Making New Friends

One thing I love about the first few weeks of January is that the grocery stores seem to have more healthy foods on sale than normal. I take advantage of the savings by stocking up on the healthy things we eat regularly, and also by trying some new things. Like a lot of other bloggers, I opted to stay in yesterday rather than brave the winter wonderland. That gave me plenty of time to check out some of those new-to-me finds.

Breakfast was a new-to-me treat, Kashi 7-grain waffles.

I’ve never bought these before because they’re a bit on the expensive side so it was a treat to see them on sale. I usually buy the “other brand’s” low-fat waffles. They’re pretty good when I want a waffle fix, but don’t keep me full for very long. These new waffles were delicious! They had tons of flavor and kept me full for several hours. The ingredients were much less processed and, for those who are wondering, they’re the same number of PointsPlus values  as “those other” waffles. I’m definitely going to watch for these to go on sale again and for coupons.

For lunch, I decided to fix something I’ve read about quite often in the blogosphere, but never tried until yesterday. Tempeh!

The cooking directions on the package were a little vague so I wanted a tried-and-true way to eat it. Most recently, I remembered reading about tempeh on Cynthia’s blog. A quick search led me to her directions for Banh Mi. I didn’t have any spinach and I don’t really like carrots so no banh mi for me. However, I did get the inspiration to put my tempeh in a wrap and I heated it according to her directions. Inside the wrap I layered romaine lettuce, sprouts, the tempeh and dijon mustard. The tortilla was so full that I couldn’t really get it to wrap and ended up eating it like a taco.

I really, really liked the tempeh and will definitely buy it again, on sale or not. Cynthia informed me (via a reply to my comment on her post) that tempeh had a “different texture.” She was absolutely right, but I found it to be a nice texture. It’s very hard to describe the flavor, but there’s lots of it! If you haven’t tried tempeh, I’d encourage you to give it a go.

With my tempeh wrap, I had a mug o’ lentil soup from the batch I made on Sunday.

This was also a new-to-me recipe from The Volumetrics Eating Plan. My husband bought this book a few years ago when he first became interested in eating more healthy. We successfully made a few recipes and then sort of forgot about it. I revived it in my recent quest for new recipes and found a lot of dishes I want to try. This one is definitely a keeper.

Together, it made for a wonderful, filling lunch.

My husband got home from work pretty early and we headed to the gym for a triceps and chest workout. He recently downloaded the free JEFIT app for his android phone and has been torturing me with it sharing it with me. We haven’t really even begun to dig into all the features, but we’ve figured out the basics.

Basically, the app lets you view and select exercises by the part of the body you’re aiming to target.

The app has several predefined workouts which you can do as is or add/remove exercises to suit your needs. You can also start from scratch by selecting individual exercises to create your own routine.

If you’re not sure how to perform a certain exercise, there’s also a free downloadable player that allows you to view animations for each move.

So far we’ve done two of the preset workouts using this app and I must say that I’m impressed. My husband has some experience with weights and likes the way it’s put together. I’m fairly new to “real” lifting and it’s still easy for me to use. It’s helping me build my confidence around the free weights and machines which is a huge benefit in my mind.

After our workout it was home for dinner, also a new recipe. This one came from the same cookbook as my lentil soup from lunch. Italian Turkey Spirals were time consuming t0 prep, but fun to assemble and tasted delicious!

As suggested in the recipe, I also made the Tomato and Fresh Basil Sauce (a separate recipe in the same book) to go with the spirals. Served with whole wheat spaghetti, this was the perfect mix of protein and carbs for a post-workout meal. Oh, and there are green beans hiding in the back there for some veggie goodness.

My husband was super impressed with this dinner and I really liked it, too. I’ll definitely make it again. Since we didn’t use much of the sauce, there was enough left over to freeze and use later for another meal.

What new food or fitness ideas have you discovered in 2011?

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a Dr. Weil audiobook! Entries close Friday at midnight EST.

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Decisions, Decisions

Hola bloggies! Sorry I missed ya yesterday. We had to take Peanut to the cardiologist for a follow-up appointment which took up a majority of the day. Everything is fine. She’s had a heart murmur since birth and the doctors just want to keep an eye on it.

