Veggin’ Out

Squat & ab challenge complete for today! 80 squats really didn’t seem too bad! I think I’m getting used to all the squats because it always seems to burn the most during the last 10. Each day I can’t think about doing 10 more but the next day it gets done. 90 tomorrow!

I finished Sugar & Spice today. It ended much differently than I anticipated. Great ending though! Onto my sixth book tomorrow!

Dinner tonight was full of fresh veggies.

 

We made a chicken stir-fry. Boneless skinless chicken breasts were sautéed in a wok with spanish onion, broccoli, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, fresh spinach and served over fresh basmati rice. For a sauce, we used low-sodium teriyaki sauce. Everything was cooked to perfection!

Unfortunately, I snacked quite a bit this afternoon by my mom’s house. I’m so hungry lately and I attribute it to my monthly pal. Some months I have an increased appetite and others I don’t. This month it’s in full swing. Not cool.

Anyhow, Jhon and I are off to sign up for that gym I was talking about in the beginning of January. I believe the prices go up tomorrow, February 1, so we have to sign up before that happens.

Blazzin’ Buffalo

After another great night of sleep, I’m ready to take on today! This week had been very busy so I will definitely appreciate this weekend.

Breakfast this morning was:

A blueberry Chobani with 2/3 cup Trader Joe’s high fiber cereal. Delish, as always.

I just remembered this morning that Shop Rite has the new Fiber One Chocolate cereal on sale for $1.99!

(Source)

I really want to try it!! I saw it at the store for $4.99 the other day and just couldn’t bring myself to pay $5 for a box of cereal! I definitely have to stop by Shop Rite and pick one or two of these up sometime this afternoon!

My day today should be pretty busy. I am teaching health 6 out of 9 periods. It’s the same lesson over and over again so it’ll probably get boring but at least I’ll keep busy!

Lunch will be a blazing buffalo chicken Boar’s Head sandwich.

About three ounces of chicken on a light english muffin with lettuce, tomato, and baby carrots on the side.

I hope to finish Sugar and Spice, the last book in the Lauren Conrad series today. It’s such a chick book but I’m really enjoying it! Once finished I’ll be halfway to my goal of reading 10 books this year. I may have to go back and reconfigure that goal since it’s not even February yet!

80 squats today for my challenge. I can already see results and I’m totally loving it!

 

Romantic Evening!

Today ended up being a wonderful Wednesday! My day at work was great. I was lucky enough to go grocery shopping on my break. I tutored earlier than normal, which meant that I could turn this weeknight into a lovely evening with myself and the hubby!

Before lighting all the candles, I put together a small plate of appetizers to go with our Riesling:

• pepper jack cheese
• buffalo pretzel thins (out of crackers; next best thing; Jhon’s favorite!)
• turkey pepperoni
• strawberries

This was my first time trying this wine and it was perfect for my taste. It was labeled as “medium sweet” and apparently I really like “medium sweet”! We finished the whole bottle rather quickly because it was delicious!

For dinner, I didn’t want to make anything fancy because we had leftovers to use up and I had a great idea. I put these bad boys together:

I roasted sweet potatoes in the oven for over an hour at 350 degrees. I sliced them open and topped with leftover pulled pork (which was amazing the day after), caramelized onions, sour cream, scallions.

On the side I actually made something new I’ve been looking forward to! They’re kinda funky looking but they’re mushrooms. I dipped them in egg and then into a mixture of: parmesan cheese, panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, spicy garlic salt, and ground pepper. Baked for 10 minutes at 475 degrees and they were done.

I was really excited for them but they really didn’t have much taste. If I were to make them again, definitely something with more flavor needs to be added.

Off to curl up on the couch to continue my great night!

Two more days until the weekend!

 

Something Different

Last night I slept like a rock. I woke up this morning feeling very refreshed even though I woke up a little after 6. Not sure what was different last night, but I want to duplicate that every night!

When I opened the fridge this morning, I realized there were no more greek yogurts! My plan was to stop by the 7-11 right by my job to grab one for breakfast, but they had none!

So I chose a banana to go with my fiber cereal instead.

It was the perfect ripeness for me so I totally enjoyed it! I used to eat this for breakfast all the time when I initially lost weight. I’m hoping it keeps me full for hours like my yogurt does!

My schedule today is very light. I only have to teach 4 of 9 periods so I have plenty time to dive right into the third book of the Lauren Conrad series Suagr and Spice.

I’m also thinking of running to the grocery store mid-day because I have a two period gap where I’m off. It’s probably a good idea since I’m really low on food!

Lunch today was similar to yesterday except I added chia seeds for extra nutritional value.

A big ‘ole romaine salad with:

• diced tomato
• diced apple
• cheddar cheese
• chia seeds
• balsamic vinaigrette on the side!

Hopefully today is speedy! I have to tutor after school from 4:30-5:30 then some quality time with the hubby! I haven’t seen the poor guy in what feels like ages!

BBQ Pulled Pork

Long day for me today. Anyone else with me? I keep thinking it’s already Wednesday and the week is over half way complete, yet I’m a whole day short. Well, tomorrow is Wednesday!

I did finish reading my 4th novel today, Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad (number two in the series). I started it around 4pm last night and finished it while working today around 1:30!! I had a bunch of periods off and then when I did have to work they were watching a movie so I had a ton of time to read.

After work today, I came home to a delicious smelling house. I instructed Jhon on how to make our BBQ pulled pork in the crockpot since I was running a little late this morning. It tasted fantastic! He did a great job!

