Good Thursday to You.

Morning! I'm trying to get to work early and going to workout at lunch but thought I'd make a stop on the old blog and catch up.

SO, last Friday we had lunch catered, and it was ZOES! Yay! Which you all know I love. Of course, I've been low on the carbs- or trying- and ended up having some of the marinated slaw, egg salad (after throwing away the pita it was served in :( sad) and about a half cup of pimento cheese. I was so full from all of that. Forgive the iPhone pic, well I take all my food pics with my phone but this one turned out a little cloudy.


Saturday rolled around and I worked out for such a long time, it was great! Did a leg workout, spin for 45 minutes and then a great ab workout. About a 2.5 hour workout!

Sunday, we ate at Zax for brunch, which was so very good. I had a egg white omelet with spinach and mushrooms, side of wheat toast (which I had one half of a half) and sliced tomatoes. (Even though they're apparently out of season!) It was all delish and nutrish.


Speaking of good meals, I have been off and on this week with regards of cooking. Still lots of clean eating but quick fixes, garden burgers or egg whites for a lot of my meals. And I've been eating clementines all the live long day at my desk this week and last.
Last night I made a great little discovery, basically no carbs and I was seriously full from this meal. I paired some petite scallops, and I mean petite! with snap peas, red peppers, onions and garlic. Holy mackerel, the whole combo was so good. I followed a recipe on the snap pea bag, just combine a small amount of butter and olive oil, heat in microwave, pour on veggies, and pinch of sea salt, toss and bake for 30 mins. You will thank me!




Lets see what I can get into today, I'm so hungry as I write this. Off to make some egg whites!

SO behind! I know, I know. I've been so busy. Life is harder as a 30 year old. But I have some pics to go through. And I've been eating so clean AND working out like a maniac. I feel great!

First image, have you tried the raw "happy tuna" from Whole Foods? I'm not really sure of all the ingredients because the guy forgot to put the sticker on- so it was free, I didn't go back asking for it. Its really good, obviously not made with mayo- mostly ground up nuts. Another favorite from the WF raw bar is the garlic, and I mean GARLIC carrot slaw. Omg its so good but don't make plans to kiss anyone after you try it. It smells up my whole fridge, luckily I am a garlic lover!



Like I said, I've been trying to eat clean and my coworker L has really been motivating me with workouts and eating healthy. I had to shout out to her because she made a great butternut squash lasagna recipe that was so delicious and shared a massive amount with me! AND she made these peanut butter bars from "Cook yourself thin." I'm posting the recipe below, because a) they are AWESOME and b) I'm going to make them this weekend and need it handy. Thanks again L!

Peanut Butter Dream Bars

Serves 8
Calories per serving: 157

1/2 cup low-calorie thin chocolate wafers, finely ground in a food processor
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup creamy reduced-fat peanut butter
1 1/2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Line a 9-x-4-inch loaf pan with wax paper or baking parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the long sides.

2. Combine the ground wafers, oats, sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the butter until everything is evenly moistened. Stir in 1 tablespoon peanut butter until mixture forms large clumps. Transfer mixture to lined loaf pan and press into an even layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, remaining 3 tablespoons peanut butter and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and beat on medium speed until pale and nearly doubled in volume, about 7 minutes. Transfer to the loaf pan and spread in an even layer over cookie crust. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

4. Spread the chocolate in a thin, even layer over the chilled peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes. When ready to serve, lift bars out of the pan using the wax paper overhang. Cut crosswise into 8 bars and serve cold.


Another bar story, not the bar I drink at but delish nutrition bars, also discovered by L- Meredith's vegan bars. OMG. These are so good, we ordered one bunch and split the order, pretty affordable and so tasty! You can order them here. Gluten baby, you'd love these- GF!



I've been making a lot of protein smoothies after my workouts. I've changed my weekly workouts to doing weights everyday, and concentrating on one body part each day. Ending with cardio, instead of beginning. So more weights, I need more protein to show definition. Also, I've been eating at least 1/2 a grapefruit a day, which has suppressed my appetite some.


