Weekend Recap (Recipes Galore)

Saturday

I think I left off yesterday before I ate lunch.

Lunch

2% Strawberry-Banana Chobani w/ 2 tbsp. homemade granola, 2 light rye Wasa Crackers with turkey and Sargento’s Ultra Thin Colby Jack cheese.

Dinner

Taste Of Home Southwest Vegetarian Bake

This the second recipe I have made from my new cook book “Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet”.  This is an INCREDIBLE recipe!  From the crunch of the red onion to the slightly smoky taste, to the cheese.  Man oh man.  It’s a second new Go-To recipe.  It was so simple and easy to make.  You can find the recipe by clicking on the blue text above.

For dessert I made Hungry Girl’s Chocolate Chip Softies. These were good!  They reminded me of a healthy breakfast cookie/muffin. They aren’t like life changing or any thing but are very good for a girl who has a raving sweet tooth!

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Sunday

Since Jeremy is on vacation this week I took advantage of it and I got myself up at 5am and went for a 5 mile run in the dark.  It was marvelous and slightly cold!  I got chased by some armadillo, chased away about 5 bunnies and I admired the cobalt blue sky as the sun was beginning to rise. The moon was an incredible shade of pink/orange.  I do love me some early morning runs!  I see things I never would otherwise.

Running = Cheaper Than Therapy

Went went to the early service at church and then went to eat breakfast at our favorite, Sweet Tomatoes

Breakfast focaccia bread, some sort of Mexican egg thing that I wasn’t crazy about and potatoes O’Brien.  SO YUM!

Donut Muffin, waffle, French toast, baked cinnamon apples, cinnamon roll, and a blueberry muffin.  I also had some vanilla nut flavored coffee that was delicious!

As usual, I was full but unsatisfied because the food is SO delicious and I just wish I could have a to-go box for later.  I think I just need to go eat there more often.

After lunch we went looking for a pair of running shoes for Jeremy.  This was his Father’s Day gift.  After 5 stores over the last week and one last one today….we finally found some at Sports Authority.  We are a picky bunch aren’t we?

After a little cat nap it was time to make some cookies for Daddy!

Gina’s Skinnytaste Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is to-die-for.  They come out crispy, chewy, and super delicious! My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Today I doubled the batch so I could take some to Jeremy’s dad tomorrow.

Speaking of…..we are driving to Abilene in the morning to meet up with Jeremy’s parents.  The boys are spending the week with them in Lubbock!  Jer and I will be sans kids for 5 1/2 days!!!!  HOLLA!  We don’t have a whole lot planned but just being able to speak complete sentences to each other will be glorious enough!

Spontaneous MDO

Last night, after 2 days of constantly breaking up fight after fight between two boys who all of the sudden can’t seem to get along…..I told Jeremy that I was cancelling our plans to sleep in and workout with Bob.  Instead I was getting up super early, going for a nice long run, getting pretty and then I would be leaving for the rest of the day……He is such an amazing man…his response “I know, babe, I know its been rough.”

So that was exactly what I did.  I got up this morning bright, well, actually, it was still dark.  I got up dark and early , had my coffee, quiet time, and a banana to fuel up for an nice long therapeutic run.

I didn’t actually run for an hour and a half….this included cool down time and some stretching.

It was a great run though.  I incorporated intervals and felt so amazing afterwards.  I miss running outside.  I am going to have to start getting up before the sun just so I can get some in over the summer.  So worth it.

After I cooled down I ate a Gala Apple the size of a baseball.  I was going to make a smoothie but was full after this.

So then I got my messy self presentable for my second therapy session.

Top and Shorts: Old Navy

Shoes: Target

Bracelets: Charming Charlie

Watch: Fossil

I was very anxious to leave so I grabbed something quick, still wasn’t super hungry but knew I needed something.

Zone Perfect Perfectly Simple Cranberry Almond

Prince Charming gave me some money to purchase something I had been eyeing for quite some time.

