Snow Day!

We got about an inch of snow in the night and it was still falling when I got up at 4:30AM. I left for work almost an hour early only to make it 1/3 of the way and turn around. The snow just kept coming down harder and the roads were getting slick. They’re expecting more snow and maybe freezing rain through the day today followed by more snow this evening so there’s a good chance I’ll be home again tomorrow. I hate using vacation time for weather, but I don’t mind the day (or maybe days) off.

As soon as I got back home I fixed up the oats I’d packed for work. I decided to use a real bowl instead of my plastic container. Today’s toppings were a swirl of honey, a dollop of peanut butter and a few HUGE blackberries. Deeeeeelicious!

The coffee this morning was in one of my favorite mugs, a gift from my mom. I love polka dots & the color pink!

After breakfast I did a 30 minute workout DVD with cardio and some lower body. Some people think I’m nuts, but I LOVE squats and lunges. I think it’s because I can really feel my muscles working when I do them and I enjoy that burn. My timing was perfect because as soon as my DVD ended it was time for Namaste Yoga on FitTV.

I took the pup out to play in the snow for a bit. She had a blast running around like a crazy thing and rolling around. I think we’ve gotten at least another inch or so since I got home!

Jillian Michaels is on The Rachael Ray Show right now and I’m tuned in. I love and adore both of these ladies. Jillian always seems to say things that seem to hit home for me and she presents them in a fun way.

Speaking of Jillian, have you listened to her FREE podcasts? You can download them from the iTunes store. Just type KFI AM 630 in the search box, click the arrow to the right of SUNDAY, sort alphabetically and find Jillian. Add these to your iPod for some extra motivation during workouts! I actually like to listen to them in the car on my commute to help me stay motivated to hit the gym when I get home.

I love how so many of you bloggies as a question at the end of your blog posts and I’m going to start doing the same thing every day. Here goes!

What’s your favorite move for working the lower body?

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Goosebumps and Tears of Joy

The title of this post sums up my feelings on today’s inauguration. President Barack Obama. It has a nice ring, doesn’t it?

I wasn’t able to watch on TV, but I did manage to get my radio tuned in to the coverage. I was deeply moved and filled with an amazing sense of hope. There were many quotes that immediately hit home with me. Here’s my favorite:

“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.”

Okay. Back to food.

I totally restructured my routine today. I am hypoglycemic and have a lot of trouble keeping my blood sugar stable throughout the day. I get weak, shaky, nauseous and have passed out on more than one occasion.

The best fix I’ve found to remedy the problem is to eat a “mini-meal” about every 2 hours while I’m at work. Since I eat so often, I tend to stick with low-cal options and/or very small portions. I never really feel satisfied which leads to getting hungry in between “mini meals.” These are the times when I find myself gravitating toward the unhealthy snacks in the work kitchen like cookies, chips & candy.

Today I decided to try eating less often, but eating foods that pack more of a punch. I’m very happy to report that the experiment was a huge success!

I’m backtracking a bit to my last post, but this is what I ate today at work:

• 8:00AM: 1/2 cup steel cut oats w/ 2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut, 1/2 cup blueberries & 1 stick organic agave nectar
• 12:30PM: 1 serving of Quick Quinoa Turkey Taco Stew from GreenLiteBites.
• 3:30PM: 1 container Fage greek yogurt with 1 stick organic agave nectar & 1/4 cup Amish peanut butter almond granola

The only things I had between those times were plain water and unsweetened hot tea. Overall I took in less calories than an average day because I never felt hungry and didn’t graze between meals. Normally I’m starving after my hour commute and have to have a snack as soon as I walk in the door. Not today. It was almost 8:00PM when we sat down to eat dinner and I was just starting to get a little hungry.

For dinner I made Creamy Pasta Primavera from KraftFoods. I tweaked the recipe quite a bit. I used broccoli instead of asparagus because it was on sale. I added red pepper flakes to the chicken & veggies because we like a little heat. I also used whole wheat pasta and light cream cheese. I didn’t think it was an A+ recipe, but my husband loved it.

Several of my food and product choices today were made based on things I’ve seen and read since discovering the food blog community. You’re all so amazing, inspiring, fun, kind and extremely welcoming. THANK YOU ALL! (((((virtual hugs)))))

Speaking of great bloggies, Angela over at Oh She Glows is having a fabulous giveaway. Up for grabs are some yummy-looking products from Neal Brothers (for Canadian readers) or Honest Foods Country Squares (for US readers). Check it out!

