thinfully inspired

Iced Coffee Concentrate. You know you want it.

2013-07-29T17:10:00.001-07:00

There are a few giant coffee chains out there you can get a semi-decent cup of iced coffee from. However, it hurts to spend so much money on one cup. One. Cup.

There is a local grocery chain around the Phoenix/Scottsdale area called Aj's that does a great iced coffee concentrate. The large is a 32 oz cup and the cost is about $3.00. Not bad, but still not worth the inconvenience of stopping every morning for one and more or less blowing $15 bucks into the wind.

I was talking with my former office mate about how much I adored iced coffee but didn't want to spend the money on buying it all the time. My office mate was what I referred to as Kyle-i-pedia -if he didn't know the answer he'd find it in seconds, usually with statistical data that he had stored long ago with the purpose of knowing one day he would need it as backup for another not yet known fact.

Kyle told me about a bunch of different cold brew systems but said that I would be able to make it at home pretty easily. I tried his suggestions.

It worked.

I tweaked it to my liking. The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it with whatever your little heart desires, as long as you have the basic necessities.

Remember, you are making an iced coffee CONCENTRATE. This means it will need to be diluted. Unless you want to run around like a whirling dervish all day long. If you do, then... whirl away. I will typically take a cup and fill it 3/4 with ice, half of the cup is filled with concentrate, the rest is water. I add a shot or two of sugar free syrup and a little bit of creamer for color. I've tried using coconut almond milk instead of water, using fat free milk instead, etc. The beauty is that you can find your favorite mixture and work from it.

- A (12 oz) bag of whole bean coffee (darker roasts work best)
- A large glass container (with a sealing lid) - - Glass works best to not absorb any other flavors that may be left behind in tupperware
- Two liters of water (I used bottled water and saved the bottle to pour it back into)
- A coffee grinder
- A strainer
- A large measuring cup (mine holds 4 cups and is perfect for this)
- Several coffee filters
- Optional.. a vanilla bean split down the center to flavor the coffee as it is cold brewing

Ok... this is the hard part.

Gather all your ingredients

Put the coffee beans into the grinder. You want to try to get the coffee from bean form, to ground, to being soaked in the water as quickly as possible to avoid acidity. Grind the beans until they look coarse, like fine wood chips.

Once you get the entire bag ground, you want to filter the coffee into the container. I use a piece of paper rolled up into a funnel to make it easier not to spill as much, but its inevitable.

Once you have all of the coffee ground and added to the jar, add your two liters of water and stir with a wooden or plastic spoon- metal can change the acidity in the coffee.

It should look like this.

You can see the coffee floating at the top of the water.

Now is the hard part. Wait. The minimum would be 12 hours. If you do it longer, the stronger your coffee will be.

The next morning, I got out my handy strainer, put a few coffee filters into it and started slowly pouring the coffee into it to strain out.

It takes a bit to get it all sloughed through. I usually will change out the filters after every pass through, since it gets sludgy the deeper you get into the jar.

Getting toward the bottom of the jar

Once you get it all strained out- there will be a bunch of coffee left at the bottom of the jar you aren't able to get much water out of- I pour it into the water bottle that I started with.

As you can see, this is VERY dark coffee. The beauty of it is that its strong, but you don't need much of it in order to make yourself a cup.

- A glass

- 3/4 glass of ice

Fill glass with ice. Fill half the cup with coffee concentrate. Dilute the other half of the cup with water and your choice of cream/syrup.

Thats it! Enjoy!

The truth about fad diets

2013-04-10T04:52:00.001-07:00

That cool thing that everyone is doing.

Everyone.

You know you want to do it, because it seems like everyone else is. Then, given a certain amount of time, you find it was a fad.

Like this.

Remember Slap Bracelets?

And this.

Pogs

Who can forget?

But I saved the best for last....

The Rat Tail Pony Tail. This took some serious commitment.

Fads. They come and go in every facet of what we do. This includes in our dietary habits.... Cabbage Soup Diet anyone? There are quite a few out there now that I wanted to specifically talk about.

First and foremost I want to encourage you to never use the term diet. Psychologically, when you are telling yourself you are on a diet, you are mentally restricting yourself. You are unknowingly setting yourself up for failure. If you consistently tell yourself you cannot have anything because its not on your diet plan, you will eventually give in to your craving most likely binge eating. I never tell myself I am on a diet. Eating better is about changing your lifestyle. If I want something, I will have it, in moderation of course. I've maintained the weight loss that I sustained for over 5 years with this method of thinking. Try thinking of what you CAN have and not what you CAN'T have.

The Atkins Diet

With this diet, they frown upon carb ingestion. They say you can eat as much meat as you want, as much cheese as you want as long as you stay away from the carbs. Sounds too good to be true? It is. Why? Meat and cheese are incredibly high in fat. In this, you are also limiting the amount of nutrients you get by eating vegetables and fruit. Do you lose weight? Sure. Is it good for long term weight loss? No. Why? The human body runs on carbohydrates. It takes them and turns them into ADP. Thats what fuels your muscles. Its the gas to your muscle 'engine'. Temporarily it may help, but it is not something that overall is going to be beneficial for you as you are likely to gain the weight back that you lost in addition to raising your cholesterol.

The Zone Diet

This diet they recommend you follow a diet of three meals a day with two snacks. Each of these meals should consist of 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent healthy fat. How does one determine how much of what to eat? Its all about measuring with your hand and your eyes. There is no scientific method to breaking this down. They do have books and recipes to assist you. The good part? You can choose what foods you like to eat.... as long as it follows the guidelines. This diet doesn't restrict you as much as some of the others, for instance, Atkins. It does allow you to eat more or less the daily allowance of what you should be consuming to remain healthy. The downside is the preparation time to make the meals.

Lastly I wanted to talk about the diet that most people are following these days.

The Paleo Diet.

This was created as something that goes back to human ancestry. Basically, you are to eat what cavemen ate in the Paleolithic era by eating meats and vegetables that our hunter/gatherer ancestors did. This sounds relatively easy. Eat meat, eat vegetables. It sounds good, in theory. However, I think that a lot of these 'Paleo' recipes that they've come up with get lost in translation. After all, I am in serious doubt that cavemen had access to items in some of the recipes I've seen such as Sriacha, fish sauce, sesame oil, etc. In doing a search online, I have found '100% Paleo' recipes that include ingredients like sun dried tomatoes packed in oil and herbs as well as ...canned enchilada sauce. I thought the idea of eating Paleo was to stay away from canned items because of the amount of preservatives in them. What people are doing is creating these recipes to try to conform today's lifestyle to what they want to consider a diet. Sriacha is mostly hot peppers, sugar, vinegar and salt. . . Fish sauce? Did the cavemen use rocks to beat the fish and make a paste before they lightly sautéed their meat?

There are sites you can order 'Paleo approved' desserts. Such as a bar that contains coconut oil, almond flour, vanilla, and many more items that I find hard to believe that a caveman would have in his pantry. This diet does have good principles. It helps you to strive to eat more vegetables, better grains (such as quinoa) and quality, lean cuts of meat. But is it truly 'Paleo' to be eating the items in the recipes I mentioned? People want to believe that it is. I personally think its no more than eating a gluten free diet. The similarities are striking. However, removing say, taco night from your normal routine to just replace it with fish sauce and Sriacha doused meat in the long run isn't going to get you anywhere any faster.

The one thing that people always do is believe. They want to believe that what they are doing is working. They want to believe that if they make a change to their dietary habits that it will make a difference. And they want to believe that whatever new thing that is coming up the pike might be the one thing that helps them.

I have an answer for you. It won't.

You know what will work? A healthy approach to eating food and exercise. Thats it. That is the magic bullet. I worked my ass off for several years, learning along the way what did work and what didn't. I learned to slowly remove the things that I once loved out of my daily eating habits and moved them into my 'once in a great while' eating habits. I learned to make the things I love, just a little bit healthier. I learned healthier substitutes for the items that I liked to use. And I exercised. A lot.

You can get to where you want and its your choice on how you get there. I am by no means a nutritionist or an expert when it comes to these things.

I'm just a girl who lost 132 lbs doing it my way.

You can read US News and Weekly's report on the most popular diets and their rankings at http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-overall-diets

Bragg's

2013-01-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

There are quite a few things that I use a lot. I like flavor in my food. I loathe eating things that are bland.

For instance, I have a jar of crushed red peppers in my desk that my office mate and I use on everything. I buy the big jar from Costco and refill it from that . . . I love spicy food. I think at last count we have around 8 jars of hot sauce in our refrigerator. I'm that girl.

I discovered the Bragg products last year when I was attempting to go Gluten Free. I purchased some of the Nutritional Yeast Seasoning and decided to try it. I put it on pizza, popcorn and salads. To me, it tastes a lot like Parmesan cheese. My favorite way to eat it is on a kale salad. There is something about the flavors together that I adore.

After I liked that, I tried purchasing the Apple Cider Vinegar and integrating that into my diet. Apple Cider Vinegar as a lot of health benefits, if you buy the one with the 'mother' in it. It isnt filtered out and thats what makes it beneficial for you. I usually will do one shot of it a day (about two tablespoons) before I eat dinner to help aid in digestion. From my research, some of the benefits include helping lower blood sugar levels between 4-6% in diabetics, slowing cancer growth and can help contribute to weight loss. For more information click here.

