Quick Lunch/ Dinner Update

I have been really bad about remembering to take pictures of lunches, but I do have a few, so I thought I would share them...

All beef hotdog on a whole wheat bun, half an apple, snap peas and cherry tomatoes, and yes... the famous Bishop's pumpkin cake.  So bad, but so good.

Whole wheat pumpkin waffle sandwich (with peanut butter), homemade blueberry applesauce, 3 sausage links, and quaker granola fruit bar.

In the thermos is organic refried beans, and carne asada.  In the ziplock container is a whole wheat tortilla, guacamole, shredded cheese, and strawberries.

The above picture is today's lunch,  Last night I made carne asada for dinner,,, recipe for the marinade here: Carne Asada

The night before I made a crustless quiche...

Quiche:

10 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup almond milk

3/4 cup shredded cheese

1-2 cups ground sausage

1-2 cups chopped broccoli

1/2 slice olives

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 350

Grease  9x13 pan

mix eggs, milk and cheese, pour into pan.

Add sausage and broccoli (I put broccoli on one half because I have a non broccoli eater)

Top with olives, and bake for 45 minutes, or until egg is set.

Tonight I think I will make this sausage stir fry...

I think that's everything I had on my list to share!  Have a good rest of your week!

Catching Up

I didn't think I would ever get this blog posted!  I swear I have been working on it for over a week.  Life has just been busy!  Between school, midterms, work, tutu orders (shameless plug: www.facebook.com/itsybitsbowtique) and the kids, I just haven't had a free second it feels like!  So anyway, those are my excuses, and here is my blog :)

A few nights ago we tried a new recipe, Kate's request for the monthly menu:

Cajun Chicken Stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese & Spinach

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 6 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
• 1 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you can also use fresh cooked spinach)
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, soft
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Cajun seasoning 
• 2 tbsp ground flax seed
•  salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Lots of toothpicks 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Flatten the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.

In a medium bowl, combine the pepper jack cheese, spinach, cream cheese, salt and pepper.

Combine the Cajun seasoning and ground flax seed together in a small bowl. 

Spoon about 1/4 c of the spinach mixture onto each chicken breast. Roll each chicken breast tightly and fasten the seams with several toothpicks. 

Brush each chicken breast with the olive oil. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle any remaining spinach and cheese on top of chicken (optional).

Place the chicken seam-side down onto a tin foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup).  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

It was ok, the kids liked it, the husband ate it, I could take it or leave it.

Here is something I am much more excited about!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EHTBXS/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

These thermoses are awesome!  I heat the food at 7:00 am, I put it in the thermos, and set the thermos in a bowl of HOT water.  the kids put them in their lunch bags around 7:45 and off they go.  Guess what?!  At lunch time, according to both kids the food is still just as hot as if it had just been heated up.  Score!  Not to mention they are user friendly (easy to open, close, clean, and no spills)!  So I would definitely recommend looking into one if you send lunches off in the morning.


Speaking of lunches, I have been slacking on my pictures, sorry!  I will try harder next week.  Here are two that I remembered to take...

So my goal for months has been to be at my goal weight by the time we went to Tahoe (next week) to celebrate mine, Kelly's, and Katie's 30th birthdays.  We all turn 30 within a few months of each other this year, so we planned this trip to celebrate together.  At the end of Biggest loser I was 9 lbs away from my goal weight, and I have gone up and down between that and 13 lbs since.  Yesterday morning I weighed in back at my biggest loser weight, that was a nice surprise.... But I doubt I will lose 9 lbs by next Thursday.  But, that's ok.  I set a goal, I tried, and I will just keep trying.  However, I must say, my muscle definition in my arms has increased a lot in the passed month or so, so I attribute some of my weight fluctuation to muscle gain :)

And with that, I am off.... time to get back to home work.  Yay.  Posts my be a little scarce the next few weeks, bare with me, I'm in a transition of sorts, and will have plenty of posts for you once I get situated!

Happy Friday!  Make some fun fit plans for your family this weekend and stay active!

Random thoughts

Lots of random thoughts today, so I am just going to throw them all out there!  Enjoy ;)

Let's start with Milk.  I recently learned, partly from my nutrition class, that Milk is a no no for a low carb no sugar diet.  I knew it had sugar, I just didn't realize how much, and me, the queen of label readers, never really paid attention!  Anyway, when I finally did, I was shocked.  1 cup of 1% milk contains 13 carbs, all from Sugar.  Yikes.  Here I was, mixing it with my LOW CARB protein powder, using it with my 100% shredded wheat with no sugar, etc.... and all the while, sabotaging myself!  So, I decided to try some alternatives.  My first substitute was almond milk.  I hate almonds, so even though I had heard so much about it, I had never cared to try it for fear that it would taste like them!  Well, it doesn't.  I used it with my shredded wheat, and I used it with my protein shakes (actually half water half almond milk) and it was great.  Just be sure to get the unsweetened version.  So, now that I was feeling brave, I figured I would try coconut milk as well.  I also hate coconut, so I was a little apprehensive   I didn't like this as much.  It was a little thicker, and I wasn't impressed when I used it with the shredded wheat, It was fine in a protein shake though (again, half water half coconut milk.  I also used it in a few recipes that called for milk.  So there you have it, my thoughts on milk alternatives. For less calories, less fat, less sugar, and more calcium, I am sticking with Almond milk.