Coach rocks my world.  I still carry my first Coach bag.  It was a Christmas present from Jeremy about 6 or 7 years ago.  In fact, I was carrying it today.  I commented that it still looks brand new after all these years &  I carried it for two years straight every single day.

After my visit to the best store in the world I parked myself in Barnes & Noble with my  Grande Non-Fat Misto to try and find a new cookbook.

I think I may have found the most perfect cookbook.

My criteria:

• Simple ingredients I can find at my regular grocery store
• Short list of ingredients
• Nutrition Values
• Serving Size
• Healthy, Nutritious, Low Calorie Recipes.
• Less than $20

I was SO excited to find this one.

Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Not only did it meet all of my criteria but it also had a section for slow cookers

AND

A Free Subscription!!!  HOLLA!  Oh Lucky Me!

I’ll never be in another food rut again!  No more searching hours for new recipes!

When I got home I was ready for a snack because I knew what was for dinner!  Otherwise I would have eaten right then….at 4pm…..4 servings of lasagna and 4 pesto muffins.

Skinnytaste Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones.

I went ahead and made these last night instead of this morning because I was not too sure how they would turn out after mixing up the dough.  Scones are usually a very thick dough that you can knead.  This batter was very cake-like.  Gina’s recipes are always spot on so I didn’t question it.  While these “scones” are very good, they aren’t a scone.  They are more like bread.  The batter would be best used for muffins, and the serving size is VERY small for the amount of calories it holds.  If you used the batter for muffins, it would make 12.  So a muffin for 200 calories is quite a lot.  That didn’t stop me from eating about 3 of them straight out of the oven! What? She said serve warm!

For dinner we went to one of our favorite favorites places.

Sweet Tomatoes

June Menu

The June Menu is the best of the entire year in my opinion.  Makes me hungry again just looking at it!  I might have to go again on Sunday before they change the menu…..

The strawberry salad and cobbler were magnificent.  This is the kind of place that leaves you wanting more.  I SO wish I could have taken my leftovers home.  Sadly, I had to leave them.  I am going to make us a completely unhealthified cobbler sometime soon!

Questions

Do you have a favorite cookbook or are you searching for one?

Do you have a bag/purse/pair of shoes/necklace that is one you will never part with?  One of sentimental value?

New Go-To recipe

My my my, do I have a new go-to recipe for my collection!  Actually, make that two!

Healthified Lasagna

&

Pesto Muffins

Wow, so so good!

I used lean ground turkey instead of the lean ground beef that the recipe calls for and I used Bertolli Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce instead of the Muir Glen, but other than that I didn’t change a thing!

We could make it a bit healthier by using eggs whites instead of one whole egg, whole wheat noodles (I looked for them but couldn’t find any) and possibly fat-free cottage cheese in place of the ricotta.  Over all it is a really healthy recipe!

My picky eater said that it was his new favorite thing I make!  Win!

The Pesto Muffins were wonderful!  I have never had anything like them.  Picky Eater loved them too, that was until I told him the crunchy things were walnuts….he doesn’t like walnuts.  I should have told him it was candy….

Here are the links for the recipes:

Eat Better America Healthified Lasagna

Taste of Home Pesto Muffins

Looking forward to a week of leftovers and possibly some to put away for a rainy day!

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Todays breakfast was a break from the norm.  I wanted some oatmeal, some yogurt, some peanut butter, and a smoothie.  But since I couldn’t eat all that,  I settled on a parfait of sorts.

Chobani 2% Low-Fat Strawberry Banana Greek Yogurt, 1/4 cup homemade granola, 14 natural almonds.

Workout

Next up was Spin class!  I was sad this morning when it wasn’t my favorite instructor who opened the door…..  I thought, oh no…. I hope she isn’t a drill sergeant….I’m not prepared for that.  She wasn’t, she was easy….but easy = me not getting a very good workout.  On the upside, she was fun and breezy so it made the hour pass quickly.