Given that I liked the first few products that I tried, I bought the Liquid Aminos to see if they were all they were cracked up to be. I use it just like soy sauce. And you know what? You can't tell the difference. I've been trying to get my husband to try it, but he says that the Nutritional Yeast looks like fish flakes and he isnt interested in trying the Liquid Aminos.

He thinks some of this nutritional stuff I buy is voo doo. But, if I like, it, he doesn't really care that I purchase it. I've read some people like taking raw almonds and spraying two or three sprays of the liquid aminos on them instead of using salt.

There are lots of products out there that tout health benefits. I don't buy a lot of it unless I can find some type of substantive information on it.

I wasn't paid to write this about Bragg. I really wanted to share what I use to try to supplement flavor on my end without sacrificing quality and my health.

I also take health supplements from Hi-Health. I typically do a sub-lingual B-12 tablet (2 a day) and I take 5 HTP. It has B-6 and St. John's Wort in it as well. I've found it to be the best form of a carbohydrate craving suppressant that I can take that also helps with my mood. If I find myself getting up in the morning with crankypants and a snarky shirt on- this helps me regulate my mood. On and off, I like taking an adrenal supplement to try to get them functioning on a good level again. It also contains probiotics which can help with your immune system.

Do you have any favorite products you use all the time? Any supplements you rave about?

Lazy Dinners

2013-01-24T11:58:00.001-07:00

You ever get home from work after a long day. . . so tired and exhausted. All you want to do is sleep. Then, your husband looks over at you and says, "Whats for dinner?"

Usually, my response is something like this


Courtesy of tardthegrumpycat.tumbler.com

I do most of the cooking in our house. Its not that my husband doesn't like to or isnt decent. Its just that I am usually pretty particular with the way I like stuff so its easier to make it myself. For instance, I don't like soggy french fries. Or bacon. To me, they aren't worth the calories. If I am making the choice to eat them, I want it to be good. GOOD.

So, for those nights that I don't feel like cooking I have some staples in the house that we can usually throw something together fairly quickly.

A few ideas for you:

Flat outs pizzas

I use either the italian herb or the regular ones. I usually will parbake these for 5 minutes on one side and 4 on the other (at 375) so the sauce doesnt weigh it down. Take two tablespoons of organic marinara/pizza sauce and spread out- you don't want too much sauce because its going to eep through the flatout and won't get a crispy consistency. We add about a 1/4 cup of mozzarella then our toppings vary. One day it might be olives, one day it might be pepperoni. The last time we made it, it was hot italian turkey sausage and kalamata olives. Pop it in the oven (just keep the oven on during the time you're assembling) and put it in there for about 7 minutes. Check to see if the cheese is melted to your liking. I will always take the last two minutes or so and put it on broil so the ends get crispy on the edges. This is usually enough for me, but I've been known to serve it with a small side salad occasionally.

Boca Spicy Chick'n Sandwiches with Cottage Cheese

I know too much overprocessed food is bad for you, but I dig these things. They are fantastic. I even got my beef loving husband to eat them. Our oven is a little different, but for us, I just bake them at 390 for 15 minutes, flip then bake the other side for the same time. They get crispy and remind me of the McChicken. I serve them on 100 calorie thins with fat free mayo and pickles. We normally will have cottage cheese on the side. I personally have a love for a little bit of low cal italian dressing and capers on the cottage cheese with a little fresh cracked pepper.

TLT's with Cottage Cheese

Much to my husbands dismay, I stopped buying regular bacon a while ago. I buy the Oscar Meyer turkey bacon (bonus: its $2.79 a pack instead of $5.99) because I like the fact that its much less greasy than pork bacon. Less cleanup. We bake it on a rack over a cookie pan for about 15 minutes at 400 (in our oven- yours might be different) then flip it and it takes about 5-7 minutes more on the other side to get crispy. Once its done, I serve the sandwiches on 100 calorie thins with fat free mayo. Cottage cheese is an easy side.

Spaghetti with Turkey Sausage

Spaghetti is always an easy meal. I try to make it a little healthier by using two/three of the hot italian sausage links (I take them out of the casing) and sauteeing those before adding to the sauce. I adore the quinoa pasta and use this whenever I can sneak it in. Bonus: if you use the other two links of turkey sausage on your flatout pizzas, you have two meals off one 5 dollar package of meat.

Grilled chicken and veggies

This is fairly hard to mess up. Grill chicken with your favorite seasonings and serve with a veggie on the side. I like the Steamfresh veggies and stock up whenever they are on sale. This way, we can have decent tasting corn all year round. I also have recently discovered McCormick's cajun seasoning. It tastes great on grilled chicken- I used that for a salad the other night.

Veggie Burger and Cottage Cheese/veggie/side salad

I love the Morningstar Farms 1/4 pound griller burger. My husband, does not. On the days that I want one of these, he will usually take out a small round steak and grill that alongside my burger. I typically don't eat a bun with it only because its a little higher in calories than I normally have with dinner along with a side. We do either cottage cheese, a side salad or a veggie for that.

Newmans Own Thin and Crispy Pizza

This is one of our favorites. Its a really thin crust, so it tastes better than the other frozen pizzas. It also cooks in 12 minutes, just enough time for me to prepare a side salad.

Morningstar Farms Veggie Corndogs and Crispy Crowns

If you don't follow me on myfitnesspal and see my diary daily, you are probably coming to the conclusion I like the veggie products. This is by far the easiest (and probably least healthy) of what we'll have a few times a month. A veggie corndog along side crispy crowns (like tater tots, just thinner) ... put it in the oven for 30 minutes and you have dinner. Voila.

Do you have dinner staples you make? What's your favorite dinner to make??

Happy New Year!

2013-01-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

I'm guessing that everyone is making a resolution this year...

..except me

I don't think that resolutions are things that people tend to really stick to.

Resolutions seem to be exactly that...what seemed like a good idea at the time.

Why break yourself into thinking that you have to do this or have to stop doing that in order to get through the year?

Losing weight isn't a resolution. Its a lifestyle change. You have to be committed. When I started losing weight, I told myself I wouldn't use the word diet in my vocabulary. Why? It makes you psychologically feel like you are being restrained. If you make a 'lifestyle change' you can still eat better without feeling all of the restrictions and negative connotations that stem from the word diet.

You make the choices of what you want to eat. That was the hardest part of me losing weight before. I blamed other people for what I ate. I was in full control and I still am.

The holidays weren't too bad, all considering. I got married in November and the week we got back from our honeymoon was Thanksgiving. Christmas rolled up shortly thereafter and then New Years. I did gain some from the meal plan we were on at the resort we stayed at and from recently learning how to make my own bread, but I digress.

I am getting back to the healthy eating habits that made me who I am; its what I know and what I'm good at. I've been told by many people they are impressed with my discipline. I just ask myself before I eat something, do I really want this? If I know it isn't worth the calories; I won't eat it. Its that easy.

We had people over for dinner a few times over the holidays. I am a big proponent of making everything myself. Yes, it is a lot more work. Yes, it exhausts me. However, the benefit is that I know exactly what is going into what I am about to eat and serve. I can control the fat and calorie content.

For New Years, I made the Skinnytaste Pork Carnitas. I let them simmer a little longer than what the recipe calls for and the meat was incredibly shreddable. (Note: I make my own adobo seasoning since the Goya brand she has mentioned has MSG in it.)

I also made the Skinnytaste Cilantro Lime Rice as a side. For an appetizer, I made my own bean dip and two types of homemade salsa; served with tortilla chips.

Layered Bean Dip (perfect for the NFL Playoffs)

2 cans of Rosarita Spicy Jalapeno Refried Beans
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of mexican oregano
1 small can of mild green chiles
1 8oz block of fat free cream cheese (room temperature)
3/4 a cup of fat free sour cream
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Pico de Gallo (I used a store bought container for sheer convenience)
1 can of black olives
1 tablespoon Lawrys Taco Seasoning (Note: you can use your own mix of spices, I used it for convenience)
Cilantro

Take both cans of refried beans and heat up slowly. Add onion and garlic powders, along with green chiles.

While the beans are heating up, take a hand mixer and mix the taco seasoning, mexican oregano, cream cheese and sour cream together until well incorporated. Set aside.

Once the beans have heated through, turn off and remove from heat.

I took a 9x13 baking dish and spread the beans in a thin layer at the bottom of the pan. Then, I spread the cheese mixture into a thin layer on top of the beans. From there, I added the cheese, pico and black olives on top, cilantro as garnish. Serves 12.

Beans are full of protein and are incredibly filling. Although typical layered dips are bad for you, I believe this one is a little healthier not to mention more flavorful (spices are key!)

Cheers to you and yours!

"...you need to be strong, kid."

2012-12-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since I posted. Its been difficult to find the time to do it. On July 3, my dad went in for emergency pacemaker surgery. Emergency as in he was getting a stress test and they admitted him to the hospital and had a pacemaker in within 4 hours.

We knew he had an abdominal aortic aneurism and had been waiting for the day the surgery was going to be scheduled. It was delayed because in the beginning of August, he was admitted to the ICU for 16 days for developing a MRSA infection in his heart at the pacemaker site.

Shortly thereafter his release, they scheduled the aneurism surgery for September 6. He told me the night before the surgery that I needed to be strong for everyone. That it was going to be hard when he wasn't here. I told him, verbatim, "Shut the hell up. You're talking out of your ass again. You'll be fine and when you're out we'll have a beer on the patio. Deal?" He said, "I'm being serious. You need to be strong, kid."

On his 60th Birthday

He went in for surgery the next morning.

And passed the next day.