And I've been on an egg white kick! I used to just eat egg beaters but holy tamale, egg whites are 10x as filling. I eat those or a shake for breakfast, and usually have egg whites for a snack throughout the day. Yesterday's breakfast was 1/2 cup of egg whites and some butternut squash I roasted the night before. YUMS!


Last week I had Zoes egg salad a few days for lunch last week, trying to live without carbs but I'd have a 1/4 of an ezekiel pita. VERY good and apparently low cal for 1/2 cup.


Two nights ago, I did a little cooking. I made Cheese polenta with artichoke hearts and mushrooms. I slimmed down the recipe some by reducing the amount of polenta, less butter and less oil, cutting the calories from 340 per serving to 163. It was pretty good! I've had it for every meal since! Ha! It makes 8 servings, so I shared with L. When I initially made it, I paired with some roasted kale, SERIOUSLY LIKE CHIPS!

CHEESE POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND ARTICHOKES
SUBMITTED BY: COCOINAUSTIN

Native to northern Italy, this captivating and versatile entrée looks as good as it tastes. Hearty wild mushrooms and delicate artichoke hearts combine with savory Asiago cheese in this classic polenta dish. Makes a complete vegetarian meal when served with steamed beets and dark leafy greens.

35 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups quick-cooking or instant polenta
1 tablespoon butter
.25 cup grated Asiago cheese (or a blend of Asiago, Romano and Parmesan)
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 ounces sliced mixed mushrooms
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
Ground pepper
1/3 cup pasta sauce (optional)


Directions

Bring water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Sprinkle polenta into boiling liquid while stirring with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue stirring 1 to 2 minutes or until water is completely absorbed and polenta is cooked. Stir in the butter and cheese.

Spoon the mixture into an oiled 9x13-inch baking dish. Let polenta rest for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up while preparing the mushrooms and artichoke hearts.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, artichoke hearts, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 10 minutes. Stir in the pasta sauce if using.

To serve, cut polenta into squares and top with mushroom mixture. Garnish with additional cheese or a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired.

Number of Servings: 8




And lastly, I wanted to share a great workout that we did this AM on the DREADmill. You must do it with a partner if you have any doubt in yourself. :) It really helps. Of course I did it with "the motivator", L- (ha- like "the situation" on jersey shore- jk L!) She is a inspiration though! Anyway, here it is, I hope you try it and don't cheat! Its really kind of fun and the time flies by when you're gabbing with a girlfriend and counting your interval sets.

Dread-mill workout.
Warm-Up: Jog
5 - 10 minutes

Set 1:
*5%incline/moderate speed (~5.0) 30 seconds
*6% 30 seconds
*7% 30 seconds
*7%incline/walk (3.1) 30 seconds
REPEAT 4 times total

Set 2:
*14%incline/3.1 speed: Shoulder Press (overhead) 15x, 1 - arm Shoulder Press 15x each, Hammer curls (biceps) 20x
*****20 seconds rest between each exercises*****
14%incline/4.0 speed: 60 second jog

Set 3:
*10%incline/jog (~4.8) 30 seconds
*speed up 30 seconds
*speed up again 30 seconds
*10%incline/walk (3.1) 30 seconds
REPEAT 4 times total

Set 4:
*14%incline/3.1 speed: Shoulder Press 15x, 1 - arm Bicep Curl 15x each, Side Shoulder Raises (the one you hate) 20x --lead 10 on one leg, lead 10 on other leg
*****20 seconds rest between each exercises*****
14%incline/4.0 speed: 60 second jog

Set 5:
*3%incline/jog (~5.5) 30 seconds
*faster 30 seconds (~5.8)
*faster 30 seconds
*faster 30 seconds
*3%incline/3.5 walk 30 seconds
REPEAT 3 times total

Set 6:
run to bar and do 15 pull ups, single arm rows while in lunge, 15 pull ups, 20 jump squats, run back

Set 7:
*14%incline/4.0 speed: 60 second jog
*5 minute cool down jog


Happy weekend to you all!! I'll leave you with a pic of Cubs, as some of you ask how my little furry, fun friend is!