I had to decide between blogging and running in the little free time I did have yesterday evening. Pretty sure you can figure out which one I chose. There was rain almost all day so I was really excited when the weather broke and I got to lace up and head out. I did a mile to the bike path, 3 miles on the trail and a mile back home for a total of 5 miles! That probably seems like a mere pittance to most of you, but I’ve never run any further than that and the last time I achieved the feat was back in early 2008. Then, I was doing the distance once a week. I seriously slacked on my running after we got married as I adjusted to married life, a new town and an hour commute to work. I’m not sure why, but hitting that 5 mile mark again felt like a major milestone.

My Tuesday eats were pretty uninspired so I’m backtracking to Monday. Peanut and I went to our Mom & Baby group at the hospital in the morning, then hit the road to visit my BFF and her 2 week old little boy. When I’m in Dayton, I always make it a point to stop at Dorothy Lane Market. I’ve posted about my love for this local, gourmet foods market before. That’s where I headed for lunch on this journey, too.

I always get sushi when I’m there because there are absolutely no stores or restaurants near our town that sell or serve it. I picked up some Tokyo Fantasy which is basically just spicy tuna rolls with brown rice.

I spotted a delicious Greek Shrimp Orzo Salad in the deli case. I decided to get a small container of the salad instead of the spring
rolls I normally get to accompany my suuuu-shay.

I wasn’t disappointed. It was delicious! It wasn’t overly oily (which I’ve found true of most deli pasta salads) and had the perfect blend of orzo, shrimp, kalamata olives, herbs and various diced veggies.

I hit the Boston Stoker coffee cart on my way out the door for a Skinny Lady Latte. It’s basically just a skim white chocolate latte, but they seem to taste better there than anywhere else. I think it’s their exceptional quality espresso.

We had a fantastic visit with my BFF and her little man. In 7 months I’d honestly forgotten house teeny tiny newborns really are. I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures because he was either eating or sleeping the entire time we were there. My BFF and I have decided that our kids will go to prom together so I guess there’s always that photo op to look forward to enjoying.

My husband worked late and I wasn’t at all hungry come evening. I just had a cup of hot tea while I fed Peanut her dinner. This wasn’t just any hot tea. It was the best Earl Grey tea I think I’ve ever had. I picked it up on a whim while we were at Dorothy Lane Market. I’m not sure what made this Kensington Earl Grey so good, but I’m sure glad I decided to give it a try.

What was the last fitness milestone you achieved?

Have you checked out Yoga Pose May yet? I’ve been following along day by day and it’s awesome. I’m learning a lot about yoga and feeling inspired to incorporate it into my fitness routine more often. I’ve also discovered an abundance of new blogs to add to my Google Reader. As if I weren’t having enough trouble keeping up with that thing before, now it’s just plain ridiculous.

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Grillerific

Good morning, bloggies! Guess what? It’s FRIDAY!!! Who’s excited? I know I am. It’s going to be a busier than usual weekend for us, but all fun stuff.

Starting the morning off with some great news, I was down 3.8 at Weight Watchers weigh-in yesterday! Woo to the hoo fo sho! It was a huge boost to my confidence after two weeks of small gains.

In my running news, Peanut and I went to visit my parents in my hometown on Wednesday. I’d intended on using their treadmill, but it ended up being out of commission. I took to the streets (well, sidewalks) of my old neighborhood and did 2.5 miles in 28 minutes to complete C25k Week 8 Day 2. Obviously I’m still not fast, but my pace was a little quicker than it is when I’m pushing the stroller.

I’ve eaten mostly leftovers for the last few days so I didn’t take pictures. Tuesday night was a fun dinner. My husband got home early and we grilled out.

chicken & vegetable kabobs + foil-packet asparagus

I dumped all of mine into a bowl with some leftover brown rice and tossed it all in just a little bit of dijon mustard. I also added a couple of cherry tomatoes.

My husband loves BBQ sauce and received this as a gift recently:

Unfortunately, he wasn’t a fan. He said it had too bourbon-y. I found that funny because the sauce came from this place, a bourbon distillery. LOL I’m not a big BBQ sauce fan, but I did take a taste. All I could taste was vinegar.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend! I’ll be tweeting from my phone tonight during Food Revolution. 9 EST. Be there or be square.