Lunch

I was still craving that smoothie!  So I whipped one up!

Please excuse my rude finger for photo-bombing.

I was excited about my creation today because I picked up the super food KALE during my last grocery trip.  I have never had kale and was pumped to add it to my super healthy all-in-one meal.  Since I got so brave with the spinach last week I thought I would branch out a little more!  While I was getting it out and rinsing it off, I tried a little piece.  I chewed it up a little, not bad…..a little more, um eww….…..a little more and then I spit it out in the sink.  Wow, was it bitter!  I went ahead and put a large handful in my smoothie thinking everything else would drown out the kale the way it does the spinach.  Wrong.  Ornamental Kale is very strong come to find out!  I drank the smoothie anyway trying to ignore the bitter undertone & thinking of all the health benefits.  I put the remaining bunch of kale down the garbage disposal.  Note to self, Ornamental Kale is not for smoothies!

Here’s the rundown of the nasty super healthy smoothie:

• 1 large handful of kale
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 scoop EAS Lean 15 Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1 tbsp. chia
• 1/2 tbsp. coconut extract.

Side note….the smoothie as fantastic BEFORE I added the kale, and it was extremely filling.

Snack

2 Wasa crackers (light rye), 2 slices Hormel Natural Choice Deli Turkey, 1 slice (split) Sargento Reduced Fat Provolone.

For the rest of the day I will be finishing up the mountain of laundry and playing referee for two little boys who can’t seem to be within 5 feet of each other with out one of them screaming bloody murder.

I am ALSO going to prep THESE for breakfast in the morning!

Have a GREAT DAY friends!

Questions:

Have you ever had kale? What type do you prefer?  How do you use it?

“I get that a lot.”

Last night before bed I thought I would whip up something I had seen on one of the blogs I like to read.  A breakfast cookie.  It sounded interesting and I knew I would probably be in a rush to eat something this morning before church.  This sounded perfect!

Breakfast “cookie” from Fitnessista

It was really good.  I don’t know what I expected but it was not what I expected.  It was a lot like over night oats.  There was no reason to spread it out onto the plate, I could have just eaten it out of the bowl.  Although it wasn’t very filling,( I had to have a banana too) it was really good and I will definitely be making it again!

Church today was really good.  I have to admit I was having a hard time following our Pastor’s message but when I went to my class and we discussed the lesson there, I had a few A-HA! moments.  Great lesson today.  I usually volunteer with the 2 yr. olds in the nursery but today they needed someone to help with the newborns so they asked me.  Um….YES PLEASE!  They were so sweet and adorable.  The girl I was volunteering with asked if I was going to have more kids and I said NO WAY!  I love kids and I love my kids but….yeah….she didn’t seem to understand.  She also was very confused when I told her I had a 10 yr. old.

“You don’t look old enough to have a 10 yr. old.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

…..stares at me.

I smile…..

Most of the time they will ask how old I am.  She didn’t and I am sorry, but her confusion was entertaining me, so I didn’t offer my age.

Lunch

2 cups mixed greens, 1/2 cup watermelon, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 kiwi, 1/4 cup reduced-fat feta cheese, 1/4 cup peanuts, 14 almonds, 1 tbsp. fat free balsamic vinaigrette.

I promise there was lettuce under all that!

I was so relieved to find myself feeling 100% better.  I was on a roll today.  I got home, cleaned up the mess from this morning, cooked and baked my little heart out!

Roasted Broccoli with Smashed Garlic

Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Dinner

Any guesses as to what I had for dinner?  YUMMERS!

1 serving broccoli and 1 cup sweet potatoes.

Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread

I am off to get ready for bed and read some of my book!  I hope the weekend was kind to each of you!

I think you will like…..

