack - (wasn't hungry)
Dinner - Spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad
Dessert - Lemon Tart -- sadly it looked better in the picture than it tasted.

Ten Months -- TEN!

2010-10-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

I've had Wii Fit since Christmas. I begged my husband for it and he got it for me. He didn't really want to. He thought it was like telling me I'm fat (well, duh, I am) and he didn't want me thinking he thought that of me. I kept telling him to get over it. I ASKED for it because I desperately wanted it. Anyway, I digress.

So, I've had it for 10 months.

I just recently checked out what "Free Step" was and am totally in love with it. I can watch tv (cooking shows I've got DVR'd) while I step onto and off of the wii balance board. It's great. I can mindlessly follow the rhythm coming out of the wii mote speaker while I watch my favorite shows. Where has this been all my life? Oh yeah, right in front of my face for the LAST TEN MONTHS! I feel like such a dork (which is a feeling I experience a lot -- just saying).

To be fair, I didn't really start busting a move on my Wii Fit until May when I'd finally had enough of everything and decided it was time to get fit once and for all (not to mention having to recover from the have a baby lose a gall bladder plan). So I guess five months instead. But still. That's an awful long time to have something so cool and not know it.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 30 minutes of Wii Step, 250 crunches, and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 130

Only Water - Day 125

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham Sandwich, carrots & hummus, a sweet pickle, and a sugar free chocolate pudding
Mid-Afternoon Snack - cranberry scone and tea w/ vanilla creamer
Dinner - broiled chicken, broiled zucchini, and garlic rice

Willpower for the Win!

2010-10-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

I have to brag for a second about my willpower yesterday. One of our neighbors gave the boys push up ice cream pops. 3ft inhaled his and Mr. Grumpybutt pretty much just played with his and got it all over us. But the whole time he was sort of eating it and getting it everywhere, although I was tempted to "help" him eat it, I didn't take a single lick.

You see, I'd already had my sweets for the day and didn't feel like I needed more. Plus, I really wasn't hungry. It's empowering to eat only when I'm hungry and not just because it's there. Moments like that one make me realize I have changed my lifestyle and believe that I can keep doing this forever. It's a fabulous feeling. I'm still reveling in it.

I also realize how much more energy I have. Sure, by the time I get the kids in bed and relax for the night, I'm exhausted. But during the day, I'm up and down and all around. Doing laundry, cleaning the house multiple times because my children insist on messing it up, I'm doing dishes, sweeping, and finding the time to rough house with my kids. It's funny because when the Husband gets home from work we catch up on our days and he always says how much more busy mine is.

I'd gotten chicken out for dinner, but because we ended up playing outside for so long (yes, I couldn't get enough of the adult interaction with the neighborhood moms), I ended up making breakfast for dinner instead of something fabulous with poultry. It worked out. 3ft really likes breakfast foods and my mom had made homemade fig jam so I totally had a bit on my english muffin. I was in jam heaven.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 250 crunches, and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 129

Only Water - Day 124

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Tuna Risotto, collard greens, and mushrooms
Mid-Afternoon Snack - cinnamon sugar cookie, cranberry scone, tea w/ vanilla creamer, 5 chocolate covered almonds
Dinner - scrambled eggs and a whole grain english muffin with homemade fig jam.

Makes a Difference.

2010-10-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

I made Sloppy Joe's and Sweet Potato Fries last night. I only made enough "Halloween Fries" for 3ft and I (husband doesn't like them). When I served up the plates and we sat down to dinner, 3ft informed me that he "doesn't actually like Halloween Fries." Really? He ate two helpings of them last time I made them but okay, whatever. So I tell him he can eat 4 because he wasn't honest (that'll teach him) and I took the rest of them.

Instead of putting them back on the counter where the other food was I just put them on my plate. Then I preceded to eat all of them. All, but two, because I realized what I was doing. It was a little late as I'd almost eaten them all, but instead of finishing them I stopped. I wasn't hungry. The old Lisa would've ate them anyway, they were on the plate, but the new Lisa stopped. Sure there were only 2 left but it's still progress.

It makes a HUGE difference serving from the counter or serving "family style". If it's on the counter I eat my serving, enjoy it, sip on my water, visit with the boys, and am fully satisfied. If it's at the table I hork down my portion and then help myself to more because, hey, it's there. Next time 3ft doesn't like something I will take the extra time to put it back on the counter instead of putting it off to the side on my plate (which was what I did with the fries) and then find myself absently eating it.

The sandwich was ingenious, if I do say so myself. Normally when you think of sloppy joes you think: messy, fatty, meaty, and not necessarily healthy. Well, I did 1/4lb extra lean ground beef and 1/4lb extra lean ground turkey. But the sauce was where my genius comes in. The sauce instead of a standard ketchup, tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar sauce (which unless you buy manwich is pretty much how you make a sloppy joe), I made it with a tomato vegetable puree with lots of hidden veggies. I took roma tomatoes, celery, carrots, zucchini, garlic, and onions along with a bunch of seasonings like oregano, salt, pepper, and basil (almost like a marinara sauce but not quite) and then I cooked it down for about 1 1/2 hours and then I pureed it.

I threw that on the meat, added a little ketchup, dijon mustard, and about a tablespoon of brown sugar and cooked it down. The boys didn't know how good it was for them and it was sloppy like any good joe should be.

Sloppy Joe's w/ Sweet Potato Fries

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 30 minutes on the Wii, 250 crunches, and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 128

Only Water - Day 123

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham sandwich, pickle, carrots and hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 banana, cranberry scones, and hot tea w/ vanilla creamer
Dinner - Sloppy Joe's with sweet potato fries

Clean Eating

2010-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

My sister, Crystal, gave me a subscription to Clean Eating Magazine. It's really awesome. So I tried a recipe from it yesterday:

Tuna Risotto with Collard Greens and Mushrooms.

I used homemade chicken stock to cook the risotto in and it turned out really delicious. 3ft even liked it. He tried some collard greens but asked to have broccoli instead. He totally ate the risotto and the mushrooms though. So that was cool.

The husband won't touch it with a 100-foot pole. He dislikes fish. A lot. So I have a couple more meals of it but that's okay because it was good.

I'm trying to incorporate a fish/seafood dish once a week. For one, to mix up the menu so I don't get bored with the food and two, fish is good for you and 3ft and I like it. So, lucky for me, the husband works late two nights a week so I make it the nights when he's not home so I don't have to listen to him complain about the fish smell or watch his yuck faces while we eat it.

I also want to start doing one vegetarian dish a week as well. This poses a small problem as 3ft and Husband are very particular about what vegetables they'll eat. But I like the idea of having it and since I do ALL the cooking -- they HAVE to like it or eat Easy Mac n Cheese.

3ft's allergies and asthma were acting up yesterday so we didn't do DDR (dance dance revolution). Instead, we just practiced tying his shoes and hung out. I'm hoping he feels better today.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 250 crunches, and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 127

Only Water - Day 122

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - Cranberry Almond Scone and hot tea w/ sugar free vanilla creamer
Lunch - Ham sandwich, pickle, carrots and hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a couple chocolate covered almonds
Dinner - Tuna Risotto w/ collard greens and mushrooms

I've Got Moves.

2010-10-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Or something.

Sunday evening, a song came on the radio that is on my PS2 Dance Dance Revolution game. 3ft heard it and it reminded him of the dancing game so he asked if we could do "dancing" after school on Monday. I told him that'd be awesome but we had to wait until Mr. Grumpybutt took his nap.

I like playing DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) so it'd be fun. I also figured he'd forget.

He didn't.

When I walked into the living room from having put down the baby, the dance pads were already pulled out and unfolded and 3ft was standing there holding the game. So we put on some sweats and took off our shirts (I was wearing a sports bra already and he likes to dance topless) and set up the game.

I have zero coordination and 3ft has even less. So it doesn't help my cause to try and focus on getting all the steps when I'm laughing at the awesome dance moves 3ft is busting out next to me. But, it was fun and I like it when 3ft exercises with me. It takes my mind off of what I'm doing and it's good for his asthma. Plus I think he likes the mommy time without his brother competing for attention. And 3ft's already asked if we can do it again today. So we'll see.

Have I mentioned how much I hate push ups? I hate them. But I added the 5 to make 30 twice a day. I'm going to be buff. Anyone wanna arm wrestle? I also added the 25 crunches so now its 125 twice a day. Both are necessary evils (the push ups especially) to losing the inches.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 35 minutes of Dance Dance Revolution, 250 crunches, and 60 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 126

Only Water - Day 121

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - Cranberry Almond Scone and hot tea w/ sugar free vanilla creamer
Lunch - Ham sandwich, pickle, carrots and hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich, handful of popcorn, and a couple chocolate covered almonds
Dinner - Roasted Chicken with homemade barbecue glaze and baked veggies: celery, potatoes, carrots, and onions

Cooking Day.