It broke my heart. I don't ever recall crying as much, as hard or as long as I did the weeks following my dads death. I mean, I'm realistic. I know that it would eventually happen. But I didn't expect it to happen at my age.

Or six weeks before my wedding.

I learned a lot from him. I've done a post before about Billy, but he really did have a big impact on us growing up. My parents were divorced but not one of our teachers believed it. He was at every single parent teacher conference, he was there anytime we had a play, got a medal, anything. He also made threats that "you never know where I am; I might just be right around the corner. I might walk right through that door anytime" to get us to try to behave. He taught me to love cars. He taught me to love being in the kitchen and experimenting with spices ... making dinners with recipes out of my head. He taught us how to punch when I was in 6th grade. . . Billy had what would be the epitome of a knuckle sandwich...his paw was the size of my head. Reference Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

We started going out on family vacations a few years back. We'd take a long weekend, find a ginormous cabin to rent for all 14 of us and each of us were in charge of a meal or two. We tried to go in September or Octoberish when the weather was great up north.

My dad always made chili. Always. Everyone loved it. He made red beef chili and I made my green chicken chili. Now, I don't eat beef because we broke up. I also broke up with tequila earlier this year. When you get older you realize you don't have to eat (or drink) things you don't like or you don't want to. Exactly why I don't drink Bud Light Lime.

I got a recipe for turkey chili from an awesome coworker. I had intended on making a half batch, but after my husband wanted leftovers, I decided to make the full recipe. As such, I didn't have everything in the quantity that she gave me. So, its modified a bit. But, its still just as delicious as the recipe she gave me.

So, this one's for you dad. Made my way of course, just like you've come to expect from me.

Turkey Chili (cooked in a crockpot)

1 lb of ground turkey (I used Kroger)
1 container of Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausage
3 cans of chili beans (I used Bush's Chili Beans in mild sauce, I did NOT drain them)
2 cans (14 oz) of diced tomatoes with jalapenos
2 bottles of Corona
1 can of Rotel Hot
1 can (6 oz) of tomato paste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 yellow chiles, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon bacon bits (I had Hormel bacon bits in the fridge. DO NOT USE BACO'S)
1 1/2 tablespoon low sodium Better than Bouillon chicken base
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mexican oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon paprika

Yeah, I know there are a lot of ingredients. However, if you cook as much as we do, I only had to buy the turkey, chili beans and the produce. Really, not that much.

Take the ground turkey and the hot italian turkey sausage and brown. I took the casing off the italian sausage and just mixed it in the pan. Drain the turkey when browned.

Add ALL the ingredients into the crockpot. I can tell you, mine was filled to the absolute brim.

I simmered on low for two hours and high for two hours (since our crockpot can double as a nuclear reactor) and it was perfect. My honey and I had dinner tonight, we have lunch for tomorrow, two separate ones to freeze, one large one to freeze and a medium sized one to serve later this week over a baked potato. It makes about 14 servings. I served it with a little grated cheese and some green onions.

Today would have been my dad's 64th birthday and I wish he would have been there to see this...

But, I know he was the reason we woke up to this the day after we got married.

So many days have passed that I have gone and picked up the phone on the way home from work, find his name in my contacts and get ready to call him... and then hang up. Its been a rough few months, but I know he always got a charge out of my mom printing what I wrote on the blog and reading it to him.

I love you, dad.

The last chapter in this book of life, part 1

2012-07-11T12:57:00.002-07:00

There comes a time and place where you know you're ready to move on... the way you're doing things, living your life, the tv shows you watch; you get my drift.

I started this journey losing weight approximately 7 years ago. I was lackadaisical about it for a good period of time. Then, I started seeing results. Results that lasted. I was just about 260 lbs when I started this journey. I'm 128 lbs today.

I slowly made better choices. I did get sidetracked. I did drink beer. I did eat glorious amounts of chicken wings... but I did lose weight. I worked my ass off to do it, too.

The latter part of 2008-beginning of 2009, I noticed my weight stabilizing. I varied between 129-133. I felt great, but I had a lot of extra skin, especially around my middle. My belly button looked like a sad face.

The man that I am going to marry told me that he thought that I was sexy because of the sheer determination I had to get where I was. He knew I was self conscious about the way I looked in certain clothes and never said anything bad to me about what I chose to wear. But he knew it bothered me.

As an aside (which will make sense later) I've also come to the realization that I most likely will not have kids. I'm coming up on a ripe age where I feel the risks outweigh the benefits. David and I most likely will adopt once we're married and I have my degree.

Circling back, after David officially proposed back in December (the first time was without a ring :) )
we started talking about destination weddings. We wanted a hassle free way for us to get married and have a honeymoon all in one, since weddings are so damn expensive these days. After searching for a place, we found an island in the Bahamas to tie the knot. We don't need bloodwork, a guarantee of first born children or samples of dna. We can just go, show the documents they ask, get a license and have our official ceremony on the beach (some other countries require you to get married in their courthouse first, then have a ceremony on the beach.)

Once we decided to go this route, David cautiously brought up that if I wanted to get the excess skin removed before we got married, I could. I just stopped and thought for a little while. I did have some issues with infections in my sad face belly button because the skin pinched it shut. I tried everything I could to avoid it, but it didn't stop it. I just didnt want to be 'that girl' that did it without thinking about it all. There are side effects and nerve sensation that can be lost. There can be necrosis of the muscle tissue. All things that no one wants to think about.

I went and got a consultation with a Dr in about March. He did confirm what I had initially thought, but was skeptical of; all of the area around my middle was skin- not fat. He gave me options and a price and I talked with David about it.

After talking extensively about it, the thoughts on children, etc we decided to proceed.

As the date approached, I became more and more nervous of the procedure, if I was doing the right thing, if it was selfish of me, if it would change my out look on my appearance.

The day I went in to sign all the forms and disclaimers, I became extremely apprehensive. 8 pages of what could happen. . . including death.

As the big day approached, I started getting a little excited about the idea of a new belly button (yes, you get a new one) no more infections, less stretch marks, all of it.

On the big day, David took some pictures of me before we left. This way, I'd have something to show for my befores and afters. We left for the hospital and on our way to a new me.

...Stay tuned, the rest of this story and the pictures to be posted in the coming weeks.

Back on the saddle again...

2012-05-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all!!!

How did everyone fare over the three day weekend?

I had a very busy weekend. We got up on Saturday morning and did ten miles on the mountain bikes on the trail near us. We went to my nephews 6th birthday party on Saturday afternoon at Peter Piper Pizza. I was bad and ate four (yes, four) pieces of pizza. Afterwards, I went to visit a friend of mine that had surgery last week for a bit, then to As You Wish with another group of friends to paint. We ended up socializing out in the parking lot for a good period of time talking about all kinds of things. It was a great night. This was my creation! It hasn't been glazed yet, but at least I have a coffee cup that someone else (ahem, Dave) won't feel so manly drinking out of.

Sunday, we got up early and headed up to Sedona. We armed ourselves this time with two patch kits, an extra innertube for each bike, a hand pump, two extra liters of water and some energy gels. The trail David found looked amazing.

We got there about 9:15 am and the trailhead parking was already completely full. We tried another lot a little further north and the same thing. We drove back to town and parked in one of the parking lots (about a quarter mile away from the original parking area) had an art show going in and rode the bikes up to the trailhead.

I struggled a bit when we first started. I think it was the altitude because I was wheezing a bit. I brought my inhaler, so I took a few hits off it and rested a second and kept going. The weather was wonderful. We got a lot of up close and personal shots of Bell Rock and the Courthouse Butte.

It was by far, one of the best trails we've ever done. It wasn't as easy as we thought it would be.

The trail was wide in some spots and incredibly narrow in many more... some ups and downs. Overall, there were quite a few rocks. Large rocks. We found spots in the trail that were incredibly steep (up and down) that made what we did turn into a hike bike. We pushed our bikes up or down the hill as much as we were able to ride.

I'm standing in the bottom of a ravine in this picture... before I hauled my bike up that hill over those rocks. There were several instances we ran into areas like this and even Dave (the fearless flyer) didn't even try. He just got off the bike and pushed. On the other side of this hill, we saw a professional attempt to go up the hill on his bike. Attempt is the optimal word. He got a great start, lifted the front tire and got about halfway up before he lost momentum and had to hike it up. I have to say he's a better man than me for trying but it made me feel a little better that I wasn't the only one that didn't have the strength to do it.

We ended up doing about 8 miles in a little less than 3 hours (which was more than we expected time wise) but with the time spent getting off the bike and back on pushing it, it was a half hike and half ride. So, over all not too bad with unfamiliar territory.

I can tell you 5 years ago, I would have never imagined I'd be living the life I am now. I know I have physical limitations with frequent joint pain but if I can just make my body be as headstrong as my mind is, I'd be invincible. I did struggle with this ride. But I'm not a quitter. If I put my mind to it, I make my body cooperate with me. The feeling I had after we were done with the ride was wonderful. I had no idea I had it in me and I never thought I would ever be doing things the way I am now.

and I love every minute of it.

Condoning bad behavior?

2012-05-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

I've been stewing on something for about a week or so and decided to post it to see if I am the only one that feels this way.

I was overweight during the majority of my twenties. And when I say overweight, I mean obese. I ate what I wanted, how I wanted, when I wanted. I ordered pizza at 11pm, I've hit up a Waffle House at 3am. I enjoyed food and like a drug seeker, thought of new ways to find it and get my fix.