8 Habits to Stop Now for Faster Weight-Loss Results

Easter Fun

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope ya’ll had a great weekend.  I know I did.  It was lovely,  perfect, full of family time and WAY too many sweets.  I tried to eat sensibly this weekend and started out well Saturday morning.  I ate well Saturday during the day, but because of my lack of planning, I found myself eating a chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A on Saturday night.  It was my only option and I was super hungry.  My will-power and discipline were no match for Crack-Fil-A.  I only ate half of it, not because I was full, but because I was thinking my digestive system may not appreciate it too much.  It’s not accustomed to deep fried poultry!  *YIKES*  By Sunday night I found myself uncomfortably full.  Fortunately, I am able to start fresh today. The Easter Bunny did not fill Aidan’s basket with a ton of candy and the remaining scrumptious cupcakes I made are stored away in the freezer for next weekend’s visitors and also a rainy day. My sweets stockpile keeps getting more and more abundant!

Holidays are always so wonderful but I have to admit I do get a vague feeling of anxiety because of the bombardment of food.  My dog ate Aidan’s chocolate Easter bunny (more on that later) so Jeremy had to go try and find one on Saturday afternoon.  I wished him luck on the way out the door.  When he got back he said there was actually a lot left.  I mentioned how it would all be 75% off come Monday.  He *jokingly* said “Oh you’ll have to go stock up for me!”  I knew he was kidding, sort of, but out of my anxiety I said, “You know, that’s mean, if I were an alcoholic you wouldn’t send me to the liquor store for a buy one get one free sale.”  I could tell the poor thing was thinking “Oh man, that was the WRONG thing to say…..”  I really try not to let my own struggles affect them.  They aren’t the ones with the problem.  But sometimes it rears it’s ugly head.

Saturday

We had a soccer game.

Aidan is the best goalie in the world!

Came home and found this:

Let freak out commence.  She’s fine.  FYI…..if you didn’t already know, it takes 1 oz. of MILK chocolate per pound of dog to be poisonous.  This was a 2 oz. bunny & she weighs 8 lbs.  If it were baking chocolate or even semi-sweet, we would have spent Easter in the Pet E.R.  This bunny was in my closet in a bag, that was in a bag, tied up.  I couldn’t believe it.  Relentless BRAT.

There was a picnic at our church.

With a HUGE Easter egg hunt.

I told him, “You be aggressive, get out there and get as many eggs as you can, but be sweet about it!”

We ate chicken sandwiches,

and enjoyed the perfect spring weather.

We listened to an Easter message and enjoyed some music on the lawn.

Then we went to a blasty blast of a birthday party for one of Aidan’s soccer friends.

I need a bouncy house in my back yard.  He was worn out after all that and so was I!

Sunday

The Easter Bunny came to see a very special little boy.

We went to Easter Service.

I got to wear my new shoes!!!  Aidan doesn’t like wearing shoes.

My loves

When we got home Aidan and I made these.

Resurrection Rolls

Easter Dinner

Ham, roasted sweet potatoes, deviled eggs and a strawberry & greens salad. We have a lot of leftovers so those will be on repeat for a few days.  I also roasted green beans and asparagus.  I did it with out a recipe, out of my own confidence thinking you can’t mess up roasting veggies. Well, they weren’t very good.  Edible, but….yeah…they are in the fridge but will most likely get trashed today!

And finally, the best of the Easter Eats.

Gina’s Skinnytaste Coconut Cupcakes

I used jelly beans for topping because the mini eggs kept rolling off.

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I apologize for my lack of food documentation over the weekend. Like I said, my eating was sporadic and frequent.

I am going to play catch up today & possibly make it to the gym.  If not I’ll do a workout at home.  I plan on drinking about 150 oz. of water (kidding, but seriously) and my main goal for the week is SUGAR DETOX!  I anticipate my cravings to be out of control but thankfully I know what it takes for me to get them under control again.  I am definitely feeling the physical effects of too much sugar and unbalance eating from the weekend so I don’t think it will be too hard to stay away from them.  Can you say Sugar Hangover?