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Grab Your Easter Bonnet

..with all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady
in the Easter parade.

That’s the song my grandma used to sing to us every Easter when my mom’s family got together for a massive Easter egg hunt. It was stuck in my head all day yesterday. I must say though, this little lady was the grandest:

I was so excited to share photos of the Easter dinner we hosted at our house, but I completely flaked on pictures (again) because I got so wrapped up in playing hostess. Our guests were my in-laws and sister-in-law. My parents were supposed to come, but my dad called earlier in the morning to say my mom had a rough night and was just too exhausted to make the trip. That put a bit of a damper on the day for me because I was looking forward to seeing them. We still had a delicious meal of ham, salad, potato casserole (a la my mother in law) and white chocolate amaretto cheesecake (a la my sister-in-law). The highlight of the day for me was sitting on the porch and soaking up the beautiful weather while drinking coffee and chatting.

Since I don’t have pictures to share, I decided to update y’all on some new eats (and drinks) I’ve tried recently. I purchased all three of these products on my own. I am not affiliated with any of the companies who make these products and I have not been paid or compensated for my reviews.

Barbara’s Bakery Chocolate Chip Snackimals

I really liked these. Crunchy and delicious. The cookie part reminded me more of a graham cracker than a traditional animal cracker. There was just the right amount of chocolate to get my fix without making them overly sweet. Their animal shapes are really fun and it made me feel like a kid again. The monkey was my favorite. These cookies are vegan and I could pronounce everything on the ingredient list, although there were a few things that weren’t entirely natural. Each serving of 10 cookies is 120 calories, 4g of fat (no saturated, no trans), 0g cholesterol, 8g of sugar and 19g of carbs. Overall, a decent snack when you’re looking for something sweet. A little on the pricey side, but I’d buy them again if they were on sale.

Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling

My husband and I were searching for a riesling at Sam’s Club and this was the only one we could find. I’m not a big fan of overly sweet wines so I was nervous when the label said “Sweet Riesling.” I was pleasantly surprised. This wine was absolutely delicious. It’s sweet, but in a crisp way rather than a syrupy sweetness. The flavor is very fruity and refreshing. To top it all off, the price is very reasonable. We paid $8.99 and will absolutely be buying this again. The company’s website recommends this as a pairing for spicy foods. That sounds perfect to me, but so does just enjoying a bottle by itself in the evening.

Sam’s Club Member’s Mark Chicken Sausage (Spinach & Asiago)

First of all, I have to give a huge shoutout to Jenny from This Winding Road! I’ve been seeing these chicken sausages on her blog for sometime and they always look delicious. I commented on one of her posts about them and she was kind enough to e-mail me and let me know where she bought them and which varieties she preferred.

Thanks to her help, I decided to finally give them a try and I’m sooo glad that I did. My husband threw some on the grill for me last week while he was cooking brats for himself. Delicious! They’re full of flavor and a bit spicy, but not overpoweringly hot. Very, very juicy, but not at all greasy. While they taste great on their own, these sausages are also very versatile. So far I’ve tried them alone, in a wrap, in an omelette and in pasta sauce. They tasted great in every dish and I look forward to finding new ways to use them. This is a definite “buy again” and I’m looking forward to trying some of the other flavors.

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Tripled Up

Good morning, bloggies! Where have the last two days gone? Sorry to be PIA. Peanut has been anti-sleep and it’s been a looooong few night. My energy was at a 0 and I had to stay up and moving all day to keep myself awake. I did manage a bit of blog commenting, but if I didn’t hit you up that didn’t mean that I didn’t read and/or don’t love you. Here’s a little catchup recap of the last two days:

Tuesday

Tuesday’s eats were unremarkable. It started off with a processed, packaged breakfast:

The convenience of these is definitely the star of the show rather than taste. They’re not awful, but they are a little chewy and a tad on the bland side. They’re fairly light on the calories which is nice, but I think I could make my own version with the exact same ingredients (whole wheat english muffin, egg white, slice of cheese, turkey sausage or other meat) and be just as satisfied and calorie conscious.