I decided to lose weight on my own, after seeing how hurt my nephew was that I wasn't able to chase after him. He loved it when I would yell out, "I'm going to get youuuuu!" And I'd run for a bit, but then get winded. Seeing that disappointment on his face was enough for me to get motivated.

It took me about 4 or so years to lose 125lbs. 4 years. This meant exercising. Changing my thought process on food and rediscovering that I eat to live not live to eat. It was a struggle because even today, I love food. If someone is addicted to drugs or alcohol, they can avoid the substances. I can't give up food. I need it. Do I need to eat to survive? Yes. Do I need to eat boxes of Thin Mints? No. This was, and still is a struggle.

Which leads me to my question.

I've been reading the news about how Jessica Simpson has had her baby girl. She has gained a very large amount of weight while pregnant and now has signed on with Weight Watchers to lose the baby weight in a year for ... drumroll.... Four Million Dollars.

What?

I get that people gain weight while they are pregnant. That is a given. Some people gain more than others. Some people gain less than others. My mom gained 11 lbs when she was pregnant with me. My mom is 5'4". Jessica Simpson is 5'3" and when she posed nude for the cover of a magazine while 8 months pregnant, she admitted to weighing 170 lbs, which according to what I've read means that she gained almost 70 lbs with her pregnancy.

How did she get to such a weight? She was eating buttered pop tarts. Macaroni and cheese for breakfast with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Peanut Butter sandwiches with shots of salt. She ate whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Much like I did when I was overweight.

I am rather confused on why Weight Watchers is condoning eating unhealthy, especially while pregnant, to only receive a huge payday at the end. I did it because I was tired of feeling like crap. She gained weight prior to getting pregnant because of what she ate. She is very vocal about eating Chilis and drinking beer. Much like I am about the food I love.

But, I wasn't offered a Four Million Dollar payday to lose weight. Neither are the the millions of people that are members of Weight Watchers. The everyday people like you and me who work hard, are trying to maintain some semblance of normal routines and for those that are members of Weight Watchers, are now helping pad the pockets of a celebrity that ate buttered pop tarts and had a salt lick most of her pregnancy.

I think its rather absurd that they knew of her eating habits (hell, if I know what she was eating, how could they not have researched it) and yet still chose to endorse her, put their name and their company, not to mention their money behind her losing the weight that she irresponsibly gained. I do know many, many people who ate healthy most of their pregnancies and did give into a craving every once in a while. An un-named friend posted a picture of her drinking pickle juice in the middle of her pregnancy. I can totally get that...those insatiable cravings that you need to have. But giving into EVERY craving, gaining an unhealthy amount of weight that puts yourself and your baby with the possibility of health problems, then getting a payday at the end that just seems.... frustrating to the every day people struggling with losing weight.

I know a few people that are in the same category as I am with the amount of weight lost. Personally, I don't think I'd ever use Weight Watchers program now that I see that they really don't care about what you do before but if you play by their rules, they'll pay you later.

If you are a celebrity.

You and me? Well, I'll take the smile I get on my nephews face now that he is 13 and I can keep up with him just as long as he can run.

What are your thoughts on this?

A failure of epic proportions

2012-05-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Did everyone have a great Mother's Day weekend?? We visited with my family Saturday night and had a wonderful spread of food for dinner.

We ended up leaving and going home to relax a bit because we had planned on doing our biggest mountain bike ride to date. We had done 10 miles on Saturday, then I made the suggestion to hit up the Pemberton trail at the McDowell Mountain Preserve. Its almost 16 miles long. I have hiked it a few times and knew the terrain. Dave said. "Sure!"

I had purchased some Powerbars, some of the energy gels and some other snacks Saturday at the store. Dave loaded up the car with our bikes while I packed up our Camelbaks. We each have one that has a 3 liter bladder. I filled it up to the top with ice cold water. Then, because I've been down that road before, literally, I put two extra liters of water in my bag (my Camelback is also a hiking backpack and has lots of space.) I also put my buck knife in there, just in case we ran across a rattlesnake or anything else that got too close for comfort. We also packed a cooler and put a few large Gatorades in there.... why this is relevant, you're about to find out.

We got on our way on the trail about 9:30. The first part of the trail is mostly uphill, although there are some rolling hills in there to gain some momentum. It, in Dave's terms, is a lungbuster. If you dont get enough momentum going down, coming back up there were a few times that both of us had to get off the bike and hike up. We stopped a few times to gain our composure and catch our breath.

I got a great shot of us at about mile marker 4 (I can't regulate my heat very well, hence the extremely red face.)

We got going pretty well and got up to 7.52 miles (Dave has a cateye on his bike.) I came up and around a corner, coming up parallel with Dave. I took out my headphones and I hear this POP.... then Fssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I looked down and saw my back tire go completely flat.

Mind you, we are in literally the middle of this trail, there are no emergency services. There are no bathrooms. There is nothing. Unless you count the buzzards circling overhead and the ginormous geckos running around.

Oh. And bees. Lots of bees. As the frustration of the situation was kicking in; hot, furious tears started coming out of my eyes. I was already exhausted, but knew after mile 10, that its either downhill or flat. So I was pushing myself to get the other 2.5 miles in. Then, this. As I'm standing there trying to figure out what to do, I get stung by a bee. In the very inside of my arm, very close to my armpit. Now, I'm just pissed. So I started moving. I haven't hiked the trail in a few years, so I couldn't remember the terrain on the other side. . . but we knew what it was like on the way out there. I started backtracking on the trail. Pushing my bike.

Dave suggested that if its a good downhill, to just ride it down. Screw the tire. I pushed for a good period of time then I did. And splayed slime everywhere. The tire and the tube had come off the rim. That, was awesome.

I couldn't push the bike because the tire was off the rim. Dave picked it up and started carrying it, then messed with it enough to get it back on the rim enough to get it to spin when he started rolling it. He told me to stay on his bike to conserve my energy. I rolled behind him while he trekked the 7 + miles back to our car. Yes, my amazing man let me have his bike and pushed mine over 7 miles.

We both ran out of water, me about 4 miles back and Dave a mile out. I am incredibly thankful something or someone upstairs told me to pack additional water, regardless of the extra weight that it was.

I applied sunscreen three times and still was getting toasty. Poor Dave is burnt to a crisp even with the several applications of sunscreen. We both started getting delirious. I was seeing stars every time I closed my eyes. Dave started questioning whether or not we should get off the trail and cut through the muck to get back to the car quicker.

Luckily, we didn't. We pushed through. It was probably worse than it was when I had hiked it. I truly thought about giving up and sitting down. Dave told me, "Baby, you've got to keep going. Just keep moving and we'll be back before you know it."

When we got to a half a mile left, he gave me the car keys and told me to go get the AC going. This was approximately 4 hours and 47 minutes after we began our trek. It was now 103 degrees outside. I rode ahead and started the car, got the gatorade out and waited to see him come around the corner. As soon as I could see him, I ran up to him and handed him his gatorade. He stopped and said, "First things first, come here and give me a hug, that was scary."

Although I made light of the situation, things could have turned out much worse. Much, much worse. Both of us were watching our footing on the loose gravel because if one of us fell, it would have been game over. If we didn't have those extra liters of water, we would have been even more dehydrated than we were when we got back to the car.

We ended up home, safe and sunburnt with a mild case of heat stroke. Lesson learned. We will make sure that both of our tires are kevlar'd and slimed, we carry extra innertubes and that we have a portable air pump. We also know that there is no such thing as too much water.

Friday Roundup!

2012-05-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

This weekend is Mother's Day. In my family, my mom is the end all be all decision maker when it comes to most things. And, if there is ever any question, there are two words that enforce this that everyone knows. What are those two words you ask? Mama said.

Or, my dad's favorite word... "CINDEEEEEEEEEEEE (yelling at my mom) can you grab me another (insert random item around the house here)." Mom, "I think you're good, you don't need any more" ... "just grab it for me" ... then, he turns to one of us kids and and tries to get us to get whatever he wants for him. The, the end all be all words are said to put a stamp on the situation. "Mama Said"

My mom did alot for us when we were growing up. My parents had separated and my mom had to get a grip on all three of us rowdy girls. My sisters and I used to fight like dudes. Frying pans, baseball bats, jumpropes... you name it and we launched it at each other. Sometimes, in packs. One on two. Or, sometimes one on one on one.

I learned real quick like how to patch some drywall when I was a kid and I got pissed at my sisters for banging on my wall. My solution? Punch through the wall. Then the convenient NKOTB poster was put over the hole to hide it. This worked swimmingly until one day my mom announced we were going to be painting our rooms. I tried to ask her to paint around them. I mean, who would EVER take a NKOTB poster off the wall? I mean, just look...

Yeah.

I just admitted that.

My mom did alot to make us who we are today. My sisters and I used to pool our allowance money to buy a big bag of M&M's to play poker and blackjack. Whoever won, got the most. Unless they were eaten first. She made sure that we always had a home cooked meal, every night. We didn't appreciate it then, because all of our friends were going out to dinner all the time and we had grilled chicken or pot roast or enchiladas. We didn't understand at the time she was teaching us how to be strong, frugal and still feed our family. But she was also giving us time to spend together. Around the table, every night.

When we were old enough and we weren't glued to Wallace and Ladmo in the mornings before school, we'd all sit and have something for breakfast too. What's Wallace and Ladmo you ask? If you grew up here in Arizona, everyone wanted to be on the show. It was a local kids show that played cartoons and did little skits. But, the REAL reason people wanted to be on the show was to get a Ladmo bag. It was essentially a paper bag that was full of kid crap, but it was sought after more than any of of the Garbage Pail Kids. I found a clip from their 35th Year Anniversary where none other than Alice Cooper won a Ladmo Bag.