2010-10-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

I baked a chicken yesterday. It's like the third Sunday in a row I've done this. This time it was because 3ft asked for it. He super loves eating chicken off the bone. I think it's a kid thing. I remember liking to. Now, I'd rather have a boneless skinless breast. I guess I must be old. Anyways, back to the chicken. When it was done I realized it was Sunday and Costco closes at 6. It was 5:30. I don't have a car during the week and needed some things, so we ditched the yummy roasted chicken and hurried to Costco.

We made it just in time but then 3ft was starving. So we got Costco hot dogs and pizza instead of eating the chicken I slaved over. It wasn't too big a deal, the chicken would save no problem and since it was getting late so we opted to eat the Costco food. 3ft ate half my hot dog and almost all the huge slice of pizza -- minus the few bites me and the hubs took and the dough Mr. Grumpybutt munched on. The best part about all of it: I didn't feel guilty. I chose to share my hot dog with 3ft because he was staring longingly at it and besides I didn't need a whole one anyways. I got full off my half and a couple bites of cheese pizza.

I also made some marinara sauce from scratch with real tomatoes (as opposed to fake? no...) with raw tomatoes I guess would be the better way to say it. I don't think I used enough tomatoes with all the other veggies I put in there because the sauce turned out really thick and orange instead of red. But the flavor was pretty delicious and as I kept the seasonings simple I can use it for a myriad of dishes. I'm planning on making a sloppy joe ratatouille later on this week with it.

So I spent most of my day yesterday cooking (and laundry). So, of course, I was in heaven (not because of the laundry -- I hate laundry). I also did my crunches, push ups, and the dreaded plank. I'm adding 5 more push ups and 25 more crunches today which will up my push ups to 60 a day and my crunches to 250. So we'll see how that goes. The crunches aren't too bad but I still hate the push ups!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 200 crunches, and 50 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 125

Only Water - Day 120

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham sandwich, pickle, carrots and hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack - 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a couple cinnamon sugar cookies
Dinner - 1/2 of a Costco hot dog and a couple bites of cheese pizza

Rockin' It!

2010-10-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

So, to the whole flying solo deal...

I'm totally rocking it! I lost 4.1 lbs this last week which makes the grand total of lost pounds 48. Isn't that awesome? I think I might hit 50 next week. Which means I think we should do another giveaway. What do you think?

Other highlights:

I fit into a couple of pairs of pants that I wore before I got pregnant with Mr. Grumpybutt including a pair of my "skinny" jeans. Naturally, I'm stoked about this!
I have to retire a pair of pants that pretty much fall off of me. It's sort of a shame because they're super comfy but they really hang on me and bunch around my waist because I have their drawstring cinched all the way. They're a size 26 and I am down to a size 18. So you can imagine how big they are.
I'm up to 100 crunches and 25 push ups twice a day. I really think the crunches played a huge part into getting into my "skinny" jeans. I'm adding more of both on tomorrow.
I went to my favorite Mexican food restaurant yesterday and didn't overdo it. Sure, I wasn't hungry for a snack at my normal time, but I wouldn't say I ate massive amounts of food at lunch. I also survived a barbecue at my brother-in-laws. His better half is an awesome griller -- the food was delicious -- and I stuck to portions and enjoyed what I had.
I baked all week -- from cake, to scones, to cinnamon sugar cookies. And while I partook in all that I made I was able to control my portions and not have a free for all horking session and eat it all.

The best part of all. I don't feel deprived. I don't feel like I'm "dieting" (which is good because I'm NOT!). I honestly feel I could eat like this for the rest of my life -- I'm eating more delicious food now than I did when I just crammed whatever in my mouth. I've found that quality beats out quantity anytime and if I'm going to put calories in my mouth they're going to be delicious ones not just what's on hand. And in keeping this mindset not only will I hit all my goals, I'll never have to worry about gaining the weight back!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 200 crunches, and 50 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 124

Only Water - Day 119

Total Pounds Lost - 48

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - chicken taco, beans, rice, salad, and salsa
Mid-Afternoon Snack -(still full from lunch)
Dinner - barbecue teriyaki chicken, grilled vegetables, and salad (super delicious)

Double Win! Woo-freaking-Hoo!

2010-10-09T08:52:00.001-07:00

I made an awesome sauce last night to glaze chicken in. It turned out so good and I wasn't the only one who thought so. My husband got his plate and put a large dollop of barbecue sauce on next to his chicken for dipping. Then he didn't eat the barbecue sauce. Well, okay, he did but not on the chicken. When I gave him crap about being wasteful he ate it by the forkful all by itself AFTER the rest of his food was gone. Gross but it was a huge compliment.

The sauce was a hodge podge of (approximate values -- I just started throwing things together) 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup honey, 2 TBS apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, TSP Dijon mustard, garlic salt, and pepper. I then broiled the chicken and glazed it with the sauce until it just charred a bit on the edges. It was absolutely delicious and worth the broiler pan being a pain in the butt to clean -- took me forever to scrub it all off.

I'm also super excited to report: I FIT INTO A PAIR OF MY "SKINNY JEANS"! For grins and giggles I tried them on. The last time I tried to put them on I could barely get them over my hips and there was no way on bob's green earth that they were going to zip up. I'm wearing them today. I didn't have to shimmy. I didn't have to lay on the bed to get the zipper up. I didn't even have to suck in my tummy. THEY FIT!!! I think the hundreds of crunches I've been doing have totally rocked it to get me into these pants. I couldn't be happier.

Tomorrow is weigh and measure day. I'm expecting good news.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 200 crunches, and 50 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 123

Only Water - Day 118

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Fish Sandwich, carrot sticks, and a sweet pickle
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a cinnamon sugar cookie
Dinner - Glazed chicken, mashed potatoes (w/ almond milk), and corn

Mmm Apples.

2010-10-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

I've been on an apple kick lately.

Mmmm apples. *droolz*

Oh! Sorry..

So I thought I would try something a little different with the apple I had left from making the Apple Upside Down Cake. Apple salsa. Weird, right? But it's so delicious. It was perfect to spice up some leftover steak I had.

I cut the steak into strips and covered them in a little lemon, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. I sauteed it really fast in a little olive oil to heat it up. Then slapped it on some corn tortillas, topped it with apple salsa, and devoured it.

So good.

For the apple salsa I just threw in one apple, 1/4 cup red onion, 2 TBS jalapeno, 1 TBS chopped garlic, 1 TSP lemon juice, 1 TSP lime juice, some garlic salt and pepper to taste, and 1 TSP basil.

It was a really fun salsa and it worked really well with the steak.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 200 crunches, and 50 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 122

Only Water - Day 117

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Fish Sandwich, carrot sticks, and a sweet pickle
Mid-Afternoon Snack -banana and cranberry almond scone
Dinner - Carne Asada tacos w/ apple salsa and a slice of apple upside down cake

Cake, Caramel, and Apples -- Yum!

2010-10-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

I made cake. I made caramel. I made them all from scratch with no mixes whatsoever. I'm totally excited and it turned out so pretty.

I made an Apple Upside Down Cake yesterday. A light version. I made it with Almond milk and Brummel and Brown Spread w/ Yogurt instead of milk and butter. It turned out delicious and my boys had no idea how much healthier it was than a normal cake filled with oil, lots of eggs, and tons of sugar.

I got the recipe idea from a Cooking Light Magazine and then did some tweaks to make it a little more healthier and lighter. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun too. Making the homemade caramel sauce for the apples was the most fun. It was crazy easy. 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar. Stir it until the sugar is all the way dissolved and then let it boil without touching it until it turns a golden color.

This morning I said a fond farewell to half the cake and sent it with my husband to his work. It might be lighter but I don't need a WHOLE cake at my house begging me to eat it. We all had some last night and I saved a couple slices but then sent the rest of the cake away. It's really great to be able to do the baking I love, have the control to only eat a portion at a time (instead of the whole batch) and then have the strength to send the bulk of it away to be eaten by others. Just another example of how I've grown with healthy living and that it's really working for me.