You know there was plenty of coffee. This is one of my favorite mugs. My friend and I went to one of those create-your-own pottery places a couple years ago and this was my creation. An artist I am not, but it was fun and I like the outcome.

Breakfast of champions!

I took advantage of the sunshine with a little jog. I ran the same route through town as last week and made it a little further in the same amount of time. I guess that’s progress, right? I have GOT to learn to relax my shoulders when I run, especially while pushing the stroller. My neck, upper back and triceps have been killing me and I know the tension is probably using unnecessary energy.

Dinner was almost a giant FAIL. In preparation, not in taste. We bought a pre-marinated portobello & cracked peppercorn pork loin at Sam’s Club on Saturday after tasting it at one of the sampling stations. The package directions said to wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and bake at “350 degrees for 20-30 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.” Okie dokie. I stuck my digital thermometer in there and set the display on the counter so I could monitor the progress. 90 minutes later we were at 91 degrees. After 2 hours, it read 104 degrees. So much for those cooking instructions. I was starving. Finally, 3 and a half hours after putting it in the oven, we hit 160 degrees. Luckily, it turned out to be worth the wait.

Roasted Yukon Gold potatoes on the side:

Togetherness! Notice the whole grain bread and husband-requested corn joining in the fun.

Wednesday

Sleepy mommy = lots and lots of coffee + no breakfast photos. It was PB&J on a sandwich thin. I think ya’ll know what that looks like.

It was a GLORIOUS day. The sun was shining and it was warm enough for a t-shirt! My head said run, but my knees and hips thought otherwise. I popped in a video from The Firm for a combo of cardio and strength moves. With all the squats, dips and lunges, I think I would have been better off to do the run. My quads were burning by the end.

My workout fired up my appetite so I fired up the stove for a quick and easy shrimp stir fry…

…and dined outdoors with my favorite lunch buddy.

Dinner was one of my favorite Weight Watchers recipes. I searched the blog and I don’t think I’ve ever posted these before.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients

~1 lb. extra lean (93/7) ground turkey
~1 box (6oz.) Stove Top Stuffing (I use the reduced sodium chicken variety.)
~1 cup water
~2 egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands!!!

3. Press the mixture, in equal amounts, into all of the muffin cups.

4. Bake for 20-30, until the muffins are cooked through.

Served up with leftover roasted potatoes and a salad on the side.

Thursday

No photos from Thursday. Part was because I didn’t eat anything new or exciting and part because I was pouting. I weighed in at Weight Watchers this week and was shocked to see a GAIN of .8 on the scale. I know it’s not a big gain, but that’s the second week in a row to see that size of a gain. The first week I expected it because I’d been busy and eaten like crap without any exercise. This week was different. I journaled all of my food, worked out consistently and had a decent calorie deficit on paper. I felt confident that I’d lose so that “+” next to the amount was a slap in the face.

I’m not going to let it get me down. This week I’m going to cut back on the processed foods and caffeine. I’m also going to up my water intake because that’s one area where I haven’t been as diligent as I should.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend?

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In with the New

I had a great weekend, but it was none too exciting in the food department. I decided to use today’s post to share some new eats I’ve tried recently. These are all products that I purchased for myself.

Health Valley Organic Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars

The base of the bar was crisp rice, kind of like a Rice Krispy treat, but less gooey and not nearly as sweet. The top was drizzled with chocolate and had mini chocolate chips. Overall I’d say it tasted okay. There was something about the texture that I didn’t particularly care for, almost stale maybe? The chocolate was really yummy and had a good taste so that made up for something. Looking at them I didn’t expect them to be very filling, but they were. The nutrition information wasn’t too bad: 110 calories, 2 grams of total fat and 1 gram of protein. However, I was a bit turned off by the 1 gram of saturated fat and 10 grams of sugar. I bought these on sale for $2.99/box. I think I’d buy them again on sale, but I wouldn’t be willing to pay the regular price.

O.N.E. Coconut Water

I have a think for little boxed drinks. I think it takes me back to my childhood. LOL I’ve always thought these looked interesting and decided to give them a try when I saw them on sale. The side of the box (and their website) had this to say:

O.N.E.™ Coconut Water is the water from inside the young green coconut. The water is extracted from the coconut at approximately seven months, before the meat grows. While the meat of the coconut (from which coconut milk and oils are extracted) is rich in fat and protein; O.N.E.™ Coconut Water has no fat. Our Coconut Water is naturally filtered through the dense fibers of the coconut creating a nutritious, pure, and refreshing isotonic beverage.