Although my mom and I don't talk to each other every day and don't always see eye to eye... she's still my mama and I know I am who I am because of who she is. And I love her for it.

We are doing a mexican themed Mother's Day celebration because, Mama Said. In light of this, I am going to do a roundup of my favorite healthy mexican recipes.

Enjoy!

~My recipe for homemade crockpot Green Chili with chicken!

~My recipe for homemade Hot Red Salsa

~ Gina's Skinnytaste Slow Cooked Mexican Carnitas (note, since this is not my site I do not have permission to use her images.. but if you look at what she's got there, I've made it and it was hoovered promptly)

~My recipe for Chicken Fajitas

~ Cooking Light's recipe for Chipotle Lime Roast Chicken with Tomatillo Sauce

~Gina's Skinnytaste Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos

~ My recipe for a side dish- take a half of a cup of instant white rice (it will make a cup, cooked) and open a can of Rotel (I personally like the HOT or the Lime & Cilantro) and use the juice inside the can instead of water for the rice. You should get really close to a half of a cup. Whatever is deficient, just add water to make it a half a cup. Once the rice is almost done, take a quarter of a cup of the Rotel and mix it in with the rice. Voila. You have mexican rice to eat as a side dish. You can garnish with green onion and cilantro.

Yes, I've posted a few from Skinnytaste...I will tell you that these recipes in no way shape or form taste like they are healthy. They are all good, super filling and very tasty.

Have a HAPPY WEEKEND AND A WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!

A little push

2012-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, a little push goes a long way. You know, that little pat on the back you get from your husband...the high five you get from your best friend or the spontaneous I love you from your baby niece. Its just that little push inside of you that tells you that whatever you're doing, you're doing it right.

I've been working very hard at getting back down to my pre-Dave weight. What is that you ask? The weight I was before Dave and I started dating. We're getting married in about six months and I want to make sure I look my best. The first time I was married, I was well over 250 lbs. This time, I want to buy the dress I want, not the dress that fits. That may sound odd, but I'm really not a fashionista. I like clothes and I like certain clothes but I'd much rather be in a pair of soccer shorts and a Hurley shirt if I had any say in it. So, when you're a girl and overweight, its difficult to find a dress that doesn't have a giant bow over your ass to cover it up. Or ruffles. Giant, ass covering, ruffles. Maybe those dress makers might come to the realization that not everyone has an affliction that they want to cover up with a ruffle. Or bow. Or strategically placed designs. My friend Olivia and I laughed so hard until we cried several years back realizing that most clothes for overweight women are fluorescent, Winnie the Pooh shirts. As if we being that size want to draw more attention to ourselves by wearing a florescent lime green shirt that has Eeyore on it.

I digress.

I'd been lackadaisically using the myfitnesspal application on my iphone. Mostly, to keep track of my food diary when I wanted to be more stringent with my intake. One of my friends that I had worked with (at a now defunct bank) and I have been friends on facebook for some time. She became my friend on myfitnesspal. At first, I started out with a fury. Trying to make sure I logged every day, any exercise, anything. I started slacking, like I had before when I was on my own and she posted on my feed "Hey, am I the only one doing this??" It made me stop and think. I have an electronic partner in crime. Someone to be accountable to. Someone that will pat me on the back when I do well and when I don't, gives me motivation to move on.

See, when you're working out, missing one day isnt the end of the world. It really isnt. Life happens and some things you can't control. Sometimes, you get tired and your body needs to rest. But, if you keep shrugging it off... you won't get back into the game.

Last week, I had gone on a 7.2 mile mountain bike ride Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and by Wednesday, I was tired. I decided to take the night off. I changed into my jammies and laid on the couch. Two hours later, I started getting a migraine. I ended up taking a pill and was in bed by 7:15. Thursday and Friday I just was busy and didn't have a chance to work out. Saturday I did a little around the house and yesterday I woke up and realized that even though I logged my food, I hadn't worked out in a few days. And saw how many calories my friend had burned in my newsfeed. I posted that I had some downtime but I'm getting back in the game. She replied back, "You go girl!'

That's all I needed. A little push. And yesterday, even after going out for Cinco de Mayo Saturday night and getting home really late (or early in the morning... potato, pah-tato) I got up at 8, had a cup of coffee and did 10 miles on the mountain bike. I ran a few errands, did a little baking, my laundry and finally was able to relax and took a bath.

Sometimes, those little words of inspiration mean so much. Do you use myfitnesspal? If you want to have some electronic motivation, friend me. My username is melissamichele.

The power of blogging

2012-04-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hi friends.

Its been an incredibly hectic two weeks for this girl. Work has been busy (which is great!) and between taking accelerated classes for school and wedding planning; I've not had an incredible amount of free time.

Its amusing to me that through the power of blogging, I have the ability to give people my inside thoughts... my nervous fears... my wacky recipes that I tend to make up in my head. But, its also led me to be able to try Udi's foods (they previously sent me a box of product to try) and the best part? I've made a great friend. A friend you ask? Yes.

Let's rewind.

Last year about this time, I was battling a sickness. I had been out of the hospital for about a month and a half and after growing tired of watching the food porn station, I somehow starting seeking food porn on the internet. I'm not quite sure how I stumbled on her site, but I found a website for something called 1 Fine Cookie. I started cruising through the site and found her posts to be hilarious. Being that I was stuck at home, I more or less looked through all the things she had posted. I started following her page and got emails when a new post was made. I thoroughly enjoyed each one and ended up making her Pop Rock Cupcakes with my niece and nephews for Fourth of July last year.

I felt compelled to email her after a few posts and just let her know that she brought me out of a funk. That I had been so depressed sitting a home feeling like doo that her posts made me laugh and at that point in my life, it was a difficult thing to do. So, I expressed my gratitude and appreciation and sent it on its way. To my surprise and disbelief, she replied back. Within 24 hours.

She had said thank you for the kind words and asked me some questions about me, asking me to keep in touch and let her know my progress. We emailed a few times back and forth. Come July of last year, my Thinfully Inspired page was up and running. She liked my page. We became friends through facebook (on our personal pages, in addition to our pages for the blog) and we exchanged comments and emails for a good time.

Fast forward to January, I got a new position at work and moved into a different role. The people I worked for lived in Boston. Guess who else lived in Boston? None other than Miss 1 Fine Cookie. I told her as soon as I knew I was flying out. We exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch until then. When the day finally arrived, she and I were joking it was like an internet date. She said what if we don't like each other in person?? I told her that after talking for the better part of a year, I think we're good.

We met up at a (overpriced) sushi place near her. She instantly recognized me from my pictures. We must have sat and talked for a good three hours. We had no problems at all striking up conversation and just having a good time.

Its been a few months since then. We text. Alot. We've recently branched out into talking on the phone because it seems that her and I have a lot of the same stressors and have been put in the same type of situations. I value her friendship incredibly. I see things that make me giggle or ideas on healthy eating and send them to her. She sends me things that make me giggle and I drool over the recipes she makes and posts online. Note to reader: She makes things that are what divine thoughts are made of. I have made some of her recipes and there is absolutely nothing wrong with indulging every once in a while.
She's joked that she needs to start eating healthier. So she follows me. Its a great combo, because I eat healthy most of the time and when I want to indulge, I know where to turn.

In short, I would have never, ever have met this amazingly wonderful woman if I never found her blog. And emailed her.

You never know when one email may change your course.

A yummy summer recipe idea!

2012-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

If you've followed me for a while, you know I'm not opposed to trying a different way of eating to try see if I like it. I'm a semi-vegetarian. I like chicken and fish, but mostly stick to the vegetarian choices here at home.

I found a few recipes a while back ago that I wanted to make my own and try to see how they came out. Today, I threw together a kale salad with a home made lemon basil dressing and a quinoa burger base.

And, I am happy to report they were FANTASTIC!

I got the idea for the quinoa burger here. I followed the recipe including the carrots (I thought I had zucchini but when I got in my fridge, I was mistaken) I used mozzarella for the cheese since it melts better and overall is a little better for you than cheddar. I also added a tablespoon of fresh basil and used a lot more freshly ground pepper. I used less oil than was suggested, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Now, the big difference for me was that I wanted to make the mix to keep a few days to have for dinners the next few nights, so I did NOT put the egg in right away. I made the mix and put it in the fridge for a few hours. I separated it into thirds and added one egg to the serving I was making then. That way, a raw egg isnt just hanging out in my food for a few days. Of course, if you're making the entire batch right away, then you don't need to do this.

After making them, I'd suggest adding two cloves of garlic into the mix and omitting the cumin. It seems a little odd tasting in with the rest of the veggies...even though its a minimal amount, a little cumin goes a long way. I think just a little more salt and pepper or maybe even celery salt would be a little more flavorful.

I'd also consider adding another veggie, like a red onion with a fine mince or even a cucumber... I love the taste of quinoa with fresh sliced cucumber and perhaps next time I'll substitute the cheese with a little bit of feta instead making it a greek quinoa burger.

On the side, I made myself a fresh kale salad.