Next on my mind is target fat burning.  I hear this all the time, and get asked about it a LOT in class.  "What exercise can I do to get rid of the fat around ____________(insert body part here).  Unfortunately, the answer is nothing.  You can NOT control where your body decides to burn the fat from.  You can do 100 crunches a day, and your body could use that to burn fat from your thighs.  

"The fat contained in fat cells exists in triglycerides, Muscle cells cannot directly use triglycerides as fuel. The fat must be broken down into glycerol and free fatty acids, which then enter the bloodstream. So the fat broken down to be used as fuel during prolonged exercise can come from anywhere in your body, not just the part that is being worked the most.  You are more likely to shed your love handles by taking up a running program than by doing crunches and sit-ups every day, simply because cardiovascular exercise is a much more efficient calorie-burner. High-intensity interval training (alternating between brief periods of high-intensity and low-intensity exercise) can be particularly effective, due to the phenomenon of after-burn – that is, an increase in resting metabolic rate that occurs for up to 24 hours post-exercise. Weight training can also help to achieve optimal results. It is important to maintain your muscle mass because you will not achieve a toned look if you lose lean tissue along with fat. Finally, good nutrition is essential. After all, even if you burn 500 calories by exercising, you will not end up losing any fat if you also consume 500 more calories than usual."

http://www.yalescientific.org/2011/04/targeted-fat-loss-myth-or-reality/

Third, I have race results!  Carrie and I did did the "Run your Gourd Off" yesterday at Bishops Pumpkin farm.  We did a 5k around the farm, through pumpkin fields, walnut orchards, and corn fields.  It wasn't very forgiving terrain!  Lots of unvevn ground, tractor tire groves, sandy dirt, hills, rocks, etc! But even, with those conditions we ran the whole thing.  I finished with a time of 33:11, and came in 7th in my age division!  Woo hoo!  

And lastly, meals.  Yesterday I made home made chili for dinner.  Tonight I am grilling steaks with Broccoli and salad.  

Chili

1 lb ground sausage

1 lb ground turkey or beef

1/4 cup minced onion

2 tbls garlic

2 tbls olive oil

3 cups Pinto beans (cooked)

3 cups Kidney beans (cooked)

4 cups pureed tomato

Chili powder to taste

Cayenne to taste

Directions

In large pan, heat oil. onion. and garlic.

Add meats, and brown.

Drain, and pour into crock pot.  Add beans, tomato puree, and spices.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6+ hours.

Todays lunch was left over chili, triscuts, apple slices and pb.

Guess what?!  It's Monday!  It's a new week, AND a new month, a fresh start!!  Take advantage of it!  Make a change today that will better your tomorrow!

Homemade Blueberry Applesauce

I think I mentioned before that Kate will only eat berry flavored applesauce, not plain.  Well it is virtually impossible to find berry flavored applesauce with no added sugars.  So I decided to make my own.  My wonderful friend Lidia gave me 10+ pounds of awesome apples, I bought myself a corer/slicer and I went to work!

I made two batches, because my crock pot would only hold half at a time.  I looked at a bunch or recipes online, all very similar, so I just kind of winged it...

Blueberry Applesauce

4 lbs apples, peeled and cored

1 heeping cup blueberries

1/4 cup butter, sliced

1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 cup water
splash of lemon juice

add to slow cooker. cook on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours. stir about every hour or so. before cooling, drain water and place apples in blender and pulse until desired consistency. 

It turned out great.  I portioned it into bags, and stored them in the freezer.  

In other cooking news, I have been following my menu!  Last Thursday we had Chili relleno casserole.  I have posted a link the recipe before, but that was to the original recipe, to which I have made some changes, so I am going to post MY recipe here.

Low Carb Chili Rellenos Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef/turkey, browned and seasoned

11-14 ounces green chili peppers

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3 eggs, beaten

5 ounces cream

2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1 8 ounce can enchilada sauce

3/4 cup sliced olives

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray  9x13 baking dish

2. Slice chilies in half.  Line the bottom of the baking dish using half your chilies.

3. Spread half of each cheese over the chilies, top with browned ground meat, and cover with remaining chilies.

4. In a bowl, mix together eggs, cream, and flour.  Pour over the casserole.

5. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.  Return to oven for additional 15 minutes.