Love, coco!

Back to basics.

I've been eating so clean this week. Limiting carbs AND lots of protein. I also managed to crank out another hour of workouts on tuesday night, pilates and then elliptical. Felt great. I had a egg white omelet with avocado, and a side of kale, tomatoes and mushrooms.


Wednesday morning I woke up and just did cardio, ran for about an hour. After that I had a 1/2 cup of oats with berries and 1 tsp of dark brown sugar. Does that count as sugar??


Then lunch was so random, I had some curry lentils from whole foods, two smart dogs- veggie dogs and some mushrooms raw with the cedars tzatziki sauce, 1 tbsp. I know the dogs look SO appetizing but they really are! 8 grams of protein!




For dinner I tried out my new frittata pan from Williams Sonoma, who happened to have a great recipe for a butternut squash frittata. YUMMM in the tum. I loved it and the small piece was the perfect size, not too filling but tasty enough I was done. See the recipe below.


Butternut Squash Frittata

Ingredients
6 Tbs. olive oil
2 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and julienned
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, julienned
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage, plus 15 whole leaves
10 eggs
3 Tbs. heavy cream
1 cup finely grated pecorino Romano cheese


Directions

In the deep half of a frittata pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.

In the same pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the oil. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Transfer to the plate with the squash.

In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the chopped spinach and cook until the butter is browned, about 3 minutes. Pour the spinach-butter mixture into a small bowl and let cool. Wipe out the pan with paper towels.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and half and half. Stir in the cheese, squash, onion and spinach-butter mixture.

In the deep half of the frittata pan over medium heat, warm 1/2 Tbs. of the oil. Add the egg mixture and cook, using a rubber spatula to lift the cooked edges and allow the uncooked eggs to flow underneath, 3-4 minutes. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and cook until the frittata is partially set, about 9 minutes. Remove the shallow pan and gently lay the nectarine slices on top of the frittata, spacing them evenly. Cover with the shallow pan and cook until the eggs are almost completely set, 4 to 5 minutes more.

Remove the shallow pan, set it over medium heat and warm the remaining 1/2 Tbs. oil. Place the shallow pan upside down on top of the deep pan and flip the frittata into the shallow pan. Cook, covered, until the eggs are completely set, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the frittata back into the deep pan, remove the shallow pan and gently shake the deep pan to loosen the frittata.

Slide the frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into 8 wedges. Serves 4.

Number of Servings: 4





I am going to spin at lunch, have a good day!

3 day weekends are the best.

But I'm so tired still. I think I have an eye infection. Great.

Last week I was good about working out for at least 2 hours or twice a day, depending on what my schedule would allow. This last pic of lunch was from Thursday. Another garden patty with some hummus and veggies. That evening I made egg muffins! They are a great little snack throughout the day, pre and post workout. Filled with red peppers, mushrooms, scallions, a small amount of cheese and egg beaters. I'll post the recipe if interested. 46 cals per muffin!




Friday's lunch were crab spring rolls with a side of seaweed salad. Yum!



Dinner was so random, I went to whole foods after the gym and ended up buying everything! Going clockwise, you'll see the "raw" tuna called happy tuna, butternut squash with cranberries and spinach, sesame kale, thai tofu patty and curried lentils. Just a mix of some good things from the salad bar....


Saturday was my birthday dinner with my family, so I had a light brunch. On the menu we had a egg white omelet with mushrooms and onions, side of seeduction bread from whole foods and a banana protein smoothie. All about 300 cals. Dinner was at Aquarelle and my bday cake was Profiteroe au Chocolat. Like a cream puff!



Today, after spin, I had a veggie muffin and a grapefruit. I'm debating on working out again tonight. We'll see... Bye!

What diet?