I shredded the leafy parts off the stem and cleaned them well. I dried them and put a tablespoon of sunflower seeds and a pinch of fresh grated parmesan cheese on the top. For the dressing, I found a recipe here but didn't have any oregano, so I subbed basil instead. I also used a little more garlic than they suggested and a ton more black pepper. I like the flavor that fresh ground black pepper adds (we have a pepper mill) so I would probably say I doubled what the recipe called for. I put it in the fridge for a few hours before I ate.

By far, this was the freshest tasting, satisfying summer dinner in a long time! You should try it!

Gum

2012-04-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

Yes. Gum. That sticky, gooey substance that you inevitably find on your shoe when you least expect it. Or want it. Perhaps right after cleaning your carpets. Or, meeting someone for the first time. . . if you're like me, you've also sat in it before. In the Arizona sun. In the summer. It's always fun googling how to remove it from your pants (ps, ice works fairly well)

Every time I buy gum, I always have to differentiate for my man the difference if I purchased 'adult gum' or fun gum. I love the flavored gum. Especially the flavors that make you feel five again. . .the Extra bubble gum (which is wrapped just like a piece of spearmint Wrigleys, but tastes deceptively like Double Bubble).

Its pure sugar; but I love the Grape Bubblicious. I even found an air freshener that smells like it. I have leather in my car so it absorbs the smell and everyone always says that my car smells the same... its funny how smells can take you to another place. It doesn't matter how long its been since I've seen someone, they open my car door and say the same thing every time... but I digress.

Why am I writing about gum, you ask?

Its a GREAT food deterrent. If you are feeling antsy and find yourself not hungry, but what I like to refer to as 'snacky' I like to chew a piece of gum. Otherwise, I find myself capable of 'snacking' through a sample of everything in the house. You know what I'm talking about. Those days you say you aren't very hungry but eat a bowl of cereal, ice cream, pop corn, a spoonful of peanut butter and a piece of raisin toast for dinner. Then finish it off with a piece of cheese and a banana, to finish the day healthy. Yeah, I've been there.

I had stopped buying gum because my man likes 'adult gum'... which is no fun. When I think of gum, I think of this...

And how excited Buddy was to think running around New York he was getting free candy.

I like to use gum as my deterrent to put anything else in my mouth. . . for instance, more food. I've found a few 'adult' watermelon flavored gum varieties. I can even blow bubbles with it.

I've been watching what I've been eating really closely and when I am finished with the portion that I brought for lunch (I bring myself lunch every day not to be tempted by being influenced to eat something bad) I put in a piece of gum. I'm one of those people that needs something sweet to end my meal and gum is perfect. It doesn't have many calories, you can get it in practically any flavor (I've even seen strawberry shortcake and mint chocolate chip flavored gum!) and is portable and won't melt in your purse.

Have you used gum to keep yourself from eating too much before? What's your favorite flavor?

The ugly side of weight loss

2012-03-26T11:00:00.001-07:00

You clicked on it because you're wondering. What? How is there an ugly side to weight loss? Its all fun and daffodils and butterflies and all things filled with pixie dust, right?

Wrong.

I've touched on this before but not really put my heart into it. So. Here goes.

When I was 260 pounds and decided to start losing weight, I thought that since I wasn't doing it drastically like getting gastric bypass or a lap band that things would gradually just come out to be what they were before. Sure, it was naive but I had seen others gain weight with pregnancies and they didn't look bad after they lost the baby weight. I thought that since I was taking the gradual and natural approach that things would reshape along the way.

They didn't.

The fact of the matter is, I have stretchmarks. I have a lot of stretchmarks. I have them on my upper arms, my sides, my stomach, my thighs. The places where I carried the most weight when I was heavier. My stomach looks like a deflated balloon. I haven't seen what a normal belly button was supposed to look like in about 13 years. I had started gaining weight right after high school, so its been some time.

At first, I was extremely hesitant to wear any clothes that showed off anything. For instance; tank tops, strapless shirts, blouses that their sleeves were too high up on my arm. I shopped for clothes that accentuated what my figure looked like after the weight loss.

But.

That didn't change the way I feel about the way I look. I've been told by so many people that I am amazing. I don't feel amazing. I feel like a girl who is walking around with about 5 pounds of extra skin disbursed on my body. I feel uncomfortable. Its hard to describe. I know I am healthier, my appearance better, I can wear smaller pants. The mental aspect of losing weight is something no one prepares you for.

I went about my business. I exercised, I ate better. I lost weight. In the mirror, my appearance changed. My clothing size changed. My mental viewpoint after looking in the mirror for 10 years at my overweight self didn't change. I thought that after I got down to what I refer to as my 'fighting weight' that I would come to grips with it. I can say that I am in a better position than I was 4 years ago, but I am not where I want to be.

I ran across this article the other day on CNN. It makes me know that I'm not alone. Half: One woman's struggle

If you have lost a lot of weight- I do know a handful of people that are in the upper echelons as I am with weight loss- know you aren't alone. We did do something amazing. We lost the average weight of an adult person. That is amazing.

Its a hard thing to grasp on to; the thought of yourself accomplishing an amazing feat. Its one I am still learning to accept. Its one that I am working through every day. It may sound like I don't appreciate what I've done; which isn't the case at all. I do appreciate it. I am just trying to work through every day to accept it. This is the new me. It might not look like the old me, but its a better me. I find myself today better educated on food choices. On activities that will help me achieve what I need instead of what I want. If I could go back and tell the 19 year old me not to eat what I did so I'd never have gone through this, I don't know that I would.

Its been a struggle in perseverance.

Dedication.

Strength.

I've been told that I'm headstrong. That I'm the strongest person that people know...
But even with this strength that I've been able to project...
I struggle every day.

It was a life changing experience. It was a positive experience. It made me realize how much that I can do if I put my mind to it.

Pinterest Junkie

2012-03-07T11:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'll admit it. I can add one more thing to my menagerie of random things that I absolutely love. Pinterest is the newest.

Have you ever been on Pinterest? It is by far the most amazing thing I've come across. The concept is that its an online pin board for you to virtually pin different items. Say, that new pair of pants you've been spying online... a good looking recipe... a hairstyle seen in a magazine... You can pin them all on your own pinboard and it saves the link of the site for you to refer back to.

I'll admit. I found some pretty tasty recipes on there. Ones that are not healthy and should in no way be taken as every day food. I mean, Chocolate Covered Oreo Truffles sound good in theory, see a pin I made from the one and only Bakerella for them here. Yes, I know. Thats like giving crack to a baby and trying to take it away.

But, there are a TON of useful recipes, like the one I found here for Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. What I like to do is to take the recipes I find on Pinterest and make them a little healthier. For instance, the delicious dinner I made the other night (recipe can be found here) I modified to make it a little healthier for you by subbing quinoa noodles and adding veggies.

There is plenty of opportunity to find recipes that will suit nearly any appetite, diet modifications included. I have found many vegetarian, tofu, chicken, seafood... if you can dream it, I'm sure someones pinned it.

Happy Pinning!

Udi's Gluten Free

2012-03-05T11:40:00.001-07:00

It's nice to know that all my rants actually are seen by people other than my mom and friends.

I had made some comments on the lack of delicious gluten free breads/cookies/pizza crusts etc back in December. Well, someone at Udi's Gluten Free happened to see my rant and wanted to set me on a better path to find great products.

They sent me a Bloggers Box with Pizza Crusts, Snickerdoodle cookies and Cinnamon Raisin bread. I had received the box on a Friday night, right before dinner. It did not stop me from opening the box of cookies. I took a bite and was pretty amazed at the texture, the fact it was not dry but more importantly, that it actually tasted good. I ate another... then I waited for my man to get home and had him try one. He didn't know it wasn't gluten free.

Inspired, I wanted to make one of the pizzas for dinner the following night. I got one of the crusts and topped it with mozzarella, a little shredded parm, some basil, capers and baked it. I was hesitant with it, because all of the gluten free pizzas don't stay crisp at all. You bake them until they look like they're about to burn, and when you take them out- the center is soggy after you put it on the plate. Its disgusting. So, given the poor expectations I had going into it, I was happy when the pizza stayed crisp, but the center of it didn't get mushy. The only thing I can compare it to would be the consistency of a New York style slice. It wasn't crisp, but it wasn't soggy. I fully enjoyed both of them and are going to purchase more at my local Sprouts the next time they do their Gluten Free sale.

The cinnamon raisin bread is very tasty. Its rather dry if you try to eat it without toasting it, but if you plan on using it for toast, its perfect. Great flavor, perfect toast texture.

Overall, the Udi's products really did kind of open my eyes that there are many options to choose when eating Gluten Free. I've found that the Glutino brand is awful. Anything of theirs is awful. I like the Mi-Del arrowroot crackers. One of my friends actually had a handful of them thinking they were animal crackers and had no idea they were Gluten Free. But, for the dollar, I'd say Udi's has the secret recipe for the best Gluten Free options.

Delicious Dinner

2012-03-04T19:02:00.001-07:00

Let me just say, out of all of the stuff I've put together for dinner. . . tonight was by far one of the best ones we've had and was completely vegetarian.

I used this recipe I found online for the baked 'fried' zucchini slices. I followed this recipe about 98%. I used panko bread crumbs instead of any other ones. However, the only recommendation I have is to put the zucchini on either parchment paper or foil directly to avoid the coating from coming off. I had used a rack that I put them on and struggled to pull them off of it without stripping the coating. . . They tasted amazing. I think next time, I might use the same coating method, although use baby portobellos instead to see how that flavors out. And, I snuck in a veggie with dinner. WIN!

For the main part of dinner, I read this recipe and decided to fiddle with it. I decided against parsley and used basil instead and added red onion.