Monday was Jalapeno Popper Chicken (click here for post with that recipe), yesterday was left overs, and tonight is personal meatloafs with Mashed fauxtatoes!

Here are this weeks lunches so far: 

Apple slices with natural peanut butter, broccoli, triscuts and cheese, and yogurt

Ham, cheese and olives, pickles, triscuts, and my homemade applesauce!

My workout schedule got all changed up starting this week.  I switch from teaching Tuesday and Thursday, to Monday and Wednesday.  So Monday I went and ran in the morning, then went to Intervals like normal.  Then I went and taught my senior fit class, then taught my intervals class, THEN stayed for the new boot camp class.  Yesterday wasn't bad, but this morning I could barely move, and it being Wednesday I get to do it all over again!  I deserve it though, I ate HORRIBLY this weekend, and I have some calorie burning to do. 

 On that note, I am off to intervals.  Happy hump day.  Make some time to get off your butt and go sweat today! If you are local, come to my class and I'll make sure you accomplish that!  :)

Non Scale Victories

These victories are important.  Very important.  They are the things that keep you going when you are so frustrated at the scale, that you just want to give up, you don't know what else you can do, and are on the verge of losing it.  They help get you through those weeks where you feel like it's a waste of time, and it's not working.  I love these "victories" and I hope that you guys appreciate them when you notice them on yourselves as well.

Since I finished the last Biggest Loser Competition I was in, I have been yoyoing up and down 5 lbs. I finished the comp at 164, I've been up to 169, and as of this morning I was 165.  I'll be honest, I have had a few week moments of frustration and confusion.  I think about the HOURS and HOURS a week I put into exercising, and making healthy choices, and I just get pissed that I don't see it on the scale.  Luckily, I have seen it other places, and that has helped keep me sane, and focused.  

In these passed couple weeks I have noticed more definition in my upper arms, and by back.  Just the other day I caught a glimpse of my  trapezius , and had to take a second look.  My husband walked in and asked if I was "checking myself out", lol!  Not exactly.... just investigating a new muscle! My wedding rings are loose again, kind of bitter sweet.  I hate having to go without them for a week to have them sized!  I did another closet clean out, all my XL clothes are gone, and I had to revamp my workout gear to Medium pants... Medium!!!  I officially graduated to a size 12 regular pants a few weeks ago.... and even bought, and have worn, a pair of size 10 jeans.  I have to say that is a first for me.  Never even as a teenager have I had a pair of size 10 jeans.  I still am a size 12, I just got lucky with these... but it was meant to be I think... In high school I always wanted a pair of Lucky Brand jeans, but they only went to size 14, and I was a 16.  While we were on vacation the other weekend, we were in Ross, and they had a pair of Lucky jeans, size 12.  I tried them on, and loved them.  I almost bought them, and my husband says "$36 for jeans at Ross, that will be too big in a few months?  Are you sure you should bother?"  and He was right, it was silly. So I put them back.  After I explained the reason though (and how much these jeans are originally, over $100!), he said I needed to get them.  When we got home, I checked our local Ross, I had seen them in there in the past, but I was out of luck.  Nothing in a 12. For some reason though, I kept looking down the line, and there was a pair in a 10.  I stood there holding them for awhile, putting them back, picking them up, arguing with myself.... I finally gave up and tried them on.  THEY FIT!!!  You better believe I bought those bad boys.  My point of this ramble is, that moment right there was ten time better than any 6 pounds on a scale.  So, please keep this in mind on those days, or weeks, when you feel like you aren't making a difference.  Because you are, you just have to look in places other than the scale!

Month of dinners!

I did it!  I made a dinner menu for a month, and did a months worth of grocery shopping.  It wasn't as easy as I hoped, but it also wasn't tooooo terrible.  I think the hardest part was coming up with enough meal ideas, without repeating too often. That, and making sure I bought enough of stuff.  But that I will probably have to learn as I go.  We'll see what I run short of this month, and then I will know for next month.  

I tried everything I could think of to get my calendar from Microsoft word, saved as a picture to upload here, and this is the best I could do, which isn't very good, because you can barely see anything!  I have dinner listed on every day, and the days when we will be away for dinner or out of town, have that listed. I put "leftovers" on most Tuesday's because that is a hectic night around here.  I work, and have a class after, and Andrew has Scouts, so it'll be less stressful on me not to have to prepare a dinner from scratch.  Anyhow, if anyone wants a copy that they can read, let me know!

Last night was Chicken Taco Salad.  I defrosted 5 chicken breasts, sprinkled them with Cayenne, Cummin, Onion powder, and minced garlic, put them in a pyrex dish, poured a little green enchilada sauce in it, covered it, and baked them for an hour at 350.  Perfect.  Still moist and juicy, and shredded with ease.  I made 5 because later this week we are having chicken tacos, so I can use the rest for that.