The website also bills coconut water as being full of electrolytes, a natural alternative to sports drinks, good for nursing mothers, and a drink able to improve skin, but the FAQ’s section includes a disclaimer that says none of these health claims have been reviewed or found to be true by the FDA or any other authority of the like. I bought the pineapple, pink guava and passion fruit flavors and thought they all had a great taste. They’re pretty sweet, but not syrupy and I thought they were very refreshing. The boxed packaging is convenient as is the fact that they do not have to be refrigerated, but I would suggest (as do the people at O.N.E.) that you drink them cold. I suppose you could drink them right out of the box, but a straw makes it much more convenient. Unfortunately, the boxes don’t come with those cute little straws so you’ll need to pack your own. I don’t think I’d keep a stock of these in the refrigerator at all times, but I’m definitely keeping them in mind for occasions that require packing portable beverages.

Clif Luna Blueberry Bliss Bar

I love all things blueberry. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to most artificial blueberry colors and flavors. Bummer. My grocery store just started carrying this flavor of Clif Luna bars. I tried not to get too excited about them before I read the ingredients. In true natural Clif fashion, I didn’t see anything on the ingredients list that I couldn’t read or easily identify. Score! I grabbed one to try and I’m happy to announce that I had no reaction at all. Oh, and did I mention it was delicious? It had a great texture, perfect blueberry-to-crisp ratio and just the right amount of sweetness. I picked up several more of this flavor and have added it to my list of flavors to buy when I stock up.

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“What Smells So Good?”

These were the first words my husband uttered to me at 3:00AM as he was rolling out of bed.

First of all, is it really necessary to say anything at such an hour of the morning when the person you’re talking to has another good hour and a half of sleep ahead of her? I don’t think so, but I let it slide because at least it was something nice.

What he was smelling was Monday night’s supper that I popped in the crock pot Sunday night before I went to bed. When I got up, I spooned everything into a big Pyrex mixing bowl, covered it and popped it in the fridge. More details on that dish later.

Breakfast was a new-to-me breakfast treat. I spotted these Nature’s Path Organic Frosted Blueberry Toaster Pastries in the clearance bin during our grocery trip on Sunday and decided to give them a try.

I really like the taste of these. They are extremely sweet. Overall pretty similar in texture and flavor to a regular Pop Tart. They are vegetarian, contain whole grains, are low sodium and contain no trans fat. That said, the calorie content is a little on the high side (200 per pastry; 400 per pouch) and the total fat/saturated fat content isn’t significantly lower than the mainstream counterpart. Overall, I’d say these are a better alternative to many non-organic breakfast options, but by no means should it be considered “healthy.”

Lunch was again mooched from my parents. They had leftover chicken stir fry and rice from their Sunday night dinner. No picture, but it was loaded with veggies including zucchini from our garden that I’d taken to them last week.

I hit my daily sugar slump around 4:00 and decided to break out my last packed snack. I was FINALLY able to get my hands on this Luna bar flavor over the weekend after hearing so many bloggies rave about it’s goodness.

It was everything I’d hoped for and more. It tasted kind of like cookie dough. I can’t quite put my finger on which kind, though. Not chocolate chip or peanut butter. The bar refueled me and I was wide awake and alert for my drive home.

The same cannot be said for my navigator.

With the pork main dish waiting in the fridge, dinner was a cinch. I popped it in the microwave to reheat while I got to work on long grain rice and cornbread. Hello carbohydrate heaven!

I also sliced up two medium-sized zucchini, dipped them in egg whites, coated them with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, paprika and parsley flakes and then baked them on a greased cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.

The meal wasn’t very colorful, but it was tasty. I ended up passing on my cornbread because I was just too full from the pork, rice and zukes to eat another bite.

Do you ever do prep work ahead of time for your meals?

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Clean Out the Pantry Week: Day 1

Is anyone else watching The Next Food Network Star? I am. Last season was the first time I watched with any regularity and I’m hooked back in this time around. I’m really pulling for Melissa d’Arabian to win this time around. I love all of the tips, tricks and info she shares during her demos and feel like her show would be something I would actually watch.