Did you eat too much this weekend?

What are your goals to help get yourself back on track?

I LOVED this article, and you might too! – Beat Sugar Addiction from Dr. Oz

Weekend Recap

Three cheers for a relaxing weekend!

Saturday

On the agenda for Saturday was housework, game, workout, baking and making a yummy dinner for my favorite men.

Breakfast

I tried something new with my oats!  I found the recipe here and tried it the very next morning.  Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out so well the first time.  But I did try again and this time they were pretty tasty!  On mine, I added a scoop of natural peanut butter, a few almonds and a sprinkle (~2 tbsp.) of homemade granola.  This made A LOT of oatmeal.  I ended up eating about half of it at first and then the other half 2 hours later.

Jeremy took the boys to the gym so I could get some housework done before A’s soccer game.  This was really exciting for Luke because he is now old enough to workout with an adult!  Luke came home B-E-A-T!  I said “Kiddo, I KNOW how you feel.”  Aidan’s team won their game 6-0!  It was awesome.

When we got home, I went for a 60 min run that turned into a 30 min jog because 1) even though I wasn’t sore anymore from Wednesday’s workout, my legs felt like lead and 2) it started to get pretty warm.  I returned a sweaty mess and decided to finish up at home.  I remembered an upper body workout that I had seen on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect.

via

I used 8lb free weights for the 1st set of bicep curls but had to drop down to 5lbs for the second set.  It was pretty challenging and I will definitely add it to my rotation!

Lunch

I am going through a smoothie phase!  This was perfect because I was super hungry & super sweaty.

This smoothie was basically the same as the others but had 1 cup fresh mixed berries,  half a banana, and crushed ice.  I much prefer frozen berries but ran out so I had to add some ice to make it super cold and thicker.

After I got myself smelling like a lady again,  it was time to try out a second muffin recipe!

Insanely Good Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins from Gina’s Skinnytaste

Listen, if you have never tried any of this woman’s recipes, I feel sorry for you.  She has NEVER failed me.  This recipe was no exception.

Dinner

I took this picture because as I was mixing it all up I was reminded of the days when this would be my entire dinner.  Except it was a box of Great Value Mac-n-Cheese.  I had a chuckle at how times have changed and how incredibly grateful I am.

Don’t be fooled. I went back for seconds!

Oxygen Magazine’s Turkey Meatloaf (except I used ground chicken), Annie’s Mac ‘n Cheese and Green Giant Steamers Green Beans w/ almonds.  I got the recipe from an Oxygen Magazine recipe book and I will post it soon!  It is super simple and really REALLY delicious! Even my picky eater went back for seconds!

I had a few of these through the day too!  YUM.

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Sunday

I don’t have much to show for Sunday.  I wanted to make it to the early service so we weren’t getting home for lunch at 2 pm.  I got up super early (had 3 cups of coffee) and was able to get everyone ready in time to leave for 1st service.

Clearly he needed some coffee too.

With the help of a little bribe of donuts after church if they were good and a LOT of grace, the boys were super cooperative. There was no yelling, fussing or fighting!   I grabbed one of Jeremy’s Clif Bars, called it breakfast and headed out the door.

Shirts: Green – given to me by a friend, Pink Cami – Old Navy

Jeans: Abercrombie

Boots, Necklace and Bracelets: Charming Charlie

Watch: Fossil

Church was good, but I forgot my jacket and I was FREEZING! Thankfully they had coffee for us during my class.  That would be my 4th cup of the day.

By the time we got out of church we were super hungry.  We had to stop by Target for a light bulb and some gray sweatpants for a play Luke is in.  Naturally we got some donuts and Easter candy while we were there too.    Don’t you know it is ALWAYS a good idea to go to Target when you are so hungry you might even be inclined to eat a Big Mac AND fries?   I did come home and have some leftovers from Saturday night before I dove into the treats.  I did not capture the moment, but I am sure you can imagine!