I decided to get fancy, and make taco bowls.  I used whole wheat tortillas , put a little olive oil on them, and placed them into little mini cake pans that I have.  I baked them for about 7 or so minutes at 425.

Once they were done I loaded them up with Chopped lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, olives, shredded chicken, and topped with cheese. Viola!

I completely forgot (again) to take a picture of yesterday's lunch.  But I do have Monday's, and today's.  

Pumpkin Whole Wheat Waffles* with cream cheese and cinnamon spread, mandarin oranges, trailmix, baybel cheese, and sugar free rice pudding.

Whole wheat tortilla wrap with scrambled egg, ham, and cheese, cottage cheese and strawberries, and TJ Veggie chips.

Not pictured is yesterdays PB banana in whole wheat wrap, snap peas, Annie's Cinnamon Graham Bunnies, and string cheese.

I am forcing fall around here, 90 degrees outside or not.  So along with putting out all my fall scents and some fall decor, I also made Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Bread.  Here is the link to the original recipe

http://www.fitsugar.com/Oatmeal-Pumpkin-Spice-Bread-Recipe-22071355

Here is the recipe with my changes :

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Bread

Adapted from Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bread recipe [1]

Ingredients

1 can of organic puréed pumpkin
4 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
2/3 cup water
2 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup ground flax seed

1 cup organic rolled oats (save 1 teaspoon for sprinkling on top)
1 1/2 cups splenda
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Lightly apply cooking spray to two loaf pans.
3. Place the pumpkin, eggs, oil, applesauce, and water in a large mixing bowl. Blend it together using a hand mixer until creamy.
4. Mix the flour, flax seed, oats,splenda, baking soda, and spices in a smaller mixing bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and using a spoon, mix thoroughly until smooth. Pour half the batter into each greased pan. Sprinkle the tops with rolled oats.
6. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Allow to cool in the pans before removing.
Makes two loaves, 16 servings

I warmed up a few slices this morning and spread some cream cheese on top, it was a hit.

Ok, I think that about does it!  Happy Humpday!  Get your workout on, it's not too late to make this THE week it happens!


* Pumpkin Whole-Wheat Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 ¾ cups milk
• ¼ cup oil 
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s organic whole-wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat your waffle iron. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, honey, cinnamon, and baking soda until well combined.  Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk together just until the large lumps disappear.
When the waffle iron is hot, dab it with a little butter and then ladle some batter onto the center of the iron. Follow the instructions that came with your waffle maker to know how long it should be cooked (mine takes about 3 – 4 minutes each).

School Lunch Round Up

I thought I would gather all the lunches I have done so far, and put them all in one place for anyone wanting to see a bunch of options at once.

Also, as far as the containers... they are the Ziplock brand divided lunch containers.  They are easy to open and close, durable, leak proof, and under $3.00 for a set of 2!

I forgot again today to take a picture of what I made.  I put the lid on, and just as the yogurts squeezed against the inside of the lid, and buried the berries, I though, "Crap!  I forgot a picture!" and taking the lid off and taking one at that point would have made for an ugly messy picture.  However, it consisted of 3 whole wheat zucchini muffins, hard boiled egg, 3 breakfast sausage links, greek yogurt and berries.  So there you go, that is about 3 weeks worth (school day weeks) of healthy lunches, and the kids love them.  

Dinners haven't been as fun and inventive this week.  It's been a salad, and turkey burger kind of week.  Both the Hubby and I have worked almost every evening this week, and gotten home pretty late, so I have really been winging it.  My goal for October is to make a MONTH long menu, for dinners, and stick to it.  I want the kids to help me choose the meals, that way everyone is happy and feels like they participated in what they eat.  Not to mention it will take away the weekly stress of "what am I cooking all week" and it should eliminate a lot of shopping trips.  I hope to make the menu, convert it to a shopping list, and do a stockpile grocery trip that will cover the month... aside from things like fresh produce and milk.  So stay tuned for that adventure and planning process.

In exercise news, this morning was lame.  LoL.  I ran 2.5 miles, and threw in the towel.  I was just tired.  I even said to myself, you're legs and body aren't given up, your mind is, and that didn't even work!  Oh well, I will make up for it tonight, I am subbing for a boot camp class, so I'll just make sure I do the work out, too!

Here is the circuit I have planned for that:

Straddle up/down on step

Side walk w/resistance band

Jump Rope

Plank row w/shoulder press

Mountain climbers

Sumo Squat

Suicides

Dead lift

Burpees

V Sit

Everything will be 45 seconds, 15 seconds to switch stations, and we will do it 3 times through.

On that note, I need to get ready to get over there!  Have an awesome weekend.... an awesome and ACTIVE weekend!