As a soon-to-be-stay-at-home mom, I enjoy her frugal shopping strategies and home cooked meals that are both healthy and picky-eater approved. On a recent episode, she talked about how she likes challenging herself to skip the grocery and make meals for a week using what she already has in the house.

I find myself going to the grocery just for fun sometimes and end up spending waaaaay more money than is really necessary. I decided to adopt Melissa’s strategy this week, skip my usual Saturday grocery trip and get creative. When I sat down to menu plan, I was extremely surprised at how much food we already have in the house. I’ll be posting our meals as they appear this week.

Lunch

I snapped a pic of my eats for the work day before sticking them in my lunch bag.

In the picture:

• Dannon Light ‘n Fit blueberry yogurt
• fresh pineapple chunks
• grapes
• Laughing Cow Light Swiss wedge
• Arnold’s Multigrain Sandwich Thin
• Gardenburger Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil (it’s hiding)

Dinner

We purchased a roast on sale several weeks ago and it’s just been chillin’ in the freezer since then. I popped it into the crock pot (still frozen) with a can of beef broth and a small can of mushrooms. To season, I sprinkled the top with some Garlic, Garlic and Onion, Onion. 8 hours later, voila!

I saw a commercial for these the other day and it reminded me that I’d received a package from the generous folks at Buitoni to sample.

***Product Review***

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti

Here’s what the manufacturer’s website says about them:

A blend of earthy mushrooms, including sweet, rustic portobellos and delicate criminis, creates an impeccable pairing with fresh-roasted garlic and imported grana padano and parmesan cheeses, wrapped inside thin layers of stone-ground semolina pasta.

I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to break them out and this seemed to be it. The verdict? Delicious! My husband and I both agreed that this pasta needs no heavy sauce to make it flavorful. The rich mushroom filling does the trick just fine. We topped ours with just a bit of beef broth that cooked in the crockpot with the roast. The nutrition information wasn’t necessarily the most figure friendly, but I found that 1/2 of the recommended portion was more than sufficient as a side dish. These were nice for a casual weekday supper and I think they’d also be great for a more formal event as well.

Tonight’s veggie was zucchini from our garden, cooked just until tender in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and garlic. I topped mine with a little paprika.

Dinner is served!

My meat and potatoes husband, was over the moon with excitement for this meal. It makes me feel great when I can prepare something that he really enjoys.

After dinner, I straightened up the kitchen, packed lunches, this workout (3 sets, 15 reps of the advanced moves) from FitPregnancy.com, tossed in a load of laundry and chilled with the hubs and the pup.

It’s off to bed for me now. Hope everyone had a great Monday!

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Did Ya Miss Me?

“Don’t pay the ransom. I’ve escaped!”

That’s what we used to say in my family when someone called home after being away for a while with no contact. Corny, yes. Very fitting to our family.

I apologize for my extended absence. As any US resident probably knows, it was Income Tax week. This is, to us working in a local Income Tax department, what the week before Christmas is to those working in retail. In one word: CHAOS! I had 0 time to snap photos of my food and my evenings were pretty much just commute, eat dinner and crash.

Now I’m back and excited to start blogging and commenting again. I’ve missed you all bunches and look forward to getting caught up on what’s going on in all of your worlds.

I won’t waste anymore time. Let’s get down to business!

Friday

Breakfast was a quick sammie made with an egg, 2% American cheese slice & a Boca Chik’n Patty all on low-cal bread. No, mom. I didn’t take the picture while I was driving. I snapped it quickly in the driveway before hitting the road.

The morning snack was a string cheese:

Lunch was leftover Laughing Cow Alfredo Bake topped with grated Parmesan cheese (from the Amish store) and a little drizzle of EVOO. This was a first go ’round for us and this recipe. We both liked it, but I thought it was a little bland when we originally had it for dinner. We both agree that it’s much better reheated for lunches.

Workout at work was nice. She had lots of stations set up where we had to lie on our back. That’s the one exercise restriction I have right now so I had to improvise. We did the squat, curl, press move last Friday and I really liked it so I stuck that’s become one of my go-to moves for stations where I need to get creative.