My treats of choice.  I don’t think I have ever enjoyed anything more in my life! I was thankful I bought the individual servings, otherwise, someone would have most definitely had a stomach ache.

The rest of the day was spent doing a whole lot of nothing.  Napping, reading, video games, eating baked goods and goldfish….I DID bathe the dog.  That in itself was enough work for one day!

For “dinner” even though I wasn’t super hungry I made a smoothie and drank about half of it before giving the rest to Jeremy.

Chocolate PB Banana Smoothie

1 scoop chocolate whey protein

1/2 banana

1/2 cup Dannon Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 tbsp. natural peanut butter

1 cup crushed ice

When I let Trixie out last night  I noticed the moon and stars were absolutely brilliant.  Luke is fascinated by all things science so I called him out there and we looked at the sky for an hour.

“You are holy, great and mighty
The moon and the stars declare who You are
I’m so unworthy, but still You love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great You are”

Cooking = Therapy

(via)

I stumbled upon this awesome looking challenge for March the other day.  Sometimes when you get into a rut whether it’s a food rut, or an exercise rut, a relationship rut you name it, the best thing to do is try something new!  I can’t wait to get started on this…..um tomorrow. 

Wow did I sleep good again last night!  Aidan let me sleep this morning until 7:30 and I felt like a new woman!  I woke up several times last night because I made the mistake of drinking a bunch of water a few hours before I went to bed.  But luckily I was able to go right back to sleep after I had relieved the situation.  <—- never happens.

Breakfast was delish

Jamie’s Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, 1/2 tbsp. all natural peanut butter on each, 1/2 tsp. chia, 1/2 small banana, sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

I thought I might be ready to get back in the gym, or at least do a workout at home but that quickly went away once I started a three hour therapy session in my kitchen.  I love to cook and bake so much.  It’s so relaxing and therapeutic.  I wish I was creative enough to make up my own recipes.  Maybe that will come in time.  But for now, I’m a copy cat.

I roasted some sweet potatoes

I love roasting my veggies.  It’s the best way to eat them IMO!  I got the idea to roast them with chipotle chili pepper after I had something similar  here.  I peeled and chopped up the sweet potatoes, and then sprayed them with olive oil using my Misto.  I then lightly, I stress LIGHTLY, sprinkled the chile pepper and the cracked black pepper.  Then tossed them until they were evenly coated with the spices and oil and baked them for 30 min at 425 degrees, tossing them every 10 minutes so they would bake evenly

When those were done I made this

using Gina’s recipe

I LOVE this recipe.  I have made this many many times and could eat it all day everyday.

So for lunch I had this

I was able to eat half of it before I was really full!

Then I got started on that pumpkin bread I wanted to make yesterday

Jamie Eason’s Pumpkin Protein Bread

Good heavens this girl is GOOD.  I had that little corner in the picture and then I had this

The pumpkin bread and the cinnamon swirl bread I made last night.  Heaven on earth.

Well, I am off to fold more laundry, yes, more laundry.  It never ends.  At least it’s just two small loads.  I sometimes forget that if I don’t do at least a couple of small loads everyday (one whites, one colors) it begins to take over my life.  I find myself running the dryer 14 times because I have yet again, left it in there too long and now its all wrinkled.  I can’t fold wrinkled laundry. That would be like torture for me.  I know I am not the only one who does this so don’t judge. 

Much Needed Rest

Although this morning didn’t start out as planned, it turned out to be 10x better than how the other days last week were for me. I am SO looking forward to starting the week over tomorrow.

