Grocery Store Wish List

There comes a time every few weeks when I have to get creative with my meals. Sadly I don’t mean creative in the “hey lets try something new and fabulous” way but rather the “Sara Renee put off going to the  grocery store for too long and what can we mix together to make a meal” way. Today was one of those days. 🙂 Luckily this means that a major food shopping trip is coming up which I love. I am dying to try a few new items and these are on my list:
* Oikos Greek Yogurt
* Silk Almond Milk
* Bear Naked Granola
* Ezekiel Bread English Muffins
*Newman’s Own Organic Hermits Cookies
Do any of you other healthy eaters have a “must buy” product I should try? I am excited for some suggestions! Im especially looking for an almond butter suggestion for smoothies/oatmeal.

I had the same breakfast as yesterday but did snack on one of my favorite flavor CLIFF bars mid afternoon.  I pretty much love all things CLIFF bar (even the kid ones) but this one is my stand by.

My day at work was so incredibly busy that I was all packed up in the Wonder~Bug (yes even my car has a nickname. I was so not kidding about the nickname thing) and ready to head home before I knew it.

Today was a cross training day at the gym. I did 40 minutes (40 HARD minutes) but I felt fantastic after. There is something so great about that intense cardio. It is a different kind of good than I get from running. Its like running is my boyfriend and cardio at the gym is the hot guy that works at Starbucks (fabulous but not something to flirt with daily). Im finding that I always want to go back to the running.(Im sure Bryan loves this example but you get what I mean).  Since Im not training for a 1/2 marathon right now I am going to be changing up my routine a little soon. More on that to come.

Speaking of running I have a 5K coming up this weekend. It is the “Point of Honor” 5K. Both the words “point” and “honor” are leading me to believe that this might be an up-hill scary run. We shall see. As I mentioned yesterday I am running this race with a “real” runner so I will get to ask all sorts of questions about the things I’m still not sure about.  I will hang with her  as long as I can but I  am ok with going it alone once I reach that point where I cant keep her pace. I am kind of excited since this is my first race since the Disney Princess 1/2.  Its going to be fun.

I use the phrase “real runner” a lot. I don’t know at what point I will start to think of myself as a runner versus just someone who runs. I actually had a cool experience on the trail yesterday. One of my biggest issues has been I am spazzy when I run. My pace is all over the place, my breathing all crazy. However, yesterday I was running off road and it was just so peaceful. I hit a comfortable stride, had controlled and deep breaths, and I went way further without a walk break than I have ever been before. It felt great and just really really fueled my desire to get even better/stronger/faster. I will have 1 (possibly 2) more runs before the race on Saturday.

Since someone (ahem) let the food shopping slide and Bryan is out to dinner with his brother I picked up an organic extra thin crust pizza for dinner topped with chicken/red onion/peppers/cheese and a garlic sauce. I only ate 1/2 of it as I was not crazy about the taste but I definitely finished my serving of pineapple. YUM!

I have a full TIVO and blogs to catch up on tonight. I never knew just how many people there were out there blogging about healthy living.  Sometimes the best feeling is just knowing that I am not doing this alone. Harlow likes that too. 🙂

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Tuesday Blues (and Greens)

Im just going to put it out there. Tuesdays are my least favorite day of the week. There is not the weekend buffer you have going into Monday and the light at the end of the work week tunnel seems SO far.Plus our office has staff meetings on Tuesdays which can be stressful.All in all Tuesdays=Yuck in my world so I try to do little things to un-yucky my Tuesdays. I prefer happy so I make my own when needed.

This morning I started with one of my favorite breakfasts: Egg whites with a touch of green pepper, onions, and mushrooms (when I have them on hand) on an Arnold sandwich thin (pictured below) or a whole grain English muffin. Then I like to add a ½ serving of shredded fat free or 2% cheddar on top. I also chopped ½ a patty of left over lean turkey sausage from the weekend and sprinkled it on top. (A little goes a long way). I love the protein, veggie, grain, dairy combo.

I also wore  my favorite spring ensemble minus the two dashing princes and tiara. Maybe next time!

My final secret weapon was making a snack of my most favorite organic chocolate milk and a banana. Here is a link if you want to sign up with them for a couple of coupons.  Go here and click on coupons to sign up, grab a couple of coupons and give them a try. The individual serving milks are my favorite and easy to tuck into my bag and then stash in the fridge at work.

Leaving work I was somehow all smiles (maybe my un-yuck tricks really work!!) and Bryan and I went on a jog at the trail. We did ok with the hilly terrain (well ok for us as we are new to this) with 3 1/2 miles in 44:53 minutes.  I am running with one of my “real runner” friends in a 5k this weekend (more on that tomorrow) so I am going to have to step it up a little.