Not that I'm not on just one diet, I'm on like 5. And I never take a vacation from them. I call my eating a LIET, lifetime diet. This week is totally different than last. I'm no longer following the SELF magazine diet. It was too many carbs and different things every day, you have to buy a lot of groceries, I want simple! L found a great 3 week diet guideline for us. Its basically the same thing for one week, then the next week you eat the same thing for another week. And so on. However its been so challenging with my birthday in the middle of the week. This week's menu (from the best I can remember, its at my desk at work:)

Meal 1- oatmeal with walnuts and a banana or orange
Meal 2- apple
Meal 3- Chicken breast with veggies and brown rice
Meal 4- celery and almond butter?
Meal 5- Fish and veggies with a salad
Meal 6- cup of berries

Monday started off with an egg white omelet, very little cheese. Garden burger for lunch and Smoked salmon on a piece of spelt bread, asparagus and sweet potatoes for deena (that's dinner in austrailian.) The bread was good post evening night workout.





Tuesday was my 30th, ugh I'm no longer 20 something. Sigh! So I worked out in the morning so I could feel guiltless the rest of the day. Again, my goal this week was to workout 2 hours or do 2 a days. So far I've done 2 hours everyday except Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow I promise to though! Tuesday was another egg white omelet, which I've decided I'm going to snack on egg whites everyday until I get sick of them because they are just SO FILLING! This is also me having mini meals 6 times a day, not 3 hearty meals. Low carb and NO SUGAR!!! We went to lunch at Zoes, because I wanted something healthy. L and I split the egg salad sandwich on wheat (240cals) and then the salmon kabobs, each served with a side greek salad. Holy taco- the salmon kabobs were AMAZING!! I loved them so much and will now crave them for days. Not to mention, what a good omen- my number at the restaurant was 30! ZINGGGGGGGG, good sign huh!?




The rest of the day was great, I got some gorgeous birthday tulips!!!! And then I met friends for some cocktails at my fav. bar- Star bar. My cute friend Andrea brought me pink balloons that almost made her float away. Dinner was at Ranch 616, I had walu fish filet served with snap peas and coconut rice. It. was. great. Happy bday to me!



This morning I had (guess what) egg whites for breakfast! Then I snacked on these protein bars I made Sunday night. I used chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla but they still turned out good. Below is the recipe. I want someone else to make them and see how they taste. They really are like apple cobbler, got the recipe from an old trainer. (The pic is of them in the oven.)


Apple Cobbler Protein Bars
(Berardi)

"I took great pains to create a P+C protein bar that is not as dry
and chewy as Fido’s rubber bone. These bars provide a multi-layer
gooey goodness that appeases even the most finicky of eaters. Just
leave out the “protein bars” in the title if you’re feeding them to
a disbeliever."

Ingredients:
1 cup oat flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
6 scoops strawberry or vanilla whey protein powder
2/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 jumbo egg white
1 cup oat bran
1 cup granulated Splenda
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
2 tbsp. honey
1 large apple, chopped
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.

Combine these in a large bowl: oat flour, whole wheat flour, salt,
1 teaspoon cinnamon, and most of the Splenda, leaving a couple of
tablespoons for later. Stir these dry ingredients together.

Put the yogurt, egg white, vanilla extract, and olive oil in a
blender, and turn it on low. Add the protein powder 1 scoop at a
time, until thoroughly blended. Pour this mixture into the bowl,
and stir together until it has the consistency of dough.

Coat a 8X12 inch baking pan with cooking spray, then pour the
mixture into the pan, flattening it up to the edges.

Next, mix the applesauce, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, chopped apple, and
honey together, and pour over the top of the dough mixture in the
pan, spreading evenly.

Sprinkle the oat bran over the top, until thoroughly and evenly
covered, then sprinkle the remaining Splenda over the top.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350-degrees F, and then switch to broil for
3-4 minutes, just until top is slightly browned. .

Makes 12 bars.
Macronutrient Profile (each serving)
K/cal: 183
Fat: 3 g (1s, 1m, 1p)
Carbs: 27g (4 fiber)
Protein: 16 g

This recipe is great for a pre or post workout! Please note the dough will get very sticky and hard to work with, so adding water may help, and I rolled out my dough with a rolling pin.