I had planned to sleep in a little later this morning and go to the second service at church. That plan got scrapped when Aidan decided this morning that he wasn’t going to be his usual cooperative self and follow directions. He was very challenging all day today as a matter of fact. As I watched the time tick- tock away, I realized we were going to be late for church. My house was a wreck, Aidan wasn’t even close to being ready to go, and I started to get really overwhelmed again. I thought, no no missy, you are supposed to be taking a break from “having to get it all done”.

via

I thought about going to the very last service, but I *GASP* decided to miss this week in favor of catching up on much less important things. I felt terrible because I have had perfect attendance this year so far and they started a new series this weekend. Thankfully I can listen to it online.

But, on the bright side I did get about 10 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Solid sleep too. I didn’t wake up even one time. Truly a miracle there! And I even got myself dressed for the day!

Old Navy Shirt, Old Navy Cami, American Eagle Jeans, Target Shoes.

Before I decided to ditch church I had breakfast:

The Usual

I got started on the 3 loads of laundry harassing me every time I went to the garage, vacuumed, dusted and cleaned the boys rooms. They usually do a great job of keeping them clean, but sometimes Mom needs to go in there and give it a go.

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I find all sorts of missing items, trash stuffed under beds, in closets. Clothes stuffed into drawers that are supposed to be hung-up, missing books, toys….A lot of times I will just shut their doors so I don’t have to be bothered by it! Out of site out of mind!

I had a snack around 10:30

Dannon Greek Yogurt in Blueberry, 1 tsp. chia, 2 tbsp. homemade granola, & almonds

That kept my hunger at bay for quite a while. I wasn’t ready for lunch when that time rolled around but I went ahead and prepared it because I go from zero to ravenous in 2.5 seconds. I needed to go run some errands and I knew I would be famished by the time I made it back.

Fitness Magazine’s Greek Salad

I needed to go get a water filter for our refrigerator. Something I had needed to do a week ago, but never found time to go to Lowe’s. It’s out of my way and just wasn’t on the priority list. Before I left I tried to take the old filter out but was so completely unsuccessful at it that I may or may not have said a naughty word and teared up a little. On edge much? I decided to wing it and go to Lowe’s anyway. Good news, I got the right filter. Aidan and I stopped at Target for a few things and then we were on our way back home.

I was SO glad I had that salad ready to go because I was super hungry by the time I got home.

I followed the recipe and added a Cutie as well as some chopped walnuts. YUMMY! Don’t be surprised to see this a few more times this week!

I cleaned up the dishes that had piled up over the course of the day and then it was time to get Aidan ready for practice. It was the most beautiful day today and soccer was much more enjoyable than last week! He has so much fun out there and does so well, it’s a blast!

We came home and made dinner

Skinnytaste’s – Arugula Salad with Penne, Garbanzo Beans and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This was SO good. Light & lots of good flavors all mixed together. It was really filling too which is of the utmost importance!

Then this happened

At first I had just half …..and then the other half….. Baby steps here people, baby steps. I have got to get off the bars.

After cleaning up dinner dishes and such I made this,

Jamie Eason’s Cinnamon Swirl Protein Bread

….and OMG…the best.

I wanted to also roast up a bunch of veggies for the week and make Jamie’s pumpkin bread, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I am still deciding if I want to go to the gym tomorrow or if I want to stay home for a workout. Or, not workout at all. We’ll see. I might need one more day of break, or not…..

(via)

Mondays are pretty low key around here with lots of extra time. I am feeling so much better today being able to catch up on things and chill out a little. I know one thing, I will be turning my 5 am alarm to OFF before I get in that bed. Here’s to prayerfully another solid night’s sleep.

(via)

Back with a Vengeance

I shot up out of bed this morning before my alarm went off at 5 with the thought “OH NO Jeremy’s uniforms!” Apparently he had the same thought at the same time because we met each other in the laundry room.  I had forgotten to transfer them to the dryer before I went to bed last night.  That’s always a fun way to wake up!

Now that I was wide awake, I had my morning coffee and quiet time, then did the rest of my routine as usual.

Had my oats

I made them slightly different this morning, with unsweetened almond milk instead of coconut.  I much prefer coconut because its sweeter, but sadly, I have run out.  I also put a 1 tbsp of peanut butter instead of a 1/2 tbsp.