I was a cooking fiend because I also made Cider Glazed Chicken and a Garlic Buttered Brown Rice. The rice turned out really good. I used a boil-in-bag brown rice and instead of boiling it per the directions in water I boiled it in homemade chicken stock. Then when it was done I browned some Brummel and Brown Spread with some chopped garlic and diced onions and then mixed it all together. My husband who doesn't like brown rice actually liked it!! That's a major win right there. For the Cider Glaze I just took some fresh apple cider (the kind you have to refrigerate no concentrate here) a little Dijon mustard and cooked it down then coated chicken breasts in it.

Yummy.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 30 minute walk, 200 crunches, 50 push ups, and 20 minutes of Wii Step.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 121

Only Water - Day 116

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Classic Grilled McChicken Sandwich w/out mayo
Mid-Afternoon Snack -tasted the homemade caramel and a few apple slices
Dinner - Cider Glazed Chicken, Garlic Browned Butter Rice, and green beans.

Parent Win!

2010-10-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'm so proud of myself.

Last night I made my version of fish 'n chips. I did Panko (Japanese breading) on some Alaskan Cod with a little garlic, salt, and pepper then seared it in a little olive oil. Then I sliced up a sweet potato into "fries" and coated them with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil and then broiled them on a baking sheet in the oven. Add to that some steamed broccoli and you've got yourself a DELICIOUS meal!

I told 3ft we were having crunchy fish and fries. He took one look at the fries and then looked at me like I was crazy.

"French Fries are yellow!"

A bolt of inspiration hit me (I swear my hair sizzled). "Those aren't french fries they're Halloween fries. They're orange because it's October."

"Oh. my. gosh. That's so cool." And he gobbled them all up and had a second helping.

Now you know, if I would've called them sweet potato fries, he'd have turned up his nose and not wanted them. The same kid who eats Nutella with marshmallows and pepperoni wouldn't have even tried them. Instead, by calling them something special he was all over them. He ate all his fish, fries, and broccoli. I was so proud.

However, Mr. Grumpybutt did NOT care that I called them Halloween fries. He doesn't like sweet potato at all. I thought they were delicious.

I thought the whole dinner was awesome and I have a couple cod fillets left over to have fish sandwiches which I also super love. I made some homemade cocktail sauce to have with the fish -- I don't like tartar sauce at all. I was glad I'd left the food on the counter and made my plate there and then took it to the table because I'd have eaten more, it was so good, if it had been right there in front of me.

Another recipe for the cookbook!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 45 minute power walk, 200 crunches, and 50 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 120

Only Water - Day 115

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham Sandwich, sweet pickle, and carrots with hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich, 1/3 Peanut Butter and Banana Muffin w/ Peanut Butter Glaze and some apple chips
Dinner - Breaded Cod, Sweet Potato Fries, and Broccoli

Flying Solo

2010-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, unless you call having NO WATER all day long exciting. They shut off the water to my building around 9 am yesterday and I didn't get it back until about 5. Luckily, since I drink a lot of water I had a couple of jugs in the fridge to tide us over until we got our water back on. But, boy was it annoying!

I've upped my crunches and push ups. I'm not doing 100 crunches twice and 25 push ups twice a day. So I'm pretty proud of that. I'm hoping it's making a big impact on my waist (measuring for the month is coming up pretty soon) and doing something for my arms.

I made Peanut Butter and Banana muffins w/ peanut butter glaze. They turned out really good. 3ft loves them and my husband took a bunch to work today. So we'll see if others like them too. I wish I lived closer to any friends and family so I could pawn off some of these baked goods too.

I'm trying something new to see if I'm ready for it. I don't want to log calories and fat for the rest of my life. So I'm going to go it on my own without Sparkpeople.com tracking my intake and see if I'm ready to go it on my own. I've been living the healthy lifestyle now for almost 5 months so time to see if I can fly solo. If not, no big deal, I just start tracking again.

The only thing I use Sparkpeople for is keeping track of the calories I eat like a "food diary". They have a really great site with a lot of inspiration, forums, exercises, custom diets, and a huge food database to record your food intakes. When you're just starting out I definitely recommend them to start tracking what you're doing to help you get in the healthy lifestyle habits you want to achieve.

I think I've made my healthy living habitual so now let's see how I do without the "food diary". So I'm not counting calories anymore other than on labels or to figure out whats in my recipes so I can still stick to portion control. Because I feel that's the cornerstone of healthy living.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 45 minute power walk, 200 crunches, and 50 push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 119

Only Water - Day 114

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Ham Sandwich, sweet pickle, and carrots with hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack -Peanut Butter and Banana Muffin w/ Peanut Butter Glaze and some apple chips
Dinner - last of the Lasagna and a salad

Turkeys and Jelly Bellys

2010-10-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

I had an AWESOME day yesterday. I got to hang out with my writer buddy, Turkey Girl, and her gaggle of Turkeys. We met at the Jelly Belly Factory, had lunch, toured the factory, and got our children to eat gross flavored jelly beans!

Now, the old Lisa, surrounded by delicious candy and food would have eaten my (then) weight in sugar and goodies. But the new healthier Lisa, while having some candy and ice cream, didn't go overboard! I had a salad for lunch because I knew I was going to have some jelly beans. We had lunch at the Jelly Belly Cafe. I got an Oriental Chicken Salad that was to die for. It was super delicious. I only ate half the dressing and all the salad. It was great!!

On the tour of the Jelly Belly factory we got to sample some new flavors. I had them. They also had a tasting bar with pretty much every flavor bean the have. The old Lisa would have had several of each. The new Lisa picked a couple flavors to try and that was it. We got a packet of Jelly Belly's for touring. The husband and I split some and didn't even finish the bag.

Then 3ft wanted some ice cream. He chose Cotton Candy. Then Mr. Grumpybutt, the husband, and I split a kid's cone of Cookie Dough. I didn't even eat a third of it, I don't think. The old Lisa wouldn't have shared a cone. She would've wanted one all to herself. And when 3ft didn't finish his kid's cone, the old Lisa would've eaten that too. The new Lisa just threw the unfinished ice cream and cone away.

I'm amazed at how far I've come since mid May. How much weight I've lost. How I approach nutrition and portion control. How I can be turned loose in a Jelly Bean Factory and not eat everything in sight. I'm really proud of myself and how well I've been doing.

The most important thing: I felt NORMAL! I felt like a normal person hanging out with her friends, having a great time, and sure sampling the goodies. I didn't feel guilty. I didn't feel like I was cheating on anything. I balanced out the little splurges with my other meals.

I might've had a few more calories yesterday than usual as I had a little bit of candy and a few licks of ice cream. But the difference is: I didn't go crazy. I didn't say, "Screw it" the day is a failure and I might as well "enjoy" it and eat everything in sight. I really am enjoying a healthy LIFEstyle not a diet and that feels REALLY good!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - a bunch of walking and carrying Mr. Grumpybutt around (we forgot his stroller)

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 118

Only Water - Day 113

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Oriental Chicken Salad w/ half dressing
Mid-Afternoon Snack -a few jelly belly beans, and a little ice cream
Dinner - Ham sandwich, carrots and hummus, and apple chips

Crazy Busy.

2010-10-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

I was so crazy busy yesterday, I was a bad egg again and didn't blog.

3ft had his school Walk-a-Thon yesterday to raise money for his school. We walked the full two hours. He's such a trooper. After each lap the kids did, they got silly bands (the latest craze -- here anyway) and if they walked the whole two hours they got 10 free tickets to the Carnival afterward. Well he didn't really need the tickets, we got him a band that was unlimited tickets, but he wanted to talk the whole time anyway. We also jogged a lot of the way. I was totally proud of myself that I could keep up with him. Every time he ran so did I. Just another reason I'm stoked to be healthier and in better shape!

Then we played a ton of games at the Carnival and he had to do the cupcake walk to try and win some cupcakes which he did. I took Mr. Grumpybutt and we spent the tickets 3ft earned during the walking to up his chances. And the minute we did that, 3ft won! Hooray. And no, he didn't pick out the ones I made. I was trumped by cupcakes that had plastic spider, bat, and skull rings stuck in the top of them. Deliciousness knocked aside for dollar store plastic. *sigh* It doesn't matter, though, really. He's the one eating them. Not me. And had he brought mine home, I might've had to.

On Friday, I made a really great lasagna. Basically take your favorite lasagna sauce and use 1/2 lean ground beef and half lean ground turkey and that cuts down the fat of the sauce without losing the "meat" flavor. And for the noodles, use Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles. For the cheese, I recommend low fat or no fat ricotta cheese and 2% Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese (both those cheese choices have less fat and calories than the part-skim options). The lasagna came out tasting just as good as a full fat one and with only 205 calories and 7 grams of fat, you can totally enjoy it guilt free.