I worked out at lunch today, so I had a protein shake from the gym instead of getting something else at the cafe. I snacked on some remaining fish I had brought to work from last night. Then dinner was quorn "chicken nuggets", asparagus and some roasted onion and garlic. Then three hours later, I snacked on egg whites. I'm stuffed!!


Have a great day everyone, one day closer to Friday!!

Breakfast in bed? (Get ready for a long post btw.)

That's what I would have liked this morning. Didn't happen. Instead I woke up and made a quick breakfast after my bf left for a week long work trip (BOO!) and I tried to organize what I'd do today. I was craving Kerby Lane's breakfast dish, "eggs francisco." Which is an english muffin with eggs, avocado, bacon, tomato stacked- and queso smothers the stack. Sounds pretty good huh? It is! But I made it LF style (low-fat) sans bacon obvi, and with egg whites and one egg, and the low-fat cookwell queso (the blanco flavor.) It was still pretty awesome. I paired with a side of mango and strawberries.


Then I planned my day, for sure needed new running shoes and wanted to workout. So I made the commitment to hit up the Nike outlet. Don't know if you noticed but I love the NIKE PLUS on my iPod and cannot live without these nike plus shoes, complete with the insert for the sensor to measure my time, distance, calories burned. So I ended up getting new shoes, yay! And also went to bed, bath and beyond and stocked up on my Keurig coffee pods. If you don't know about Keurig, then you are an alien and totally insane. Catch up here. Without this genius coffee sensation station, I'd be miserable. After Nike and BB&B, I went to workout. I did pilates for half an hour, then spin and in between I ran 3 miles. It was a good day. I came home and had a greek salad.


Let's rewind to my last post on Thursday. I think I just mentioned what I ate for breakfast that day, the fiber one cereal. For lunch, I had a spelt tortilla with hummus, lettuce and tomato. No cheese, sigh. On the side was a "tropical fruit" mixture from central market which included mango, kiwi, strawberries and mint. Holy heaven, it was so good.



Then that night, I made orange roughy (obviously no steak for me!) and added my favorite thing, Kale! Along with asparagus, and a cup of mashed sweet potato. It was so good.



Onto Friday and what went on. Day 3 of the Self Mag "diet." Here is what was on the menu:

Day 3
Breakfast 1 cup berries mixed with 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, 2 tbsp skim milk and 1/4 cup reduced-fat granola

Lunch Sandwich: 3 slices turkey, 1 slice lowfat Swiss, 1 tomato slice and 1 tsp lowfat mayo on reduced-calorie whole-wheat bread; 2 clementines

Snack 1 tbsp all-natural peanut butter with 1 apple or pear

Dinner 3 cups turkey chili with 1 tbsp chopped onion, 1 tbsp shredded lowfat mozzarella, 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes and 1 tsp nonfat sour cream; baked tortilla chips (about 100 calories' worth); 1 all-fruit frozen pop (70 calories or fewer)

Tip Mmm, bacteria! Live cultures in yogurt may be immune boosters.


I did end up having berries in my yogurt, but left my granola at home (I was so sad at first!) but found slivered almonds in my healthy convenient store, aka my desk drawer.


Lunch was my new favorite bread, spelt bread from Whole Foods, with a sunshine garden burger, ff mozarella shredded cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion and organic mustard. I did snack on a tablespoon of cashew butter but didn't feel like an apple, I had a banana instead!


And finally to dinner... my friend Sarah came over for a bit and we were going to cook for the guys who were scheduled to be home from a football game that night. Well I made turkey chili for them (Finally got to use my slap chop! on the garlic), and I made a special small pot of veggie chili for me. Sarah brought the cornbread and used my heart-shaped muffin tin, aren't they cute? So cute, we made low-fat brownies and decided to decorate them for the boys. Ha. (We got a little silly waiting on them, so this was our entertainment, after many glasses of vino...) I realize my pic of the chili looks not so great but it was pretty good!