Tonight’s dinner was “Buffalo Sloppy Joe” salad, yet another “healthified” Rachel Ray creation. I start with this basic recipe and sub 99% fat free ground turkey breast for the chicken, add in a touch more veggie and slightly less brown sugar than called for. I also go HEAVY on the hot sauce. The hotter the better! Then dump it on a bed of mixed greens and chop whatever veggies you like and toss them on top. I also omit the cheese normally but have at it if you have the calories for it.Yum!

We made some baked potato wedges in the oven (with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt) for a side.  I am trying to get brave enough to try the carrot and parsnip fries I saw on this blog. I think they look fantastic and yummy! Maybe next week I’ll give that a try and let you know how it turns out for me. Im really looking forward to creatively working more veggies into the meal plan. Maybe that will be one of my upcoming “hill” goals (more on that later in the week).

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Shining Star

I already knew that this work week was going to be a challenge.  Add that to the fact it’s Monday and I was not a happy girl when the alarm went off this morning. It was one of those mornings where everything was rushed. I did not get to make a great breakfast so I grabbed a Luna Bar and a banana with a promise I would do better tomorrow. I actually really enjoy Luna bars but I prefer them as a pre or post workout snack.

I had a productive day at work but, just as with breakfast, I was somewhat disappointed with lunch.  I took the left over spinach pasta from last night and some grapes.  My day seemed to be getting busier and busier but I took a couple of minutes in the late afternoon to have a quick stretch at my desk and a little snack.

I love these portion controlled packs of nuts. Nuts can be a great source of fat but it is WAY too easy (at least for me) to go overboard.  Plus I like the mixture of Almonds, Cashews, and Macadamia nuts. With most items I feel good about separating a larger bag into individual portions but with foods I have trouble doing that with, pre-portioned is for sure the way to go. The stretch was great too. I could feel a definite improvement in my mood (at least for a little while).

The great thing about a busy day is it seems to fly by.  Normally this is when I would be getting geared up for a run or a trip to the gym.  However, Monday is one of my two rest days. I know that Monday is a somewhat odd choice for a rest day but for the last 7 weeks I have been going to Weight Watchers on Monday nights.

I started my journey to fitness and health in November when I decided I wanted to run the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon.  I soon came to the realization that, for the time being, I really needed to follow a program of some sort while I was learning. Weight watchers seemed like a logical choice.  Tonight was weigh in number 7 meaning I have been on the program for 6 weeks.  Now, I need to add a caveat here to say that many of these healthy living blogs have very inspiring and brave girls who will share their weight. I am not that brave. Maybe one day, but not today. I will however, share my losses and gains.  Should I get brave enough to share “the number” you will be the first to know. 🙂

When I got to the Weight Watchers center this afternoon I was feeling really worn down and ready to nap or cry or have a margarita. In other words I was feeling pretty negative. Negativity breeds negativity so I am not a huge fan when it manages to creep into my day. By the time I got on the scale I just *knew* things were not going to go well. However, I was wrong. My loss this week was 3.6 lbs bringing my 6 week total to 23 lbs.  Slow and steady.

Since I passed the 20 lb mark this week I earned another 5lb star. For those of you who have never done WW-you earn a sticker for every 5lbs you lose. You get to sort of brag on yourself a bit, people clap for you, and frankly its kind of fun. Its nice to celebrate the small battles when the ultimate goal can sometimes seem so far. Plus its a star. Who doesnt love that? I know I do!

Needless to say this little victory greatly improved my mood and when I got home I couldn’t help but giggle at my little pup Carrie all decked out in her rain gear. How could I manage to not smile at that face??

Happiness renewed I worked on something healthy (yet comforting for dinner). I got the initial recipe www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-mug-pie-recipe from Rachel Ray who I am obsessed with. Not like creepy obsessed but I do heart her. My husband calls it abnormal but I like to gently remind him from time to time if not for Rachel Ray he would still be eating hamburger helper every night for dinner. (I was not always blessed with the skills to cook but that is a story for another time. )I made some modifications to “healthify” the dish to my specifications. I tripled the veggies, used a natural low fat butter (and a touch less than called for), Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2 in place of cream,a touch less potato then called for, and reduced fat crescent rolls in place of biscuits. I know the Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2 isn’t a natural thing but sometimes I have to make these substitutions to save some calories. All of the veggies , meat, and broths were organic. Ultimately I was pleased with the finished product. Plenty of veggies and some nice protein. Plus it tasted very indulgent when in reality it was fairly low in points.