I had a decent sized serving, eaten two ways…

…inside a pita and on top of an english muffin half. I couldn’t decide which I wanted so I had half of each! Both had light swiss laughing cow cheese inside or underneath! I had just pulled the pork right before eating this so it was still kinda runny but it was soo good!

Class was boring. This semester I have to create this intense portfolio for my ESL Master’s. It’s a culmination of all my work based on standards. I have to start it at some point this weekend.

Alright, off to shower and relax for a bit.

Saucy

After work today, I stopped by my parent’s house to hang while I was waiting to tutor. My sister made this deliciously looking veggie lasagna with low calorie, high fiber noodles. She sent me a picture last night and I just needed to try it! She packed it out with veggies and it tasted so good!!

I had two small slices for my lunch/after work snack.

It really hit the spot! We ended up completing our daily workout challenges and some additional strength training since this weather totally killed my drive to go to the gym. It’s sleeting and freezing outside.

We also took a trip to the library and I picked up the second book in my series. Don’t judge, but I’m reading the Lauren Conrad series. I finished L.A. Candy last night and moved on to Sweet Little Lies. I love chick novels. I’m such a baby so any novel that involves murder or something I would deem as scary, is not for me. I’m really enjoying reading because I’m reading novels I like!

Dinner was also at my parents house. My mom made a different version of her chili last night when my sister was making her lasagna. She used the normal items: tomato sauce, ground chicken/turkey, red kidney beans, and carrots. This time she also added a ton of veggies, the same ones my sister added to her lasagna. Filling and veggie packed!

 

I’m off to tutor then head home to my little family! Working in the middle school tomorrow followed by 4 hours of class..so an early bedtime tonight is necessary!

Back on Track!

Last night I did not sleep well. I was tossing and turning all night long. I attribute this to all the food eaten yesterday.

Today is a new day and I am back on track! I’m ready to commit! I really am!

Breakfast was:

A black cherry Oikos greek yogurt with 2/3 cup Trader Joe’s high fiber cereal. I packed this to bring with me to work because I wasn’t exactly hungry when I woke up.  I also made a cup of pomegranate green tea to bring with me since it was snowing outside!

In the class I’m subbing in today, there’s a student teacher so I don’t have much I actually have to do. I finished my third novel last night so I brought another one to start today, although I need to get the next novel in the series I’m reading because it was a hardcore cliffhanger. I really hope my public library has it!

The rest of my day includes a 4:30 1-hour strength class at the gym and an hour of tutoring. I’m not really sure what’s for dinner, but I promise it will be healthy!

Downhill.

Well, things went south today in regard to dieting. First the pizza, then the burger, then the dessert.

Jhon bought a groupon for this place called Cheeburger Cheeburger and he has wanted to use it for months. I finally gave in tonight because I rather use it now than sometime in February before it expires. Their menu actually had some healthy options, but I went with a burger. I had to! They had 150 toppings!

I started off with a diet pepsi and it came in this cute glass.

So refreshing. Next came the burger, which I topped with:

• American cheese
• Bacon
• Jalapeño peppers
• Caramelized onions
• Roasted Red peppers
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Pickles

We also had a side of fries with a jalapeño parmesan sauce that was sooo good! It was interesting because they had the calories on the menu and they actually weren’t that high! Surprising.

After dinner, I really wanted something sweet and we were only 10 minutes away from the favorite froyo place. Jhon was game to stop, so I took advantage.

I got salted caramel and graham cracker yogurt topped with a bunch of yummy things. It totally hit the spot and now I’m stuffed!

Tomorrow expect healthy foods all day! I am going to lose those 13.6 pounds (hopefully not more now) by my cruise! 30 days from today!

I have work tomorrow at the middle school. It’s a half-day PM position so I don’t have to get up super early but it will keep me busy during the day! I will also get to the gym tomorrow!

I can do this!

Challenges!

So far I’ve been following through with my ab and squat challenges! My thighs are already feeling it! Here’s the awesome ab challenge that my sister put together:

Four days crossed off! A little over four more weeks until I have to sport my bikini!

Here’s the squat challenge:

Today was a rest day! Tomorrow we’re at 50 squats! Wish me luck!

Slices of Heaven!

After working for a bit on my philosophy of education for ESL, I got hungry and needed some breakfast. My sister told me she had corn flakes with banana slices for breakfast and it sounded good. I filled up a mug and enjoyed every bite!

A few hours later, my dad got hungry and was craving pizza. He tried this local place near their house and it obsessed with the pizza. I finally gave in a tried these slices. They’re gigantic!

Here’s a shot of the pizza box. There were four of us to share all these slices.

They actually look smaller than they really are and the picture doesn’t do justice to how amazing they taste. The slices to the top left are sooo good. It looks like nothing exciting but boy let me tell you, it’s phenomenal. They call it the “Brooklyn slice”. It has a thick crust topped with cheese then sauce. Sooo good! I had one of those slices and then Jhon and I shared the slice in the front, which was a fresh mozzarella and tomato slice. That pizza place is so darn good! The two slices to the top right are called the “sorrento slices”. I wasn’t too sure about those at first but I tried my dad’s and I was shocked at how much flavor it had. This slice was a thick crust with lots of cheese, roasted tomatoes and peppers, and topped with caramelized onions and balsamic glaze! Definitely going back for one of those slices sometime!

Now that I’m nice and full, time to finish up my philosophy so I can get it emailed to my professor and be done with class work until this Tuesday.