On Saturday, all rules kind of went out the window. I slept in so long, I missed the morning time! And then didn't eat breakfast (bad coco!) and instead went straight for lunch, at 3 pm. We went to moonshine, and I ordered the most amazing meal! I had eggplant parmesan, with a side of grilled polenta, carrots and zucchini. MY goodness, it was SO DELISH! And filling, I couldn't finish it all in fact. What a great plate of veggies, I picked off a lot of the cheese because there was so much. In fact, it was so filling, I only ate that one meal all day. I'm not sure what happened but I wasn't hungry for the remainder of Saturday. Super wild, I'm always hungry.


But then we circle round back to this morning, when I was craving breakfast in bed. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get my B&B soon enough. I'm trying to figure out my workout tomorrow. I feel like the possibilities are endless now because I am back in the swing of things. I want to workout for hours at a time, and to take advantage of all the free classes at the gym. I'm totally going insane with workouts and nutrition, I've got to, I am starting my own bootcamp of hell, please join. WE can do it. I'll get back on the self diet for the last two days, Monday and Tuesday. Then I'll figure out a new plan. Workouts must be at least 2 hours or 2 workouts per day. Mini goals are the way to go, right piper!? :)

I'll leave you with my gerber daisies I bought this weekend. I love fresh flowers. Adios muchachas!

ICE ice bebe?

I was hoping for snow/ice/anything! today but no such luck. I really wanted to sleep in and work from home because of all the cold weather talk, oh well. I did wake up refreshed and ever so warm in my bed. Yesterday was quite interesting with workouts. I ended up working out first at 6 a.m., a 45 minute spin class. I showed up to work on time, whoo! For lunch, I tried sticking to the meal plan but instead of a chicken breast, I added a garden burger from Sunshine burgers- my absolute fav! The burger patty topped spinach, mushrooms, tomato and onions. I love the paul newman's light balsamic vinaigrette. Lunch was very filling, I didn't even need my apple as a dessert.




Then went to Central Market during lunch with L to buy things on our SELF "clean diet." I got a lot and for only $60 dollars, pretty good for a week of food, or roughly a week. Anyway, after work- I ran almost 3 miles before a second spin class, then did spin at 6:30 p.m., another 45 minutes. I was exhausted by the time I got home, dinner was a snap. I stuck to the diet and made 1/2 cup cooked whole wheat pasta, gemelli. I added 1/2 cup of primavera pasta sauce from CM, 45 cals. I decided I didn't want another salad, so I grilled some asparagus and sesame kale. I'm so in love with crispy kale, like I save it last on my plate, as if it were dessert or something. The meal was so filling and I didn't even eat all the pasta recommended. For dessert, I had a 1/2 cup of raspberries. Yums!


Here's whats on today's menu from SELF:

Day 2
Breakfast 3/4 cup lowfat, low-sugar (100 calories) cereal mixed with 1/2 cup high-fiber cereal, 1 cup skim milk and 1/2 sliced banana

Lunch Sandwich: 1 large whole-wheat pita (170 calories) filled with 1/3 cup hummus, shredded arugula, sliced tomatoes and black olives; 1 cup sliced fruit

Snack 1 oz raw or roasted pecans (20 halves)

Dinner 6 oz filet mignon, trimmed of fat; fist-sized baked sweet or regular potato with lemon juice and a small dollop of nonfat sour cream; side salad with 1 tbsp dressing

Tip Make water (eight glasses) your drink of choice to process fiber.

So far, I have had breakfast. I didn't have enough cereal and didn't want to buy a new box since this is the only day cereal is on the plan. So I used 1/4 cup of Fiber one honey cluster and 1/4 cup Kashi GOlean, with 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 cup raspberries and 1/2 banana. YUMMY! I always forget how much I love cereal.


I'm off to the gym after work, then its the big bowl game tonight for University of Texas in Pasedena, CA. I have to say it, mainly for Andrea (in case any sooners are listening- sorry but Austin is my home!)- GO HORNS! :)

So much love to everyone!