After April, I’ll have to find something new to do fitness-wise on my lunch hours. The weather is getting nice and less people are interested in participating because they want to go walk. The employee fitness room will still be available although the only equipment is a stationary bike, heavy weight bench and an ab recliner. I’m thinking about bringing my own light dumbbells or loading up some mp3 files from yogadownload.com onto my iPod and carrying in my yoga mat. Walks are always an option. I just get bored easily and need to keep it mixed up.

Post-workout snack was a sliced apple. Have I ever told y’all how much I LOVE my Pampered Chef slicer? Cuz I do.

I had a huge energy dip around 3:00 in the afternoon. I’m not quite sure where it came from, but it was bad. All I wanted to do was put my head down, clothes my eyes and snooze. I’m blaming the tired (and my lack of willpower) for giving in when a coworker said she was going to the soda shop across the street for sundaes. I had a single-dipper with a generous dolop of hot fudge sauce, whipped cream & a cherry. The sugar shocked my system and I was beyond wide awake for the rest of the day.

Friday night dinner was quick and easy. I had fat free hot dogs, no bun and spicy mustard. To redeem myself nutritionally, I also had a small side salad. No idea why I didn’t snap a photo although it was far from exciting.

Saturday

The morning got off to a quick start when my husband’s coworker called to say his new company truck was ready to be picked up. One catch. It was sitting at a plant about an hour and a half away. He asked (very nicely) if I’d drive him up and I agreed. It was up, showered, dressed and out the door. I did manage to throw together a PB&J sandwich to eat on the road, but no picture.

We were home before noon and both pretty hungry. I had a Boca Chik’n Patty on an Arnold’s Multigrain Sandwich Thin with 2% American cheese & spicy mustard. On the side, I had a handful of Ranch flavored Potato Crisps. These are really good and a nice, more natural alternative to potato chips.

My husband and I spent a few hours working in the yard. We’re ripping out some shrubs and ornamental grass from a flower bed that were there when we moved in last year, but it’s proved to be a bigger job than we’d anticipated. My husband did the shoveling and I did the pulling which, at one point, resulted in stabbing myself in the lip with something straw-like. We tried until we just couldn’t take it anymore and laughed…a lot.

My husband’s best friend from high school stopped by shortly after we finished and they spent the entire evening (and well into the night) catching up. He’s a great guy and they don’t see each other often enough so I was glad to see them hanging out. I bounced back and forth between their conversation and reading for my Nutrition and Wellness Consultant certification. Around dinner time, I offered to fix something. They said they weren’t hungry enough to eat a full meal, but took me up on my offer of snacks. After serving them, I realized that I was a little hungry and in the mood for something hot.

***PRODUCT REVIEW***

Pacific Foods Organic Spicy Chicken Fajita

Ingredients: water, organic onion, organic kidney beans, organic white rice, organic chicken meat, organic red bell peppers, organic green bell peppers, organic garlic, organic chicken flavor (organic ground chicken with juices, sea salt, organic chicken flavor, organic onion powder, organic potato flour, organic carrot powder, organic turmeric, flavor, and organic black pepper), organic olive oil, organic jalapeno peppers, sea salt, organic spices

Nutrition Information: (per serving; 2 servings per can)
Calories: 160
Total Fat: 2.5g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 710mg
Total Carbohydrates: 26g
Dietary Fiber: 5g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 8g

The pros: Yum! I loved the texture of this soup. The rice, veggies and beans tasted great together. The broth had just the right amount of seasoning without overpowering any of the other flavors. The protein content was higher than most other canned soups and left me feeling very full. I’d absolutely buy this soup again as either a quick dinner or easy to transport lunch.

The cons: The sodium content was the biggest drawback for me. I ate both servings which was almost my entire sodium allowance for the day! I could absolutely feel the effects in my swollen fingers the rest of the evening. The soup didn’t taste salty at all so I was a bit surprised by this. I was also surprised to see chicken listed so high on the ingredients list because I think there were only 5 or 6 small pieces in the entire can. This was fine with me because I usually pick the meat out of canned soups anyway, but I could see a serious carnivore (like my husband) being disillusioned.