Last night I roasted another chicken w/ gold potatoes, carrots, and onions. It turned out even more delicious than the last one. I threw the carcass and the leftovers (there weren't a lot we had my inlaws over for dinner) into a big pot of water with more spices and cooked it down for like 5 hours to make my own chicken stock. I can't wait to cook with it. I imagine homemade chicken stock has to taste better than store bought any day, right?

And now on to the week's weight loss. I lost 2.2 lbs!! Which puts me at almost 44 lbs. Look out 50, here I come!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 2 Hours of walking in a Walk-a-thon.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 117

Only Water - Day 112

Total Pounds Lost - 43.9

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (missed -- was walking)
Lunch - Lasagna, salad, garlic bread
Mid-Afternoon Snack -carrots and french baguette dipped in hummus
Dinner - Roasted Chicken, potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Total Day Calories - 1186

Cupcakes for the Win.

2010-10-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

I had to bake yesterday. No, really. I did.

I volunteered to make cupcakes for 3ft's school carnival for a cupcake walk, then promptly forgot all about it. So, imagine my surprise, when I got an e-mail from the PTA saying the cupcake containers were available and can you bring them to school on Friday.

*gasp*

So I looked through my pantry and found all the ingredients to make carrot cupcakes. From scratch. With real carrots.

It was an adventure. I have a Magic Bullet, which I love as a blender, but as a food processor with carrots, not so fabulous. So I had to get creative to grate the carrots fine with the Bullet, but I persevered. Go me. Little Cinnamon, well a LOT, actually (I love Cinnamon), a little nutmeg, some ginger (basically pumpkin spices -- they're both orange, why not?) some flour: white and wheat, baking powder, a little sugar, a can of crushed pineapple for flavor and so it's only a "little" sugar and voila cake batter.

Next up was the frosting. I thought I could blend my cream cheese with a lot of powdered sugar to make sweet frosting and add on 600 calories

OR

I could blend up my cream cheese block with marshmallow creme.

Oh. My. Gawd. It is so fantastic. I piped that frosting inside the cupcakes as well as a little on the top. They looked beautiful. The batter made a lot which was awesome. Then I read on the paperwork for the cupcakes that 3ft got home that cupcakes can't require refrigeration.

It figures. So now I have to make a different kind. So I gathered up all the neighborhood kids that 3ft was outside playing with and asked them if they wanted to be cupcake eating guinea pigs? They all agreed and toddled off to ask their parents if that was cool.

Those boys INHALED the cupcakes. Then I sent 7 to work with the husband. Which he said he might not even share them because they're so good and he doesn't even really like carrot cake especially because of the cream cheese frosting. Then of course I'm having the in-laws over for dinner tomorrow night so I saved some for dessert.

The best thing about this little beaut is that it's only 150 calories w/ 3 grams of fat. Which is INSANE for a cupcake that has filling and frosting! Just saying. Husband couldn't believe they were "light" and low fat!

Now I'm off to bake more. Good thing I like it. I'm going to make chocolate cupcakes, filled with nutella, and topped with milk chocolate frosting. I'm not even remotely making these healthy. I want those kids at the cupcake walk to practically kill each other over getting them!!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - 40 push ups, 160 crunches, and 60 minute power walk.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 115

Only Water - Day 110

Total Pounds Lost - 41.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Cajun Chicken Sandwich, carrots, and a pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a creme filled carrot cupcake
Dinner - Garlic Steak w/ Sauteed Mushrooms, brussel sprouts, and garlic pasta.

Total Day Calories - 1084

How Do I Love Thee?

2010-09-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

I love vegetables. Well, I'm not particularly fond of beets even though I think they're pretty, but as to the rest I pretty much like them all. This is not the case with 3ft or Husband. 3ft pretty much only likes broccoli so far. He'll eat corn, mushrooms, green beans and choke down carrots if he has too but his go to veggie is broccoli (I don't really count potatoes as a veggie, I tend to place them in the pasta category because they're mostly starch). The husband on the other hand will only eat mushrooms, corn, green beans, and carrots if they're a part of roasted something.

It's annoying.

Well, every once in awhile I'll put a new vegetable in front of 3ft and see what he thinks. Last night it was brussel sprouts. I gave him 5. He ate one, said he liked it, and pretty much kept eating them. I happened to glance at his face while he was chewing the last one.

"Why do you have yuck face?" I asked.

3ft shrugged and looked sad.

"If you don't like them, it's okay. I just want you to try them. If you tell me you like them I'll make them for you again and then you have to eat them again. Do you really like them?"

He swallowed. "I'm so sorry, Mommy, I don't really like them."

"That's okay, I'm just glad you tried them. Next time I'll make you a different vegetable when I make brussel sprouts again."

"Like broccoli?"

And there we have it. He still loves broccoli above all other veggies. Someday, perhaps, he'll like something else too.

So along with the brussel sprounts, I made garlic rubbed steak with sauteed mushrooms and a garlic and herb pasta. It turned out pretty delicious and other than the brussel sprout drama, 3ft cleaned his plate -- and so did I!

I'm totally happy to announce that both winners got their delicious baked goods from my 100 day healthy living giveaway. Janna says of her Chocolate Swirled Banana Muffins, "They are delicious! They have so much flavor." And Susan says of her Honey Cinnamon Swirled Cinnamon Bread, "Holy crap that stuff's good - like crack." I did mini loaves of the bread and I couldn't cut them open to picture them, but Susan, being an awesome girl, took one when she cut them open.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 20 minutes of Wii Fit Strength Training and Yoga, and 20 minutes of jogging around the apartment.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 114

Only Water - Day 109

Total Pounds Lost - 41.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Cajun Chicken Sandwich, carrots, and a pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and 1/2 chocolate swirled banana muffin.
Dinner - Garlic Steak w/ Sauteed Mushrooms, brussel sprouts, and garlic pasta.

Total Day Calories - 1084

Did It Again But More So.

2010-09-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

I was ever so proud of my fast walking the day before yesterday and getting to 3ft's school on time that I decided to take the "Trail of Tears" forced march route again yesterday.

Except for I left 10 minutes earlier and I went a further distance. Instead of cutting down the one street that got me to the school miraculously on time (that and all my running) I went the long way around and got to 3ft's school with 5 minutes to spare. I jogged some of it just because I can and Mr. Grumpybutt likes it so much.

The only problem I had was it was FREAKING HOT! Naturally, the day I decide I'm going to do 2+ miles is the day it's 101 degrees outside. So here I am jogging, speed walking, bopping a lot and marinating in my own sweat because of the heat. So instead of a wilting flower at the finish I was a drowned rat. (that paints a picture doesn't it?)

I bumped up my push ups and crunches. I also bumped up the reps too. In the morning I did 20 push ups and 75 crunches and then in the evening I did it again. I will get my gut shrunk down enough to breathe in my "skinny jeans" and then shrink it more to get into even skinnier ones! Roar! Flab, live in fear!

So because of the recently bumped up exercise, I think I need to bump my caloric intake too. At my afternoon snack yesterday I was so hungry I couldn't stop eating. At the time I thought I was totally going overboard but really in retrospect it wasn't that bad and I still stayed within my calorie goals. But to tattle on myself, I had my usual 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich, then I had a Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Marshmallow Creme sandwich (a s'more without the chocolate, basically) and then I had a handful of Cheetos. The salty cheese called to me after the sweet cookie. Then I came to my senses and even though I wanted more, I started chugging A LOT of water to get back under control. Then I balanced out the slight binge with a light dinner.

So to avoid the attack of must-stuff-my-face-with-whatever-I-can-find, I'm going to eat a little more at each meal. Hopefully that will stave off the hunger attacks!

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -60 minute power walk, 40 push ups, and 150 crunches.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 113

Only Water - Day 108

Total Pounds Lost - 41.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Cajun Chicken Sandwich, carrots, and a pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -Cinnamon Sugar Cookie w/ marshmallow creme, 1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich, a handful of Cheetos.
Dinner - Egg Sandwich with tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and onion.

Total Day Calories - 1084

Never Been More Glad...

2010-09-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

I realized yesterday just in how much better shape I am in.

Everyday Mr. Grumpbutt and I leave the apartment about a half an hour before we have to pick 3ft up at school. We go on a 1.5 mile power walk that puts us in front of 3ft's classroom about 5 - 7 minutes before the boy is going to be let out. That way I can get some extra exercise in and Mr. Grumpybutt really loves going for the walks.