Your one-week detox menu

Good Wednesday morning! I have so much going on this week but trying to make time to blog, get back in the routine of working out a LOT and eat mainly fish, veggies and fruit. Limit the carbs and TRYING for no sugar. (Yeah right.) Also, I wanted to workout a few times a day to jump start the shedding of pounds. This week I've been solid so far! I did workout both Saturday and Sunday, on Sunday I had an amazing long run on the treadmill (long for me on the boring "dreadmill"- what L calls it.) A total of 7.5 miles- almost 900 cals. A minor victory. I felt like I needed to eat something light, so I made a tilapia filet with ground cumin/pepper/garlic salt and a little EVOO. Sided with kale and roasted garlic, butternut squash and spinach salad. I thought that was TOO good, so I added my new favorite dessert. The Jello chocolate mousse, 60 calories yo! I topped with raspberries and a few bread crumbs from my gal Alli's gingerbread loaf. YUMs in the tums. Cubby was exhausted from me talking about the dreadmill too, so he vegged-out in front of the tube.





Then Monday I ended up doing a at home workout before I had dinner plans. I didn't have time to make it to the gym so I went back to one of my trainer workouts, and adding an arm workout in with my 8 lb weights. See below, it really does work! A nice little hour workout at home when its too cold to run!

Home Workout
This workout can be done anywhere…hotel room, living room, outside so this is the no excuse workout.
Again this is a circuit- move quickly from on to the next with no rest unless noted.

60 skips of a rope-if you don’t have a jump rope - pretend
20 push ups
20 body squats
Pikes for a 20 second count
20 step-ups –on coffee table, stair or curb- do 20 on one leg then do the other leg
20 Crunches
20 Thrusters

Dumbbells-
Start with 20 reps, then next set to 15, then 12, then 10, and 10 again.
Bicep curls
Shoulder press
Kickbacks
Tricep curls
Hammer Curls
Front arm raises

5 sets of this circuit... Then you're done!

So back about my veggie craze - ugh. Yesterday's lunch was dullsville. I had two portobellos topped with veggies over a spring mix salad, no dressing- all from the work cafe. Needles to say I snacked on a piece of Spelt bread, my new fav., in the afternoon.


Tuesday night I ended up working out at the gym with the weight machines, after 20 mins. on the elliptical. And I mean 20 hard mins of going fast and strong! I followed with dinner, a piece of tilapia (which 1/3 fell on the kitchen floor and Cubby ate it all!) I tried these organic diced sweet potatoes I found at whole foods. They are bland but add a little salt and or EVOO and they work! Then I heated up the last of my gorgonzola spinach polenta pie. Literally my whole meal was ready in 7 mins. Unreal huh!



Now onto today.This morning I did spin for 45 mins and tonight I am going again - I need a two a day workout when I can! The other thing is L and I are starting a 7 day "detox"- provided by SELF magazine. If you'd call it a "detox." Its really just clean eating. Check it out here. I'll post what we eat each day, I'll still be sticking to my fish diet only, subbing fish or veggie burgers when it calls for chicken, etc. We shall see how strict I get! Cross your fingers, but just dining out will be rough. Although I added a latte to my meal today after my toast with sugar free jam, I needed coffee because I was woken up at 4:15! I only had a tall skinny cinnamon dolce latte. 90 calories. I'll make it up in spin tonight! Here's to a 7 day clean eating binge!!!!!

Day 1
Breakfast 2 slices whole-wheat toast, 1 tbsp all-natural peanut butter on one and 2 tsp all-fruit, low-sugar jam on the other

Lunch Chicken breast over spinach, onion, tomato, mushroom salad, topped with 3 tbsp lowfat newman's own light balsamic vinaigrette; 1 apple

Snack 6 oz nonfat vanilla yogurt mixed with cinnamon and 2 tbsp slivered almonds

Dinner 1 1/2 cups cooked (3 oz dry) pasta with 1/2 cup tomato sauce (with no more than 60 calories per 1/2 cup) and 2 tbsp Parmesan; green salad (all you want) with 1 tsp olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar; 3/4 cup fresh berries

Tip Stick with all-natural peanut butter—it's trans fat–free!