Luke was still with his dad for the holiday and won’t return until tomorrow afternoon so the morning was very quiet and relaxing.  Aidan even slept until sometime after 8 which is rare since he is usually up at the slightest hint of light.

I went to the gym this morning feeling GREAT.  Probably because I didn’t binge eat eat a bunch of naughty foods yesterday!  I jogged on the treadmill for 30 min.  I felt a bit heavy the first 10-12 min but after that I started to warm-up.  I felt like I could have done another 30 minutes when I finished.  Too bad it wasn’t cardio day.  My strength training was focused on biceps and triceps with some push-ups in the end.  I had done Bob’s triceps challenge ( made it to 75) right before push-ups, so I was only able to do 10 boy push-ups today but I finished up with 20 more on my knees.  Over all it was a great workout.  I felt like I could have done another 15 minutes on the treadmill but Aidan hates when I leave him in the kid zone for too long.  I am really looking forward to the weather we are supposed to have this week.  I am hoping to get some pavement runs in and soak up some vitamin D!

Post work-out snack

Apple & chocolate protein bars

I finished up some of the housework I didn’t get to yesterday then I was hungry for lunch.

Leftover enchiladas from last last night’s dinner, grapes, a Cutie, baby carrots

I think its safe to say my appetite is back to it’s usual self.

Those eggs are my favorite candy ever.  Yes, even more than peanut M&M’s.  Good thing they only come around once a year.  I am happy to say I think I have gained control over my sweet tooth because this amount was more than enough to satisfy me.

A few hours later…hungry again….

1/2 low fat vanilla yogurt, chia seeds, almonds, chocolate protein bread.

This held me over for an entire hour.  I had a few peanuts & a few bites of granola before I decided to just eat something.  SO I had a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats with Almond milk, which turned into two.  I suppose that will be my dinner because I am finally satisfied, for now at least.  See what I mean? It’s back with some friends!

Days like today make me both relieved and sort of uneasy.  Relieved that I don’t count every single calorie anymore and can trust my body to tell me when it needs extra food.  Uneasy because I can’t help but feel like there might be some underlying cause of my hunger that I am missing.  Did you not get enough sleep?  Are you stressed?  Worried?  I have this irrational fear that something is going to happen and I will gain all the weight back.  I know in my heart of hearts that won’t happen. I know that today is my body’s way of making up the difference from the past few days and possibly even last week as a total.  It’s still a big transition from actively dieting to intuitively eating.  I know it will take time to get used to.  I trust my body and I trust that the food I give it is being used for my benefit.

Treat Day Rescheduled

Um, excuse me appetite?  Yeah, we had a date with some treats today, and you missed it.  How rude.  I guess I will make make Date Day, Treat Day also.

I managed to get most of the stuff on my to-do list done today.  The dusting and vacuuming will have to wait til tomorrow.  I was busy doing very important things like this…

Jamie’s Protein Bars

I made the carrot cake (right) just like the recipe, except I used 1/2 cup Splenda.   Then I thought I would try to make banana bread based on her original recipe.  I substituted the carrots for banana, used 1/2 cup Splenda, and 1 tsp vanilla instead of the nutmeg and all spice.  It doesn’t taste like banana bread, but its still really yummy!  More like a vanilla bread, I guess.

Aidan liked it!

One thing this recipe calls for is oat flour.  It’s pretty pricey to buy in the grocery store, so I make my own using my food processor.

Around 2:30 I finally got a little hungry and had a snack

The last of Jamie’s Bread in chocolate and carrot cake from last week

A little hungry again a few hours later.

Banana protein bread, apple, and a Cutie.  I had a second piece of bread a little bit later.

And finally dinner.

Gina’s enchiladas

I am taking bets to see if the M.I.A appetite comes back tomorrow, with some friends.