A Salad in Paradise?

In the midst of some Sunday errand running and workouts the hubs and I headed a bit North to catch up with one of my oldest friends Tiffany, her husband Robert, and their little one. They weren’t able to make it down for Saturday night’s Birthday celebration so we took the party to Charlottesville! It was a pretty dreary day here in Virginia but we were excited to make the trip and meet up with our pals.

We decided to meet up at Cheeseburger in Paradise. It has a really fun vibe and reminds me of the super fun rainy day the hubs  and I spent at the beach last summer.

We had a really fun afternoon catching up, chatting, and making some plans for future get togethers. I was also super entertained by their little boy who has some sweet dance moves!

Then came the moment of truth, time to order lunch. As tempting as a cheeseburger was (I mean it is Cheeseburger in Paradise after all) I decided to make sure I remained on plan and ordered the “Calypso” salad. This salad was mixed field greens with roasted chicken, pineapple, apples, oranges, strawberries, and almonds. I got a balsamic vinaigrette on the side that I used sparingly because it was very thick. It felt good to stay on plan and I will tell you a secret….spending time with pals is just as much fun whether you have a burger or a salad!

After lunch we posed for some more photos with our pals and headed home. The hubs and I still had stops at Target, Best Buy, and Kroger to make. Luckily, I got Season 3 of Gossip Girl out of the errand running so I cant complain too much!

Later that evening the hubs whipped up his killer Chicken Tacos. I do LOVE a man in the kitchen! These tacos are amazing and very low calorie. They are also extra super spicy and smoky which I LOVE!

How do you handle dining out on a diet?

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Eating Well Inspires Eating Well

I sort of have this philosophy that eating healthfully makes you want to continue to do so. The adverse is also true. I had a chat with a work pal Thursday about how the holidays are difficult because your body gets accustomed to having a “sliver of pie here” or “some chocolate covered pretzels there” and before you know it you are starting to crave fatty calorie laden foods. With my 2011 weight loss and fitness goals in front of me, that simply would not do! That is why I spent my morning at the supermarket spending the majority of my visit with my new BFF, produce.

I spent a lot of time at the store looking at different items, comparing nutritional content, and figuring out “Points Plus” values. I also wrote recipes in my head as I scoped out the different ingredients. One of my goals (which I will be posting soon) for 2011 is to try one new recipe a week. My Rachael Ray cookbooks will certainly be earning their keep this year!! After a long morning of shopping I had purchased all of the goodies I needed to do a complete overhaul of our kitchen. My poor little bug could barely carry it all home!

I bought tons of produce, lean meats, whole grains, and other “whole” or “clean” foods. Besides a few convenience items such as organic toaster waffles and dried fruit I completely stayed clear of processed foods, desserts, or “junk food” of any kind. Some of my favorite grocery store finds today were…

With all of this great new food in the house I was inspired to prepare my first new dish of 2011. Tonight I decided to make Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter and Creamy Farfalle with Bacon, Tomato and Peas. As you might have guessed this a recipe from my culinary hero Rachael Ray and you can find the original HERE. However, I modified the recipe a touch to bump down the calorie/fat content.

First, I start with a totally clear cooking space and my ingredients out and ready. This is a fairly quick paced recipe and you will need everything right at your fingertips.

• Bring water up to boil and set a deep skillet to medium heat. To that skillet add 6 slices of chopped bacon. I chose center cut because it is the leanest cut of natural bacon you can buy.

• After the bacon begins to crisp up add in 1 medium onion, white mushrooms (to taste), salt and pepper, and a bay leaf. I like the dried leaves from Penzeys.

• Allow this to cook for approximately 5 minutes. Then add in a large can of crushed tomatoes (or whole and crush yourself). Bring the sauce up to a bubble, adjust spices, and let it simmer for 15 minutes

• Next stir in 1 cup of peas and ½ cup cheese. I substituted 2% mozzarella cheese instead of the mascarpone that is called for due to calorie/fat content

• As you stir in the cheese prepare your wheat bow-tie pasta per the box instructions and set aside

• As the pasta cooks and sauce simmers, prepare the tilapia with salt and pepper on each side and lightly flour it. Then place the fillets in a large pan with 2tbl olive oil per 4 filets and allow them to cook 4 minutes on each side

• When the fish is finished remove it from the pan and add in 2 -3 tablespoons of light butter and ¼ cup balsamic vinegar per 4 filets. Allow this to reduce by ½ and remove from the heat

• To complete the meal combine the pasta with the sauce and take a small serving, drizzle a tiny bit of the balsamic sauce over your fish and enjoy!

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Start With a Weigh-In and End With a Corgi

My very last day of 2010 started with a trip to the Weight Watchers center in town. After last night’s revelation I knew I was ready to face whatever number the scale had in store for me. The truth is it feels very empowering to have my task so neatly placed in front of me. Now comes the mission of figuring out the right combination of food and exercise for my body. This was the last precursor to a very difficult journey but knowing that it only gets better from this day forward is a motivator all on it’s own. 2011 will be my year to emerge something better.