Hola!

Happy early Tuesday, since I'm saying hello on Monday night! I've had a good weekend, time to recover from the partying holidays! I'm so glad to get back in the swing of things. This weekend I worked out, and one night I had my favorite post workout protein meal. The ahi tuna salad from galaxy cafe. OMG, I love it!

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Then my best friend, Alli came in town for new years. We haven't seen each other since before thanksgiving, so we exchanged gifts. She made the cutest gingerbread loaf, and her gift wrapping skills always amaze me. She is totally the 2010 Martha Stewart!


AND not only did she top me in the wrapping portion of the exchange, but she dominated me in the gift giving department as well. She gave "coco" the best gift ever! The Ellie Krieger healthy cookbook, "So Easy." And not only a great cookbook, but the author, the famous Ellie signed it! I mean really. My dishtowels and candle do NOT top this. Thank you ABV! Love you! Cubby loved it too, he came and sat smack dab in the middle of my book review...




Saturday, I made a mini whole wheat spinach and mushroom pizza. I ate half and saved the other half for tomorrow.


Sunday, I loved the cookbook so much, I made breakfast from a recipe in the book. My real relaxing Sunday morning turned into a little salmon egg breakfast session. Of course, my recipe looked nothing like Ellie's. I had to work with what I had, no real eggs, egg beaters instead. But its smoked salmon, eggs, onions and a half spelt english muffin. But whatever, it turned out great! I loved it. Can't wait to explore more.


I made Sunday lunch light so I could run shortly after eating on the treadmill. I had a gorgonzola spinach polenta pie with some butternut squash/spinach salad. Perfect before my run. It was a cold day in Austin, so I ran inside for about an hour and a half. My god, I almost killed myself from boredom. But so glad I was able to last that long, 892 cals I think? Yay!


Well I'm off to watch the bachelor. Good day to all!

Merry Christmas!

I know, I know, it's been so long so my last confession- um I mean post. (So sorry to the two of you who keep asking, P & S.) So why am I writing on Christmas morning you might ask? Well, I'm in Fort Worthless, and I woke up at 6 a.m.- while the old folks sleep in until well after 8. How envious am I?! I tried sleeping in, I can only sleep in when I have somewhere to be, not when I actually have all the time in the world... Like Christmas morning. Annoying.com! The only exciting thing about today is waking up to a white christmas morning! As I rolled into town yesterday, the snow was coming down! It looked like a blizzard outside for at least 5 hours! I met my high-school friend Alissa, for lunch at Lili's on Magnolia. Yummmmy indeed! We shared gorgonzola fries (What?! Its a holiday!) And then I had the grilled salmon, rice and wedge salad- dressing on the side. Then we were off to Neiman's for a bit!


I'm trying to think of what else I've been up to since my last post, Dec. 10...

We've had a few holiday parties, some white elephant parties. I've had some sunday fundays recently too, its the holiday season that bring out the fun drinking days. One day we ate at south congress cafe, one of my favorite spots. And I ordered the best dish-
Angel Hair Salsa Fresca:
Al dente pasta tossed in jalapeño-garlic olive oil with tomatoes, sweet pearl onions and fresh herbs. with eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow peppers, and topped with parmesan and crumbled cotija cheeses. Topped with pan-seared scallops.
OMFG. It was amazing! The bf loved it too.


Then one Sunday, Sarah J. and I went on a little adventure after having brunch with the girls at Paggi House, then dropping off Cat at the airport. We stopped in at the new Hotel Saint Cecilia, owned by the San Jose Hotel. Wow, I can't wait to stay here one night! The bar was dead, so we just walked around and gave ourselves a mini-tour. Check it out next time your on Congress, go left on Academy.




Then another fun day at little woodrows, my crassie fun friend Sarah James showed up in PJs for a white elephant party, she of course had her signature santa mug with her. Looks like that santa mug has seen some fun times...


Hope you have a great holiday!
Merry Christmas from the Cubby bear, I bet he misses mama on Jesus' birthday.