The rest of my night will be spent snuggling up with the puppies and Bryan.  While tomorrow might be stressful and drama filled tonight I will relax, smile, and gaze at my stars. 🙂

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Don’t Say It’s Over

What do I have in common with this weekend? We are both too short. 🙂  Okay- bad jokes aside this weekend really got away from me somehow.  I finally got motivated after my “fun” workout earlier and decided to make some lunch. I was craving greens so I had a beautiful mixed greens salad. I love to toss fruit into a salad whenever I can so having strawberries that were thinking about going bad gave me the perfect excuse to include them. I topped the salad with some slivered almonds that I toasted up on the stove and a balsamic vinaigrette.

And of course everyone knows that the perfect pair for a salad is pizza. So I had a small BBQ Chicken pizza (not pictured) on a whole grain crust with reduced fat cheese, red onions, and plenty of spices. It was around 300 calories and worth every single one.

Bryan and I did make it to the dollar movies where I finally got to see “The Blind Side”.  I know it came out on DVD this week but I like the act of getting out and going plus paying a dollar to see it there is even cheaper than a rental. Of course that analogy goes out the window when you consider the gallon of diet soda Bryan bought me was like $4.50.  He got some popcorn and M&Ms for himself and I will admit that I could not 100% resist the temptation of that terrible for me movie popcorn and I did have a couple hand-fulls. I tracked the calories as best I could and adjusted my food plan accordingly.

Tonight while Bryan worked on my header for this blog I cooked some spinach and onion pasta. This simple recipe has a whole wheat pasta as its base cooked, drizzled with a touch of olive oil and set aside. In a skillet combine some italian turkey sausage (or just spice up your own ground turkey breast), thinly sliced onions, diced mushrooms, and chopped baby spinach (salt lightly or not at all and pepper liberally). Once this cooks up drain the fat/water and combine with the pasta. Sprinkle a little fresh Parmesan on top and enjoy! Feel free to dump in whatever veggies you have on hand. This works with a variety of yummy veggies.

I am spending the rest of my night bonding with the TIVO and getting as relaxed as possible before the crazy work week ahead.

What is your Sunday night routine?

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No Rest for the “Wicked”

I can definitely see signs here and there that I am not as young as I used to be. I am still recovering from a late date night with Bryan.  After a 4 mile run/jog yesterday Bryan and I decided to grab a quick bite before our night out. We chose Panera Bread because its quick and not to processed in comparison to other super quick options. Since I had pretty much only had fruit and veggies all day I needed some protein and I had some calories/points to spare so I chose my all time favorite Panera sandwich: A Bacon Turkey Bravo. I did take 1/2 of the bacon off simply because I just wanted the taste not tons of extra calories.

Also, can I just say I am addicted to that tomato basil bread? Its so good. I might have a slight addiction to carbs. We have tried to part ways in the past but it didn’t work out. Now I just work them in and pay attention to what I am eating.  I indulge a little on Saturdays because it is hard for me to stay on track otherwise. This Saturday’s indulgence was that awesome bread.

After dinner it was time to head to Richmond, VA. Bryan and I had tickets for the touring Broadway production of Wicked.  I love musicals and Wicked is probably my favorite so needless to say I was very excited.

It was a little bit of a drive for us but we made it to Richmond with an hour to spare which was a good thing since the parking deck would not take a Visa.  We have gotten in a really bad habit of carrying no cash. The show was at Landmark Theater and it was packed. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house.

After an amazing show we headed back home rolling in at around 1:30am. Needless to say this morning I was a little lazy with the breakfast and opted for an organic whole grain waffle with a tablespoon (total) of organic peanut butter and sliced banana.

I should also mention that I am a freak about honey and could eat it on anything so I found it hard to resist drizzling a little on this.  Luckily I have discovered these little portion controlled packets of honey. They are 20 calories and I allow myself 1 per day. This does not mean I use one everyday. In fact, this is the first time I have used one all week but it does keep me from squeezing a zillion calories worth of honey into teas, smoothies, fruit, oatmeal, etc during the course of a day. Knowing I can only have one makes me think a little harder about what I want to use it on.

Since Sunday is my “Fun” workout day (and the rain curtailed my big plans to play disc “golf” with Bryan) I decided to do a “Cardio Salsa” DVD.  Turns out the fun Sunday workout-not so fun today. I think its because I really wanted to get outside.

Now off to do some laundry and head to the dollar movies. (Yes it is actually a dollar. I love that!) Enjoy what is left of the weekend friends!

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