I used a box of quinoa spaghetti noodles. I did use the full 8oz box.

Why you ask? They are traditionally healthier for you than regular noodles and quinoa has an immense amount of nutrients and protein that you wouldn't really expect for a type of grain.

While the zucchini was cooking...

- a pound and a half of roma tomatoes and diced them up (removing the seeds).
- about a quarter cup of red onion
- a quarter cup of kalamata olives
- three tablespoons of garlic
- about two tablespoons of capers
- three tablespoons of basil - I used this instead of fresh basil due to the cost (and it tastes the same)
- about a teaspoon of fresh cracked black pepper

I added the six tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and instead of just using it raw like the recipe recommends, I added all the veges and seasonings above and put them in a large deep pan on the stove. I put the heat at medium low and covered it. This broke down the tomatoes a little more and made the onions more palatable since they weren't crunchy anymore. I think the total cook time on that was around 20 minutes. Just watch the liquid in there; if it looks like its burning off (every stove is different) turn down the heat- you want this liquid.

Once the pasta was done, I strained it and added it to the tomato mixture and added the quarter cup of feta cheese and mixed well.

Needless to say, it was enough to feed the both of us and for me to have a little more than three servings (about 1/2-3/4 cup) for lunches or dinner later this week. My man even said the spaghetti was really good. He is a true meat eater, so after tasting it, I believe either a grilled chicken breast diced in there or shrimp would be amazing.

Enjoy!

Busy little bees

2012-03-02T11:22:00.005-07:00

Hello friends.

My lack of blogging has finally started to catch up to me. I'm getting comments asking when another post will be available. I have no real excuse other than working, school and planning a wedding (oh, is that all?) I know that in order to keep people interested in your product, you need to constantly be in their face. I don't know about you, but pushy salespeople make me want to pelt them in the face with rocks. So, lets just go with that I'm not trying to be pushy. How's that?

How was everyones holiday? Did we all do well watching our waistlines? I, was ok. I did indulge a bit. Well, alot. New Years Eve was a feast of sorts at my place. I took that day to make all the food I always wanted to make, but never do because I know JUST how bad it is for you. I made pizza dip with crusty bread to dip it in, buffalo chicken blue cheese eggrolls and garlic parmesan pull apart bread. For dessert, the piece d' resistance, sopapilla cheescake. Yes, my friends. I indulged. I also looked at the scale on January 1 and almost fell over. I'm surprised the glass didn't break when I stepped on it. I moved it, thinking it was wrong. I moved it again. Then, I had a long conversation with my pants. My pants must have shrunk. Did I accidentally throw them in the dryer? Were there extra calories hiding in my pants adding to the extra padding? It was an eye opener. I let myself, after being good for so long and watching what I ate, careen into a few extra pounds on top of what I had lost.

Easy solution, right? Eat better. Exercise. I have been. And, since January 1, I've lost a bit of weight. I feel better, my pants are once again in the same places they should be and I don't have to resort to wearing mom jeans. I'm not old enough for those yet. If you've not watched this. Watch it.

Mom Jeans Commercial

I've discovered a great tool to try to help assist me going in the right direction. Its called MyFitnessPal.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

It allows you to track your weight, gives you a recommended caloric intake based off of how quickly you want to lose weight and from what I can see, has a pretty extensive library of foods to choose from. You can also use your smartphone to scan the barcode of what you're wanting to eat and it adds it to your meals for the day. You can enter in your exercise and what I find most interesting, you can get a summary of your daily consumption- showing you how much fat, carbs, vitamins, protein, etc you've had. You can download it on your iphone, android based phone or just use the website.

I tried out a new recipe last night for a get together tonight. Its Peanut Butter Banana Bread. Its a little healthier version of the classic if you follow my recipe. Its adapted from this one here, but I had to add my own creative touch to it.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

3/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana, plus one extra banana- NOT MASHED
1 cup organic peanut butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp clove
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
(optional) 1 tablespoon of Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum

In a mixing bowl, mix the applesauce and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure they are fully incorporated after each addition. Add bananas and peanut butter; mix until combined. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda; add the extra spices to creamed mixture. Once the mixture is completed, I took a whole banana and cut it into small slices and mixed it in with the batter. This way, there are chunks of banana in the bread. I sprinkled a little more dark brown sugar and cinnamon on the top- this is optional.
I used a larger size casserole dish to bake this as it appeared to be too much for my puny loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40minutes, check then cover with foil and bake an additional 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

This adds a lot of extra protein with the peanut butter addition. You could also make this gluten free by substituting Pam's All Purpose Baking Mix instead of using flour. In hindsight, I could have also added some of the vanilla protein power I had and put two scoops of that in for extra nutritional value.

I hope the new year finds you well! I am seeking many new, low fat and healthy recipes to fit into my wedding dress later this year. Stay Tuned! Pss.. I'll share

Happy Holidays! And Gluten Free Cookies!!

2011-12-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

Things have been quite busy for the last month for this busy little blogger! I wanted to give you all something, so here is a recipe I threw together today for Chocolate Sugar Cookies!

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter, plus 2 tablespoons (room temperature)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of Pam's All Purpose Baking Mix
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

Cream butter and sugar.
Add vanilla
After vanilla is mixed in, add the baking mix, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and eggs.
Mixture will be thick once incorporated (about a minute with the mixer)
Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375

Take three tablespoons of white sugar and one tablespoon of cocoa and incorporate together on a plate. Once dough is chilled, form into balls and dip the top in the cocoa/sugar mixture. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.

I will tell you this is the first time I made these cookies. I used 3/4 cup white sugar, but believe if you use 1/2 white and 1/4 brown, it will add that depth to the flavor of the cookies. They were sweet, but not overly sweet.

Let me know what you think!

Moving right along...

2011-11-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Its been about two and a half weeks of attempting to be gluten free. I've been good for the most part. I've had a few meals that contained gluten... one night I had a few slices of thin crust pizza because I discovered how disgusting some gluten free pizzas are. I had to repent to the pizza superiors and eat something that was actually good. I've heard that Udi's makes a good gluten free crust (a base for you to start off with and make your own) but avoid Amy's and Glutino brown rice crust pizzas. Terrible awful. I ate it and immediately regretted it.

Thanksgiving I behaved. I didn't even have any bread or rolls. My sister jokingly took mashed potatoes and smeared them on a roll and took a huge bite. Didn't bother me one bit. Saturday night I went over to her place again for a birthday party/bachelor/bachelorette party dinner. She made Orange Chicken, eggrolls and chicken fried rice. The rice part was behaving. The eggroll was not. It was super good though! I also gave in and had a veggie burger from Burger King the day before Thanksgiving.

At home I've found a few cereals that I really like. Yes, they're kids cereals... but I don't care! The first is Gorilla Munch Crunch. Tastes oddly like Captain Crunch cereal when you eat it with unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk. The other is the Koala Krispies. . . read: Cocoa Crispies.. Gluten Free Style.

I have been good and have not had one beer. Not one. I found a few wines that I like so I have a small glass here or there.

And, so far I feel a little better. A little. I was really good for a while and felt good. Then, I ate the gluten and my knees and joints started bothering me horribly. My stomach started sounding like the Deathstar was being taken out, and I was coughing a nasty phlegm that only seems to appear now that I stopped eating gluten. I never noticed it before, perhaps because I hadn't eliminated wheat/gluten/beer from my diet before.

I think the most horrible of any of these side effects is the itching. I feel the need to itch all the time... the bottom of my feet, my torso, my neck, my hands (even the palms) everywhere. All the time. And, in asking others if they experienced this problem, they said they did. Its your body detoxing all the crap out. Well, I'm itching like Tyrone Biggums. And if you don't know who that is, watch the reruns of the Chapelle show. No amount of lotion or scratching makes it any better. If I could just put the lotion on the skin... wait, bad movie reference.

For all of you that know me personally, I have a wretched sweet tooth. And I have to eat something sweet once I'm done with my meal. It doesn't have to be big. It just has to be something. Its my bodys signal that I'm done. My sisters are the same way. If we eat dinner, then something sweet, then something salty, we have to have something sweet to end it. I've heard one of my sisters say, "No, I don't want any of that, because then I'll have to eat a bite of{insert dessert name here}. I've had the GF snickerdoodles from Trader Joes, lots of the Only 8 frozen yogurt at the shop around the corner and I purchased some Arrowroot Cookies from the store the other day- the brand is called Mi-Del. They are REALLY good. Kind of like an animal cracker.

I have an opportunity to really mess up bad in the next few weeks. I have a company function next Tuesday (lunch AND dinner) ... but, the benefit is that I planned it, so I know what is going to be on the menus. I also have a trip out of town coming up soon, of which I intend to fully indulge on some Broadway Pizza in Minnesota. It is my FAVORITE pizza...I killed a medium by myself when we were there for my man's brothers wedding in October. I've already gone to their website and they do not have many things that are gluten free. So, since this is by choice, not Dr ordered, I am going to indulge. I figure that a few days here and there are ok, as long as I continue to see the benefits. I do pay for it a few days after- my knees and hands... but sometimes, its worth it.

Have you ever tried a new lifestyle, eating differently? Have you had any challenges? What was your biggest accomplishment?

Three Days Gluten Free

2011-11-15T12:08:00.002-07:00

Yeah, maybe you've heard me say it so its old news now. But, for me to be gluten free for three days is an amazing feat. For one who loves beer, loves bread, cake, cookies. You name it, I loved eating it.