Well, yesterday I decided to shake things up a bit and take a different route. Spatial distances are not my thing, obviously, as the route I decided to take was A LOT longer than the one I usually do. I'd figured they'd be about the same and left at the normal time. I realized at 11:20 when I wasn't even halfway to 3ft's school yet that, Oh. My. God, I had a long way to go still. 3ft would've been devastated if I wasn't waiting outside with the rest of the parents to pick him up.

I couldn't let that happen.

So Mr. Grumpybutt and I ran the rest of the way. Mr. Grumpybutt thought this was particularly fun if the giggles coming out of the stroller were any indication. I got to 3ft's school with TWO MINUTES to spare. I was there long enough to just catch my breath and adjust Mr. Grumpybutt in his chair when 3ft came bounding out of the classroom. All I can say is thank god that kid walks slow and gets distracted so I had an easy walk home.

4 months ago that would not have even been possible. Well, I probably wouldn't have been in that position to begin with because honestly exercise was something to seriously be avoided. But had I gotten the notion to go on a forced march, there would've been NO WAY I'd have made it to get 3ft on time. His poor little dejected face would've been waiting for me in the office when I strolled up huffing and puffing.

Just one more benefit my healthy living has done for me. I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 20 minutes of Wii Fit Strength Training and Yoga, and 20 minutes of jogging around the apartment.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 112

Only Water - Day 107

Total Pounds Lost - 41.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Red Lobster 1/2 entree of Wood Grilled Scallops, Shrimp, and Chicken w/ rice pilaf and broccoli.
Mid-Afternoon Snack -Cinnamon Sugar Cookie S'more
Dinner - Oven Roasted Chicken and vegetables

Total Day Calories - 1119 (approximately)

2 Day Catch Up!

2010-09-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

I was crazy busy yesterday. I totally spaced blogging completely. Bad, Lisa. Bad.

So to catch up:

On Saturday, I roasted a whole chicken!! I'm so proud of myself. It turned out so beautiful and was so moist and delicious. I stuffed the cavity with a whole bulb of garlic and one whole lemon. Then I did many wrong things to the bird when I separated the skin from the breast and slathered the flesh with rosemary, thyme, basil, and garlic infused olive oil. Then I slathered the skin with the same mixture (my husband loves the skin -- I don't eat it... blech!). I cut up some potatoes, onions, and added baby carrots around the bird, then I popped it in the oven for an hour.
Oven Roasted Rosemary Garlic Chicken and Vegetables

It was a huge hit with the family. 3ft loves to eat meat off the bone and my husband hates to and will only eat white meat but loves the skin. So I was able to slice the breast off w/ skin for the hubs and give my son a chicken leg and everyone was happy!! 3ft even ate all his veggies too. I was so proud. It made enough for us all to have another exact serving as is for dinner and enough left over to make barbecue pulled chicken sandwiches for lunch. I love meals that stretch like that and are versatile!

On Sunday, I made Cinnamon Sugar Cookies. A sugar cookie with a little cinnamon mixed in the dough, then rolled in cinnamon and raw sugar, then baked. I made them for my sister's boyfriend's birthday. He said they tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch in milk and he meant that in the most awesome way possible. In other words he LOVED them. Well 3ft wouldn't let me give them all to Daniel, so I kept a few home. And with those we created --

Cinnamon Sugar Cookie S'mores

They are super delicious and take my 84 calorie for 2 cookies and become 128 calories for a sandwich. I used Nutella (I have mentioned how much I love Nutella, right? So much so, it should be illegal) and Marshmallow Creme (which is ambrosia, really) to turn it into a S'more. It's the best thing since sliced bread.

I also went to Red Lobster yesterday for lunch. I was so proud of myself. Instead of getting the all-you-can-eat shrimp (which I could've done some MAJOR damage too), I got Wood Grilled Shrimp, Scallops, and Chicken w/ Rice Pilaf and Broccoli. I only ate 1/2 the entree. I only had ONE cheese biscuit thingy (which I absolutely LOVE), and then a salad w/ their light balsamic vinaigrette. I totally stayed within my calorie range for the day and felt super good about it!

And on to what some of you may have been waiting for. How much weight did I lose last week? I'm sad to report that while the scale only dropped a pound (one pound is better than no pounds), my clothes are much looser and I was able to put on my shorts without unbuttoning and unzipping them. Which was a first for this particular pair.

I'm also stoked to announce: I AM PRE PREGNANCY WEIGHT!!! WAHOOOO!! Now some of the clothes I wore before I got pregnant I can't breathe in when I put them on (thank you very much Mr. Grumpybutt for giving me more work to tone up my gut) but I lost the 42 lbs I gained with my pregnancy!!! I'm totally bouncing on Cloud 9.

Okay I think I caught you up on my weekend. I'm so sorry I spaced blogging yesterday. I'll see you tomorrow.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -Day Off

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 111

Only Water - Day 106

Total Pounds Lost - 41.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't have)
Lunch - Red Lobster 1/2 entree of Wood Grilled Scallops, Shrimp, and Chicken w/ rice pilaf and broccoli. I had most of one cheese biscuit and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette w/out croutons.
Mid-Afternoon Snack -(didn't need)
Dinner - Grilled Chicken Salad w/out cheese and croutons w/ balsamic vinaigrette

Total Day Calories - 1159 (approximately)

Knead Exercise.

2010-09-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

I spent the day baking yesterday -- Cinnamon Honey Swirled Cinnamon Bread. One is filled with cranberries (the one in front) and the other is just swirled. I desperately wanted to cut into them to see how the insides came out and how it swirled but alas they're not for me. My friend, Nunan, who was one of my winners of my giveaway, won this bread. So I can't cut it open because then it won't be awesome for her or easy for me to ship.

I told her my dilemma and she assures me that when she slices into them, she'll take pictures.

I love baking bread. It's fun to knead and watch it rise and the smell of it baking in the house is fabulous. When you make your own bread you know exactly what goes into it and it's healthier, I think, by default. Not to menton baking bread is great arm exercise. After all the hand kneading and mixing -- my arms definitely got a workout.

Cinnamon Honey Swirled Cinnamon Bread

(aren't they pretty?)

I did a full exercise week of Wii. My little balance board character on the Wii is so excited to be seeing me everyday. It tells me so. Then harasses me to tell Husband and 3ft to play because it hasn't seen them in awhile. Well, I'm not going to be the harbinger of harassment to the boys so they remain blissfully unaware the balance board wants them. (Besides if I tell them, then I'll have to share!)

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 20 minutes of Wii Fit Strength Training and Yoga, and 20 minutes of jogging around the apartment.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 109

Only Water - Day 104

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Egg Muffin Sandwich w/ tomato
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - Rosemary roasted chicken, garlic rice, and asparagus

Total Day Calories - 1054

Stop Yer Crying!

2010-09-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

I've been doing push ups and crunches again. Oy, my abs are sore. They especially cry whenever I pick up 20lbs of Grumpybutt off the floor. I tell them to quit their whining, I have to hold a cute baby. They're just going to have to get over it. I have no time for their sissy tears.

15 push ups and 50 crunches aren't a lot. But I thought they were a good starting number, Back in the day I could do a lot more but that was back. in. the. day. I figure I'm going to up the push ups by 5 every week and the crunches by 10. That way I build up to my old big numbers but don't hurt myself doing it.

I made delicious chicken breasts last night. I soaked some chopped garlic, Rosemary, and thyme in a little olive oil and let it set for a couple hours so the flavors all infused with the oil and each other. Then I sprinkled kosher salt and pepper on a couple chicken breasts, put the oil with the chunks of spice on them, stuck them on a broiler pan and threw them in the oven for a half hour. They were so moist and delicious I could've ate more than one. I also had them with asparagus! I know, shock, right? 3ft had broccoli but he also ate some asparagus too. I'm so proud. I served it with some garlic rice. It was totally delicious and even better there's leftovers so we're having it for dinner tonight too!

Rosemary Roasted Chicken

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 30 minutes of Wii Fit Aerobics and Games, 15 push ups, and 50 crunches

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 108

Only Water - Day 103

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Pork Medallions in Mushroom Gravy, baguette, and broccoli
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and chocolate swirled banana muffin
Dinner - Rosemary roasted chicken, garlic rice, and asparagus

Total Day Calories - 1189

On a Streak!

2010-09-23T09:50:00.001-07:00

3 days in a row of Wii Fit. That's a streak! Go me.