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Kind of Like a Monday

It’s my first day of work for the week so it feels like a Monday. I’m bummed that I have to be here instead of at home watching the festivities in Washington D.C. I wish I’d thought to make patriotic oatmeal like Caitlin!

I was really dreading coming back to work after the 3 day weekend, but it’s shaping up to be a good day. I felt rested when the alarm went off and got in a sweat-filled 30 minutes of cardio & core. To top it all off I’m having a good hair day (which is rare) and wearing pearls. Nothing bad can happen when you’re wearing pearls.

There is one bad thing about today. I forgot my camera…again! It’s okay because I have the same 3 things planned for another day this week so at least there won’t be repetitive pictures.

Back to the good things about today! I had my first bowl of oats from the batch I made yesterday! Today I topped them with blueberries and coconut. Soooo good and I’m still full. Now I see why everyone else eats them. I love that I could make them up ahead of time, portion them out and just throw them in my lunch bag. I think these will become an every morning thing for me.

There was a minor volcano-like incident in the work microwave, but I managed to recover most of the oats and get the mess cleaned up. Note to self: Do not leave oats in microwave unattended.

I’m going to brave the cold at lunch time for FREE beauty products. As a result of a lawsuit in California, several department stores will be giving out certain full-size products (one per person) today while supplies last. Click here for more information. I know this is completely unrelated to food, but just good to know.

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Easiest Muffins Ever!

Happy Sunday! Today was a pretty lazy day. My husband was up all night with restless legs & a couple nosebleeds (lovely) so he was going to bed as I was getting up.

I started the day off with some Kashi 7-grain waffles topped with maple syrup, a little bowl of blackberries and a cup of coffee with Pumpkin Spice creamer. I don’t really like creamer in my coffee except for some of the seasonal flavors that are only around this time of year.

That was follwed by more coffee (sans creamer), coupon clipping and catching up on some reading. This picture sums up the morning pretty well:

I saw this post over at The Fitnessista earlier this week and re-discovered an old favorite food. I’d forgotten all about my love for tomatoes and cheese topped with balsamic vinegar. In my version today I used fresh mozzarella instead of goat cheese and added some of the leftover polenta from yesterday. Delish! Pardon the wimpy tomatoes. It’s winter in Ohio and the produce selection is quite lacking.

After lunch it was back to reading for a while and then watching part of a Real Housewives of Orange County marathon. That show (along with the NY & Atlanta seasons) is my guilty pleasure. I know I shouldn’t watch, but I can’t help myself. I started to get a little stir crazy midway through the second episode. We’ve been inside a lot the last few days because of the cold so I really wanted to do something. I decided to make the easiest muffins in the entire world: Pumpkin Spice muffins.

I can’t say that they’re pretty. They are quick, simple to make, require few ingredients, very filling and fairly healthy.

• 15 oz. can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 box cake mix of your choice (I used spice this time, but I’ve done yellow cake before and it’s good, too.

Stir both ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly combined. It is very thick and sticky so use your muscles! Divide the mixture into two 12-cup muffin tins sprayed with non-stick spray or lined with cupcake liners. Bake according to the directions for the cake mix. Makes 24 muffins.

…and then I ate one. It was a perfect pre-workout snack. Today was the beginning of my last week of the 12-week plan from the book Buff Brides by Sue Fleming. I did the 24-week workout plan from this same book before my wedding and it really toned me up. The workouts aren’t especially difficult, but they’re easy to step up a notch by adding more weight or doing more reps. I also add cardio bursts between each set for extra burn. Roughly 45 minutes today = 363 calories.

Afterwards we headed home and made some pizzas using pre-made crusts. I had two slices of the taco veggie pizza topped with shredded romaine lettuce and reduced fat sour cream. This meal doesn’t top the “healthy” scale, but it wasn’t horrible and tasted really good.

We had an in-home vaccuum sales demonstration tonight so we hurried to shower and straighten up the kitchen. The sweeper was amazing. It doubles as an air purifier and uses water to clean rather than a bag or canister. It also does about a bajillion and one other cool things. Being the neat freak that I am I was in complete awe and ready to write the check…until we saw the price.: $1,800. Oh, and that’s after a $300 discount if we bought within a week of the demonstration and a $200 discount because we don’t have any carpeting and thus don’t need the special attachment for that. Maybe someday, but not today.

Now we’re watching football (GO STEELERS!!!) and praying that the guy from Baltimore team is okay. That was a rough hit.

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and those who go back to work tomorrow are well rested. I’m off for the holiday and looking forward to some cooking, an extended work out session, Australian Open tennis and more reading.

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