AUCTION ALERT – Mark your calendars! Erin over at I Walk in This World is having an online auction and bakesale to benefit our mutual friend Beth’s Jimmy Fund Walk in the Boston Marathon! The auction starts on Tuesday, April 21st and there’s a great list of items up for bid! Check out this page for more information about the cause and the auction logistics.

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Weekend Recap

It was a crazy weekend and a dead-camera-battery Monday so I’m just getting back into the swing of things. Here’s a quick recap.

Friday: Husband was in an accident on his way to work. Dark+fog+stopped garbage truck=bad news. Everyone was fine save his sore shoulder/back and bruised ego. His company sent him home early from work to rest so I left at lunchtime to meet him at home.

Saturday: Went to the outlet mall near our house with my husband, cousin-in-law and his wife. They’re expecting in July and found some major baby bargains. Despite all of the adorable baby things, I only bought one pair of maternity jeans. I haven’t purchased even a single baby item yet because I know once I start, I won’t stop.

Sunday: Dinner theater with my mom, my friend and her mom. I had every intention of taking pictures, but everything on the buffet was greasy and gross looking. I did eat my body weight in their signature cheese bread!

Monday: Drive. Work. Drive. Sleep.

Which brings us to yesterday’s eats:

I was craving something really carby for breakfast so I headed to the cafe across the street from my office. I had a toasted blueberry bagel with a little real butter (Are you proud, Erin?) and cream cheese. That’s Twinings English Breakfast tea on the side. Yes, I realize this is not the healthiest breakfast, but man was it good!

I switched back to healthy mode for my morning snack, a pear. I think it looks a little like a flower when it’s still in the slicer like that. Pretty & delicious!

It was measurement day for our workout at work group. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I though. Since the middle of February, I’ve gained 2″ in my waist, an inch in my thigh and half an inch in my bicep. The place that really shocked me was my hips. I feel like that’s where I’m getting bigger (thanks to baby), but it actually stayed the same. Since I’m in my 2nd trimester now, doctor says I shouldn’t do anything flat on my back, exercise included. There were just 2 ab stations that I had to modify yesterday.

***PRODUCT REVIEW***

The fabulous Kristin of Stoneyfield Farm was nice enough to send me some Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt samples since I was having trouble finding it in the grocery stores near me. Yesterday I broke out the honey flavor and, lemme tell ya, I was impressed. The texture was really creamy and the flavor was rich. I loved that it was both fat free and organic. The 5.3 oz. containers are the perfect single serving size and contain just 120 calories.

I topped mine with a little Bear Naked Fit granola and a couple dried dates. I didn’t realize that the honey was in the bottom until after the picture so you can’t really tell what it looks like all stirred up.

My verdict: I’ve never tried 0% Fage (can’t find it at my grocery either), but I liked the Oikos a lot better than that brand’s 2%. There was just the right amount of sweetness from the honey without making it overly sweetened like lots of other popular brands. I stayed full the entire afternoon and through my commute (from about 2PM – 7PM) without needing to eat again which is quite impressive. I’m going to speak with the manager at my usual grocery this weekend to ask them if they’ll pretty please start stocking this ASAP.

After work, I headed to my parents’ house to pick up the pooch. The yummy smell hit me as soon as I walked in the door: soup beans with ham. I know a bunch of you just wrinkled your noses and said “ewww” which is how my husband feels about them. These were a staple in my house growing up and we had them at least once every other week because my mom LOVES them. I hated them until a year or so ago and now I miss having them regularly.

My mom hooked me up with a container to take home since she always makes a huge pot. They came in real handy when I got home. My husband wasn’t at all hungry and I didn’t feel like making anything elaborate. My parents eat them with cornbread. I prefer mine served over brown rice:

With a lovely, leafy salad:

Dinner is served!

Our kitchen table is becoming a catch-all because the mail basket is overflowing so, after I ate, it was time for sorting and filing. I’ve come to the conclusion that I HATE JUNK MAIL. It’s wasteful of natural resources and causes annoying clutter. I know about Catalog Choice to opt out of receiving catalogs, but if anyone knows of a good way to make the other stuff stop I’d greatly appreciate your tips.

Are there any foods that you hated/wouldn’t eat as a kid and now love?

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