My new addiction is cooking shows. A lot of them make things I know my boys would never eat or they put so much fat in it, I lust, but know I'll never make. But even still I watch them hoping to be inspired with new ideas or find ways to healthy up the ones that sound really yummy. I'm a sucker for Rachel Rae (it's like you know she could be your best friend, even though you've never met her -- no, I'm not stalking her), Giada (she actually usually cooks more healthy meals and a lot of italian dishes and my husband loves italian food), and Ina Garten a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa (I'll probably never eat anything she makes, it's pretty fattening stuff, so she provides my lust after food).

Anyways, why I even brought that up, is because on M, W (so far), and F (my plan) I jog around my living room while watching tv. Keeps my mind off the fact I'm jogging (I find that I can jog the whole time if my mind is otherwise engaged). So I lust after food while I huff and puff and sweat. I've only been doing this for the last 3 days, so I've only got two recipes that I'm interested in healthifying up (yes it's a word, I just made it up!). But I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
Oh, and Giada gave me a great idea for a angel food cake topping that I'm going to be trying out soon!!

I tried out a new recipe last night.

Pork Medallions in Mushroom Gravy w/ Baguette

I rubbed the pork medallions with salt, pepper, and 1 TBS chopped garlic (we love garlic in my house) and seared them. Then made a mushroom gravy with, obviously, fresh mushrooms, a little chopped red onion, chicken broth, a little cornstarch (to thicken it up) and a TSP of dry sherry.

I served the mushroom gravy over a baguette because 1.) I didn't want the baguette to go bad before it was used and 2.) (the real reason) I was so involved in cooking the pork I totally spaced a side dish to go with it. So, voila...Instant Side Dish! I served it with broccoli (I noticed a lot of my pictures have broccoli in them) it's not because I don't like other veggies, I do -- they're 3ft's favorite veggie and I found out last night that Mr. Grumpybutt loves them too. So when I'm trying out new things I tend to make broccoli so I know 3ft will get enough to eat.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 20 minutes of Wii Fit Strength Training and Yoga, and 20 minutes of jogging around the apartment

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 107

Only Water - Day 102

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Egg Mc Muffin sans the Mc. (slice of canadian bacon, one egg, a little mayo, and sliced tomatoes on a light healthy grains english muffin)
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - Pork Medallions in Mushroom Gravy w/ Baguette and broccoli

Total Day Calories - 1035

Why Did I Stop?

2010-09-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Day 2 in a row (woohoo, right?) of getting back into my Wii Fit. I find that if I walk 3ft to school in my workout clothes I'm more apt to do Wii Fit when the Grumpybutt takes his morning nap. All I have to do it lay him down, get out my balance board, and turn on the Wii. Convenience really is MOST of the battle.

Yesterday I did Boxing, Step, Hula Hoop, and some balance games. I can't figure out now why I stopped doing the Wii in the first place. It's totally fun and I absolutely love it. Weird.

I tried a little something different for dinner last night. I had some pork chops and I didn't really know how I wanted them so while I was rooting around in the cupboard/pantry for ideas I ran across maple syrup and figured, what the heck! So I mixed a little maple syrup with chicken broth, yellow mustard (dijon probably would have been more yummy but I don't have any), and some fat free sour cream and reduced it and slapped those chops into it.

They smelled so amazing. And what goes better with pork chops than apple. So I cooked couscous in apple juice to give it a sweet apple-y flavor and it went really well with the chops. It was a definite dinner win because 3ft inhaled his food.

Now I'm bitter. I only made enough for one meal instead of two (which is what I do when I'm inventing so I don't waste food if it turns out nasty) and it was soo good and there were no leftovers.

Maple Glazed Pork Chops and Apple Couscous

Doesn't it look delicious? So much so I couldn't wait til today to post it and already tortured my friends on facebook with it!

It's funny, it seems as if my Sunday fail has given me a fresh burst of incentive and willpower toward my lifestyle change and exercising. So perhaps it was a positive instead of a complete negative.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 25 minutes of Wii Fit aerobics and games, 15 push ups, and 50 crunches

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 106

Only Water - Day 101

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Cracked Pepper Turkey Sandwich, carrot sticks, and a pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - Maple Glazed Pork Chops, Apple Couscous, and broccoli

Total Day Calories - 1087

Sweat and Noms

2010-09-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

(My blog title is cracking me up, but I digress...)

Yesterday, I decided it was time to kick my exercise up a notch.

When I got home from dropping 3ft off at school and after I got the Grumpybutt down for his nap, I dusted off the Wii Fit and did 20 minutes of strength training and yoga (Who ever invented the plank needs to boiled in a vat of acid -- just saying) and then I jogged around my apartment for 20 minutes while I watched cooking shows. After Mr. Grumpybutt woke up from his nap, we went for our 45 minute power walk before picking up 3ft from school.

It felt great.

Then in the afternoon I baked chocolate swirled banana muffins (for the lovely Janna Q) and stuck them in the freezer. Of course 3ft and I had to split one to make sure we wouldn't be poisoning the lovely Janna Q. Which means I'll be baking another batch today because Oh. My. God. were they DELICIOUS!! and I have to replace the one in Janna's dozen and then have some for 3ft and I to munch on.

And for those of you keeping score at home (or wondering) I've been making my own almond milk once a week since I started making it. I've yet to mix other flavors in. I like it plain. One of these days I'm going to get around to blending in a banana and seeing how delicious that is but who knows when that'll be. I've also been pimping out the benefits and the recipe for it since I've started drinking it. I love the almond milk. I especially love cooking and baking with it. It cuts out so much fat and calories and doesn't change the integrity of the dish I put it in. Go, Almond Milk!

I'm totally proud of myself. The old Lisa would've had a fail day like Sunday and said, "Screw it!" and had a few more fail days -- or a months worth of fails riding the shame roller coaster before sucking it up and getting back on track. The new Lisa didn't do that. I didn't berate myself. I didn't ride the shame spiral. I just dusted off my pants and got back to work. Which is the major difference between dieting and healthy living. Splurges happen. If you diet, you hate yourself when you slip but when you live healthily you know it happens and you just shrug the slip off and keep on working toward your goals.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -45 minute power walk, 20 minutes strength training and yoga, and jogged around my apartment for 20 minutes.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 105

Only Water - Day 100

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Cracked Pepper Turkey Sandwich, carrot sticks, and a pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich, and 1/2 a chocolate swirled banana muffin
Dinner - Milanese Chicken and Oriental Noodle Salad

Total Day Calories - 1088

Celebration Overload!

2010-09-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was a bad egg yesterday.

Not a horrible egg but certainly not a good egg. My parents came over to celebrate my dad's birthday and we ended up at Chevy's. I got a burrito (should've had a taco but it's been awhile since I've had a burrito). I got it without cheese and mostly veggies. But I ate the whole thing. I shouldn't have. I was full after half, I'm sure. But I was visiting, throwing food at the baby, paying attention to 3ft, and next thing I knew -- I'd mindlessly ate the entire burrito. (Well -- not really all of it. I didn't eat all the tortilla but I dug out all the insides. I also didn't eat all the rice and beans on the side either) But, I still ate WAY too much.

And then, if that wasn't enough, I shared some fried ice cream with 3ft. I'd never had it before. It was super delicious which was a problem, because I kept having bites. I'm sure I ate more calories yesterday at lunch than I eat in an entire day. Sure, I figured out how to survive barbecues, but you'd have thought I was a willpower novice at Chevy's yesterday.

I wasn't hungry the rest of the day -- which is good in the fact I didn't put more needless calories in my body but bad because you are NOT supposed to just eat one big meal and nothing else! *smacks hand* Bad, Lisa!

I still say I'm on day 104 of healthy living because I could've gotten something without any health consciousness in mind at all, I could've gotten my own ice cream instead of sharing, and I could've eaten more that day. (I have in the past -- killed an entire huge burrito plus all the accompaniments and then kept eating and had dinner whether I was hungry or not)

So while yesterday was basically a fail. I still did better than the old Lisa would've done in that situation. So in that respect a win and I refuse to beat myself up over it anymore. It was yesterday. Today is a new day.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise -Day Off.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 104

Only Water - Day 99

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't need)
Lunch - Chevy's Burrito and some Fried Ice Cream.
Mid-Afternoon Snack -(didn't need)
Dinner - (didn't need)

Total Day Calories - no idea. A LOT!

Surviving Barbecues.

2010-09-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

I went to a family barbecue yesterday and I've gotten pretty good at surviving them with my nutritional goals intact. Here's my secret:

Bring a dish that you know you can eat. Barbecues are all about potato salad (hello mayonnaise), chips and dip (hello fat), and some sort of delicious dessert (hello high calories), along with the meat. You can easily consume your nutritional allotment for the day in ONE barbecue meal! If you bring a dish that you controlled the health factor of, if there's nothing else you can eat you at least have that AND how can someone be mad at you for bringing a contribution for everyone to enjoy?