Saturday I made a trip to Trader Joes to help me get started down the right path. They have a list of all of the items they carry that have no gluten in them. I also found that most of the items had a sticker above it saying Gluten Free. . . of course, veggies are an obvious. As are meats... For me, being a semi-vegetarian with an intolerance for MSG and beef, allergies to teriyaki and mesquite makes it somewhat difficult. I probably spent the better part of an hour going through their tiny store looking for what I wanted.

I've always been somewhat creative when it comes to cooking, most of my recipes are derived from a recipe I liked, but made into my own. I tried to get a few different things that would give me creative liberty in what I wanted to make, not tying me down into one specific thing. For instance, I bought some white tuna, canned in water. I bought green onions, stone ground mustard, toasted (unsalted) slivered almonds and celery to make either tuna wraps (on romaine or on a brown rice tortilla) or for me to throw on a salad. I also purchased a bunch of veggies and made a ragout. I spread some TJ's spicy hummus on the inside of the (brown rice) tortilla then put the ragout in the middle. Wrapped and served. Today's lunch was pollo asada sauteed with a fresh jalapeno and some onion, served in a brown rice tortilla with salsa on the side. I am SO thankful that TJ's jalapeno cheese crunchies are gluten free. They remind me of Cheetos when I could eat them. I've brought those as a accompaniment to my lunch the last few days (in the 100 calorie bag.) For dessert, I bought TJ's pear sauce. I've never had pear sauce before, so it sounded interesting. Its good, but doesnt have the intense flavor of pear like I had hoped.

I read a lot of information that said for those doing a gluten free diet to take a probiotic. Well, let me just say that between eating gluten free for the last few days and taking the probiotic at night, my stomach sounds like the second coming of Gozer.

That my friends, is great. Especially when you try to get all romantical with your man friend. "Hey baby, I love you..." "I love you, too..." Then, all of a sudden very loudly you hear ARE YOU A GOD from the direction of my stomach. Either Gozer is living in there or I'm going to pop out an alien sometime soon to unleash destruction across the country.

I can hope that after a few days when my body gets acclimated to it, it won't be as noticeable. I would recommend to anyone that is trying a new way of eating to try a probiotic supplement. I got mine at Trader Joes. It wasn't horribly expensive and I always have had good outcomes with all of their product.

Is anyone else out there Gluten Free? Any tips, suggestions, comments?

Transitions

2011-11-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hi there... yes, I am still alive and kicking. It's been quite busy the last few months with work and school and I've not kept my vow to try to write once a week.

Transitioning into any new routine is hard work and sometimes in doing one thing... you learn about something else. And then another and another. Thus is the circle of life.

The weather here in the Phoenix area has been amazing the last week or so; in the 40's at night and in the 60's during the day. In the words of my man, "these are the months I live for!" But with that, I discovered that there is something lurking that was just waiting for this weather to arrive. After my accident this year, I've had some lingering issues that no one can explain... I have little to no feeling in the heel of my right foot on occasion, in addition to tingling and numbness down the side of my right leg below my knee. I always feel like its a crapshoot when I stand up if I'm going to feel it or not. As my friend put it, its walking around in a drunk like fashion with no drinks. I think her and I could be a comedic pair after a few beers.

I did have one new issue crop up with this cooler weather recently and that my friends, is arthritis type pain. I haven't actually been to the Dr yet, so I don't know exactly what it is, but I have issues in my hands, my feet, my knees... all of my joints feel like someone hit them with a ball peen hammer. Repeatedly. After work, its everything I have sometimes to get up the parking garage stairs to get to the car. Thank goodness for Aleve.

In true headstrong fashion, I consulted everyone I know to ask them for advice on what I can do to try to alleviate this pain and the swelling. The result? The reason for the title of the blog today. I am going to try to transition into Gluten Free eating. Restriction of gluten is supposed to help with the swelling and pain that is associated with those symptoms.

For anyone that has known me for an extended period of time, I love beer. I love bread, in the words of a friend... its my gateway carb. It's not going to be an easy transition. My man made a comment saying good luck with avoiding a beer. I don't expect it to be easy. I don't expect it to be cheap. I don't expect to necessarily know how to bake or how to eat the right foods. Its like just knowing you're supposed to breathe air then all of a sudden someone said, "What the hell are you doing? You're a fish. You're supposed to be under the water!" But, sometimes, we have to give up and sacrifice to be in better health and spirits.

I am blessed enough to have friends that care and have sent me a multitude of suggestions on getting started. I hope that I can report back next week on the first week of my journey.

Hoping all is well with each and every one of you. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to post!

How You Doin?

2011-09-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

How is everyone doing now that the holiday weekend is behind us? Good, great, grand?

My last few weeks have been a little nuts so pardon the lack of blogginess. I started a new job a few weeks ago and getting back into the groove of working kind of wore me out. I hadn't worked since the accident in March, so it was very tiring to work 8 hours then have energy when I got home. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't napping all the time around the house, I maintained a schedule. But, doing the laundry and dishes is different than running around an office and being on top of my game, ya dig? I'm used to it now, or should I say I've learned when to go to bed to be ok the next day.

This last week was kind of crappy. I woke up on Monday morning at about 3am with a migraine. I thought my right eye would pop out of my head. I took my medicine for it and went back to sleep. Tuesday morning I started throwing up. Usually the vomiting only happens right when the migraine started, so I figured this one would be nasty. Well, nothing stayed down on Tuesday. NOTHING. Wednesday I got up and went to work and had the same issue. Not even water stayed down. On Thursday, I got up and went to work and attempted to eat a bagel and drink some iced tea. It stayed with me for about 20 minutes then it escaped me, just as everything else did. I left work early and went to the ER. I told them what started out as a migraine appears to now be a stomach flu.

As they pull me back to get the bloodwork started, the phlebotomist tried four times, yes, four times to get blood out of my arms. The veins kept pushing the needle back out. Its not really comforting when you hear the phlebotomist say "oh shit" grabbing a bunch of cotton swabs and applying pressure to your arm. The nurse got an IV hooked up and she was able to get blood. They told me I was incredibly dehydrated and thats what was causing the problem. The Dr comes in and gives me a shot of Zofran for the nausea. It was about ten minutes later and I happened to look down at my chest and it was fire engine red. And itched really, really bad. So did my back. I hit the 'jeopardy' button for the nurse to come in and she does, asks me what the problem seems to be... my response? I seem to be allergic to Zofran. She looks, gasps, runs out of the room and gets the Dr. He runs in and then I just see people frantically putting things into my IV. After they were done, I looked at the Dr and said, "Can I go home? I had better luck just yakking it out there."

Thursday was also a big day for me- I started school again. I haven't been since March either. This time its a little different since I am doing all my classes online. I didn't get a chance to sign on on Thursday, given the aforementioned circumstances, but I signed in on Friday and ended up completing all 9 modules for the introductory (required) course. Two credits down. Now, only umpteen to go! My hope is to be completed with my MBA in three in a half years. We'll see how I fare. One of my friends (and loyal reader) already is attending school there and loves it. The way they do their semesters is attractive to me. Its a 6 month semester, I pay only once for the term and its as many credits as I can take during that 6 month timeframe. So if I take 48 credits in a six month time frame, then I am that much closer to my degree and only paid my tuition once!

I lost some weight last week though! Ha! Not the way I wanted but I look at it this way- every time that I am sick, my stomach can't hold much the few days afterwards and its very keen on the "you're full" notice. So, if I can stick with it and not force myself to overeat like all of us tend to do, I should stay on the same track.

I found a great Miso Soup mix at the store in the organic section. Its only got 60 calories and for a store bought make it at home version, its not bad. Next time, I'll probably doctor it up with some fresh mushrooms and some more fresh green onions. I bought the Japanese Style Miso Soup Cup- http://www.edwardandsons.com/es_shop_miso.itml

I made a little rice to go with it, since my man now has the stomach flu that I had earlier this week. We didnt have a big dinner, but it hit the spot. I think for the price, I might trade out the Miso Noodle Soup cups that I get at Safeway for those. I can get a little rice and add it to the soup to make it a little more filling and I normally have some chips with it. I found some rice chips that were made with sesame seeds and sea salt in the organic section at the store that were pretty tasty- especially if you like the taste of toasted sesame seeds. I am always looking for new things to try for lunches since that is usually my biggest meal of the day and I snack when I get home.

Since football season is upon us, I bought the materials to make my home made salsa this week. That way, we can have some fresh salsa for the first day of the season! Salsa is a great alternative to salad dressing to save some calories, especially if you know exactly what is in it because you made it yourself. If you haven't tried the Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burger, its fantastic on a 100 calorie sandwich thin with avocado and some home made salsa. Put a little salad on the side and you got yourself a healthy dinner.

We've also been buying the Newmans Own Organics Thin Crust Pizzas. They arent huge, especially with the thin crust, but they are a great lunch for the both of us. We usually do that or some variation of either the Boca Chick'n (on the 100 calorie thin with lettuce and pickles) or the Morningstar Farms Veggie Corndogs with sweet potato fries or tater tots for an easy lunch on a weekend.

I need to get back into the groove of exercising, preferably back on the mountain bike. I am proficient with it, I know how to do it and I know how much I enjoy the wind on my face when I'm riding. Its supposed to rain in the next few days, so I might go after I get home from work, since I can do ten miles in about 45 minutes and still be home and showered before my man gets home from work.

Hope all of you are doing well and had a safe holiday weekend!