So with Grandma's delicious potato salad in mind, I threw together an Oriental Noodle Salad to take a long with us to the family get together (that way I could have a side dish with my hamburger and not consume copious amounts of potato salad -- which I LOVE.)

It was a big hit. I know I certainly enjoyed having a healthy serving of it along with a small bite of potato salad and keeping within my goals than gorging on potato deliciousness and gaining back the 2lbs I lost this week. I also brought my own hamburger bun (yes, an Orowheat Thin) because I knew the buns would be ginormous and not only do I not like a lot of bread with my burger it's a lot of unnecessary calories as well.

I've always been an overachiever and since it was a birthday barbecue I knew there would be a dessert involved. So I baked some Snowy Brownies to take as well. That way while everyone else was enjoying a high calorie high fat slice of pie I could munch on my brownie and still feel a part of the party but keeping it on a healthier level.

The brownies were a huge hit too. I didn't get to bring any home because they were all gobbled up.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, crunches and push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 103

Only Water - Day 98

Total Pounds Lost - 40.7

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't need)
Lunch - Cracked Pepper Turkey Sandwich, carrot sticks, and a pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -Fiber One Granola Bar
Dinner - Hamburger, Oriental Noodle Salad, Snowy Brownie

Total Day Calories - 1161

The Results Are In!

2010-09-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know how people who do giveaways all the time do it. This was SUPER HARD! I didn't expect so many people to enter my Baked Deliciousness Giveaway. I figured only two would enter and that would make my job A LOT easier. How do you only pick two?

Well...

I didn't!

I made my husband.

It was too much pressure. I couldn't handle it. So, I made him draw the two slips of folded paper out of the hat. I also let him know I was going to tell all of you that he was the one who picked -- so he'd be blamed and not me. So, now you know. It's his fault if you weren't picked. Not mine.

*drum roll* Now what you've all tuned in for.

The Winners of the Baked Deliciousness Giveaway are:

Janna Qualman and Susan Hartman!

So, you lucky ladies, you need to let me know what you want from the list (see below) and where I'm shipping it to.

The List
Banana Almond Bread
Chocolate Swirled Banana Muffins
Snowy Brownies
Cranberry Scones
Honey Cinnamon Swirled Cinnamon Bread
Sugar Cookie S'mores

And don't fret -- as hard as this giveaway was it's going to be totally fun to bake the goodies and ship them out. I'm coming up on 50lbs lost. I think that calls for a giveaway, don't you?

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, crunches and push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 102

Only Water - Day 97

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Granola Bar
Lunch - Leftover Fried Fish on a sandwich (super yummy)
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and sugar free chocolate pudding
Dinner - Fried Milanese Chicken, french fries, and broccoli

Total Day Calories - 1108

In the Dust!

2010-09-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

The Husband stayed home yesterday because we had a myriad of doctor's appointments and errands to run. Well, he walked with me to take 3ft to school but more importantly walked with me to pick him up. I leave a half hour early and walk a mile or better out of the way at a really fast pace to get to 3ft's school. My husband, who weighs a buck thirty (130lbs) soaking wet and after all-you-can-eat pasta at Olive Garden, couldn't keep up with me.

I reveled in it. I savored it. I didn't have the heart to tell him I walk fast when he's not trailing behind me. It was a moment.

And as to celebrating -- Oh yeah, baby. I celebrated. I savored a small slice of no sugar added apple pie last night after dinner. I intentionally got a half sandwich w/ a salad so I could guilt-free eat every last bite of pie. I didn't. I left the crust. It wasn't that great (just the crust the filling was awesome) plus I was full.

I wouldn't say I had an eating win yesterday, though. I missed my morning snack, I missed my afternoon snack due to being crazy busy, and I while I didn't go over my calorie count for the day my calories weren't balanced very well. Between the onion rings and pie I had more fat calories than usual. But hey. I still stayed within my healthy living goals and lunch was only 350 calories and dinner without the pie was about the same.

I'm living. I enjoyed the pie. And now I'm back to my routine eating today.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - walking, crunches and push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 101

Only Water - Day 96

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't need)
Lunch - Burger King Whopper Jr. w/ orowheat thin instead of bun and no mayo and a value size onion ring
Mid-Afternoon Snack -(missed due to being busy)
Dinner - Shari's Lunch Trio -- 1/2 BLT sandwich, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and a slice of no sugar added apple pie

Total Day Calories - 1195

Let's Celebrate!!!

2010-09-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

DAY 100!!!!! *shakes my money maker*

I've done 100 days in a row of HEALTHY LIVING!!! *dances some more*

LET'S CELEBRATE!!!!

In commemoration of this huge milestone I'm going to do a giveaway! Two lucky winners will receive one delicious baked good choice from this list of my own healthy creations:
Banana Almond Bread
Banana Chocolate Muffins
Snowy Brownies
Cranberry Scones
Honey Cinnamon Swirl Cinnamon Bread
Sugar Cookie S'mores

And it's easy to enter! All you have to do is comment on this blog, my sparkpeople blog, or on this linked blog post at facebook.com. Easy, right? I mean how else will I know you want to enter? All of these items will survive shipping and anyone can enter -- I'll ship anywhere. I'll take comments until tomorrow night, do a random drawing and announce the winners on Saturday's blog.

I'm in the mood to celebrate!!! It's not about the weight (which trust me I love dropping) it's about the living healthy because as long as I keep that up the weight will lose itself.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - crunches and push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 100!!! WAHOOOO!!!!

Only Water - Day 95

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't need)
Lunch - Hawaiian and Veggie Homemade Pizzas
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and some popcorn
Dinner - Fried Fish Strips, french fries, and broccoli (274 calories)

Total Day Calories - 1098

Shameless, That's Me!

2010-09-15T08:47:00.001-07:00

So, I found out yesterday that the shape of my scones are wrong. My friend, author Gini Koch, happens to be a connoisseur of the scone and tells me that they're round like a cookie. You just drop the dough on a cookie sheet and let it puff up and bake in more interesting shapes then making a big blob like a giant cookie and then slicing it like a pizza. I couldn't have been more shocked to find out she knew how to bake something (She isn't what we'd call someone who likes to cook or bake, but I love her anyway).

And here's a shameless book plug for her. "Touched by an Alien" is an awesome book and "Alien Tango", which releases on December 7th, is even BETTER! It's all about the 'Gators, baby! So get them and read them. *shameless book plug is now over* (Thanks for the scone advice, oh awesome one!)

Now I can't wait to make scones again, which is why they're in my Christmas Baking line-up. Because, yes I am sick, and have already planned out what I'm baking this year. I'm as bad as 3ft when it comes to Christmas excitement.

I'm pleased to report that I did do crunches and push ups yesterday. I was going to break out my Wii but by the time I got 3ft and Mr. Grumpybutt settled down and in bed, I was so exhausted after another early morning, I just sank into the couch and there I stayed until my husband woke me up to go to bed.

Today, the Wii will be used. I promise.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - crunches and push ups.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 99

Only Water - Day 94

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk and a Cranberry Almond Scone (I had to try them after all)
Morning Snack - (was at the doctors)
Lunch - McDonalds Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad w/out cheese
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich
Dinner - Chicken w/ mushrooms and peas over whole wheat spaghetti pasta

Total Day Calories - 1155

Best Laid Plans...

2010-09-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

I did NOT get my promised crunches and push ups in yesterday. I've been battling pneumonia with 3ft since probably Saturday. Yesterday was one of his worse days, which sucks cuz it was his first day of antibiotics. My morning started at 4:30 and by the time I got 3ft squared away in bed I pretty much fell asleep on the couch. Today I plan to do much better. I hope. Because 3ft is feeling much better. Hooray for modern medicine.

I made a really great chicken pasta recipe yesterday. With mushrooms, peas, chicken, and whole wheat spaghetti noodles in a really great sauce. Naturally, I forgot to take a picture of it. But never fear I'm having it for dinner tonight as well so I'll remember to give it it's photo op tonight.

I baked Cranberry Almond Scones this morning and THOSE I remembered to take a picture of so here they are:

My husband is stoked because of how popular at work he's going to become since I sent 1/2 the batch with him today. I love baking, the boys love eating what I bake, but we can't eat it fast enough before stuff goes bad. So if I don't freeze it, I send it to work with the Husband.

They were quite an adventure, a lot of work, but they sure turned out delicious. Only 150 calories per scone. Awesome right? Feel free to be jealous.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - Carrying 3ft up and down stairs, around the hospital, and around the house (he weighs 50lbs).

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 98

Only Water - Day 93

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (was at the doctors)
Lunch - Homemade Individual Pizza Thins -- one vegetarian one hawaiian
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a slice of honey cinnamon swirl bread
Dinner - Chicken w/ mushrooms and peas over whole wheat spaghetti pasta

Total Day Calories - 1142

Slacker!

2010-09-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking.

I've only been doing walking as exercise. I haven't been doing any strength training at all lately. Now some of this I blame on being sick for the past week, some I blame on bad time management, and some I blame on being too tired.

It's got to stop, no more excuses.

Walking is great exercise, don't get me wrong, but I had the dream again last night. My long time readers might remember me mentioning it before. The one where I'm drowning in a sea of loose skin. It's really gross and super disturbing. It always freaks me right out (you would freak out too, trust me).

I'll admit I've been lax and just sitting back and enjoying the number on the scale shrinking. However, this weight last year, I was in smaller size pants. Granted having a baby does all sorts of wonky things to your body (if you haven't experienced it, you'll just have to take my word for it) but it still bothers me that I'm almost pre baby weight and still two sizes bigger than I was last year. I think the major difference is the strength training. I did crunches and push ups religiously last time around. I haven't gotten into the routine of doing them as regularly this time.

So as of today I'm pledging to do crunches and push ups everyday and my Wii Fit Strength Training and Yoga regimen 3 days a week. And then we'll see what my pants have to say next time I try to squeeze into them.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - Walking.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 97

Only Water - Day 92

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't need)
Lunch - Homemade Individual Pizza Thins -- one vegetarian one hawaiian
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a slice of honey cinnamon swirl bread
Dinner - Chicken in Garlic Sauce w/ French Baguette and asparagus
Evening Snack -- 3 cups 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn

Total Day Calories - 1090

Adventures in Recipes

2010-09-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

I tried out a new chicken recipe yesterday. The recipe called for dry white wine. I don't drink. I stopped drinking long before I started my healthy lifestyle change. I drank a LOT in my 20's and had to stop and even then I didn't drink anything fancy like wine. If it didn't taste like kool aid or was cheap enough to use for drinking games I didn't drink it. So it's been an adventure building my "cooking alcohol" collection as recipes have called for them.

So I go to Safeway yesterday which has a fancy wine alcohol section -- it takes up an entire corner of the store and they always have people working at the "bar" trying to sample out wines. I'm sure how they have the alcohol arranged makes perfect sense to connoisseurs but I was completely lost. So after I turn down a myriad of wine samples, I say, "I'm just looking for a dry white wine to cook with." Finally one of the women working behind the "bar" takes pity on me and takes me over to the white wine section (that I couldn't find on my own) and suggests a couple wines that have excellent reputations and starts delving into all the wine speak. I listen like I care (which I don't -- I'm just going to dump it on some chicken), grab the cheapest bottle she recommends, and head to the check out with the rest of my groceries.

I get home, put the groceries away, and start cooking dinner. I heat up my olive oil and butter in the pan, prepare my chicken breasts, start browning them and while that's going on, I measure out the chicken stock, the chopped garlic, and peel the wrapper off the wine to measure that out. I'm shocked to find it has a cork. I do not own a corkscrew. It never even occurred to me I'd need one. That shows what a dork I am, I guess. I take the chicken out of the pan, and put in the garlic and start browning that while I desperately think of a way to open the bottle.

The husband says, "I could screw a screw into it and try to pull it out that way."

I scoff, tell him to keep stirring the garlic, our next door neighbor is into cooking and he's and older gentlemen, he's GOT to have one. I run over, ask, and he chuckles, says they're recovering alcoholics so they don't have any anymore but he'll check. He invites me in and I feel totally horrendous that I'm carrying this bottle of wine into their house when they're recovering alcoholics. Alas, they do NOT have a corkscrew, he says the last time he cooked with wine he pounded the cork into the bottle used what he needed and threw the rest away.

That doesn't help me.

I take the bottle back to my husband and tell him, "Whatever MacGyver, just open it."

So he screws in this wall hook thing and then starts prying and groaning and bitching -- trying to get the cork out. After about 5 minutes, he gets the cork out a bit and instead of staying with what works he unscrews the screw wall hook thingy out and gets pliers and totally breaks off a huge chunk of cork. So I give him crap about why didn't he stick with what was working as he's screwing this ginormous wall hook screw thingy back into the cork. He finally gets the cork out (and believe me it's worse for the wear) and I'm able to use the wine in the recipe. All that work for 1/4 cup. The Husband informs me this chicken better be worth it to which I agree.

Then there was the fun of trying to shove the massacred cork back into the bottle. Finally MacGyver got it back in. I guess that's why I keep him around.

Well the recipe was amazing. It was totally delicious and well worth the hassle of the white wine debacle.

Chicken Breasts in Garlic Sauce w/ French Baguette

So you take the garlic sauce and spread it onto slices of Baguette. The garlic is cooked down and really mild and has an almost sweet flavor and compliments the chicken and tastes so delicious on the bread. It's presentation looks like it should be bad for you and it definitely tastes like it should be bad for you but 1 serving of the chicken with a serving size of a french baguette with the sauce was only 259 calories. This recipe will definitely go into our regular line up. If anyone's interested in the recipe give me a holler and I'll send it along.

Today is also weigh in and measuring day. I'm excited to report that I've lost another 3 pounds last week and 7.5 inches off my entire body in the last month.

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - Walking.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 96

Only Water - Day 91

Total Pounds Lost - 38.3

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - (didn't need)
Lunch - Cracked Pepper Turkey Sandwich, with carrots and a dill pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a slice of honey cinnamon swirl bread
Dinner - Chicken in Garlic Sauce w/ French Baguette and asparagus

Total Day Calories - 1017

Delicious Bread!

2010-09-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my friend, Turkey, gave me a link to a Breakfast Bread Recipe that looked so delicious I had to make it right away. I changed the recipe a little to suit my needs and what I had in my pantry and came up with my version of the bread.

It ended up being like a ginormous cinnamon roll because my apartment was too cold for it really to rise to it's full potential but the flavor was heavenly and 3ft proclaimed it the most delicious cinnamony bread ever. So I figure it was a win. Even the Husband swears he likes it even though I tried to convince him not to eat it because it was gross and he wouldn't like it -- you know, so there'd be more for me. (It didn't work, but I figured it was worth a shot.)

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup fat free yogurt
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 Tbsp Brummel and Brown Original Spread w/ Yogurt (room temperature)
1 cup water room temperature water
1 1/2 tsp olive oil for bowl
1/4 cup honey to drizzle over bread
1 tbs cinnamon to sprinkle over bread

Directions

In a large bowl mix all of your dry ingredients with a wire whisk.

Make a "well" in your flour mixture and add brummel and brown spread, sour cream, 3 TBS honey, and water. then mix it together with your hands. When the dough forms and there's no flour remaining dump out the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. The ball should be slightly tacky and springy.

Oil a bowl and roll dough in the bowl to cover with the oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in size.

Lightly sprinkle flour on workspace and gently roll out dough. Very carefully pull and shape the dough to form a rectangle about 8 inches by 12 inches. You don’t want to release any of the air trapped in the dough by handling the dough roughly. Drizzle your 1/4 cup honey all over the top of the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon.

Carefully roll up the rectangle of dough to form the swirls and set inside a prepared bread pan (I used butter flavor baking spray). Cover pan and allow to rise for another hour or until bread rises just past the top of the pan. During the last 20 minutes of rising, set your oven to 350 F.

Bake bread for 30 minutes or until done (mine only took the 30)

When bread is done baking, turn out immediately on a cooling rack. Let cool, then dig in.

Number of Servings: approximately 20 slices

Calories: 132.7
Total Fat: 1.3 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 189.2 mg
Total Carbs: 26.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g
Protein: 3.4 g

--Previous Day Tracking --

Exercise - Walking.

Healthy Lifestyle - Day 95

Only Water - Day 90

Total Pounds Lost - 35.2

Meals:
Breakfast - bowl of FiberOne Honey Clusters w/ homemade Almond Milk
Morning Snack - FiberOne Chocolate and Oats Granola Bar
Lunch - Cracked Pepper Turkey Sandwich, with carrots and a dill pickle spear
Mid-Afternoon Snack -1/2 peanut butter and banana sandwich and a slice of honey cinnamon swirl bread
Dinner - Egg McMuffin w/out the Mc (one egg, canadian bacon, and english muffin sandwich) and hash browns

Total Day Calories - 1114