My weigh-in was not exactly what I had anticipated. It turns out I had not gained back all of the weight I lost last year and am starting out 12lbs lighter than I thought. Even though I am not brave enough to share the number (today) I have accepted it and feel 100% ready to take on the challenge. While yesterday was a day filled with emotion today was a day filled with resolve. I talked with my leader (and cousin-in-law) Stephanie about Weight Watchers new “Points Plus” program and I left the center with tons of new material to help me on my quest to a healthier me.

My last day of 2010 could not be all about weight so I traveled to Roanoke to meet up with my pal Kristen and her little girl for lunch. Kristen is very much a part of my support system and we did a lot of talking about my goals and plan to achieve them. We left time for some fun “girl talk” too and we finally exchanged Christmas gifts. There is something so heartwarming about a friend who truly knows you well enough to pick out a perfect gift. Among some super cute gifts was this amazing apron in one of my favorite prints (monogrammed in pink of course) and matching wine goblet. Now I can start “Cooking in Pink” too!

Being back on an eating plan is somewhat daunting at first so I “played it safe” at lunch today and ordered a salad with grilled chicken. At least the roasted pears and almond slivers kept this salad from being 100% boring. However, when in doubt basic is usually better I think. 😉

After a late lunch I made it home in time to plan my meals and workouts for next week. I am all set up at the gym, ready to get back to running, and even signed up to start a Bikram Yoga class on Tuesday night. I contacted the studio about my weight concerns and they were incredibly supportive and positive. I can’t wait to give it a try! Tonight I am ringing in the new year with my hubs by my side, DVDs on the television, and this sweet Corgi in my lap. I cannot think of a better end to 2010 and start to 2011! Happy New Year!

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Clean Eating and Monday Stuff

Clean Eating. That is a term I see thrown around a lot but I found
myself wondering exactly what it meant and exactly how to do it.
Apparently there is an entire magazine dedicated to it (which I am now
dying to try out) and when you google the term something like a
zillion blogs come up. So after reading some sites and blogs I feel
that nuritionsuite101.com sums Clean Eating up very well:

Clean Eating Principles
·       Eating a mini-meal every two to three hours (5 to 6 small meals per
day total) to keep blood sugar level and prevent hunger
·       Combining lean proteins and complex carbs at every meal
·       Avoiding all over-processed and refined foods (especially sugar,
white rice, and white flour)
·       Avoiding saturated and trans fat, instead consuming healthy fats
·       Avoiding soda and other sugary juices and drinks
·       Avoiding high-calorie, zero nutrient foods (i.e., junk food)
·       Eating proper portion sizes
·       Drinking at least 8 cups of water every day

Doesn’t that sound great? I think it does. My body did a little
internal jump for joy just reading that. I have a mini challenge
coming up soon and (yup you guessed it) it will involve clean eating.
I would love love love for some of you to join me! (More details to
come soon). I think the beauty of this principal is that you can
modify it to whatever weight loss plan you are doing. I think it would
work fabulously in conjunction with the Weight Watchers I am doing
right now. I am definitely intrigued by the concept and I want to
learn more about it (possibly find a meal plan to follow) before
starting my mini challenge so stay tuned for that.

My eating today was on target in terms of calories and the Weight
Watchers good health guide lines. I started with a whole grain English
muffin, 1 egg, and cheese. I paired it with a V8 fusion. I have been
asked a lot of questions about the V8 fusion lately so I am going to
link to their site here. This is not a V8 product that contains HFC
and I had been using it as a way to fudge in a couple of extra
fruit/veggie servings into my day.

Lunch was left over whole grain rice with tomatoes, onions, green bell
peppers, and organic chicken. I think it is such a good diet/healthy
eating tip to make extra food at dinner and then portion out the left
overs to have during the week. It is an instant healthy meal that has
protein, complex carbs, veggies etc and it makes getting to the office
much easier in the morning.

I snacked on a banana& peanuts (not pictured) and grapes while I was at the
office. I like to freeze grapes and eat them but today I just had
“normal” grapes. Still great.

When I got in from the office I knew I had an active evening ahead and
I had yet to get in all of my dairy for the day. So, I opted for a
Lara Bar (be on the lookout for my Lara Bar Review later this week)
and a cup of skim milk. It was a perfect “after school” snack. 😉

Tonight was  cleaning overhaul night 1 at the Running In Pink Project
household. I did manage to squeeze in some playtime with the pups and
some stretching. I also found some “lost” disposable cameras that we took
with us on our honeymoon to Mexico. I am super excited to get those
developed and see our honeymoon pictures (I thought they were lost
forever!!)

Tonight more “Clean Eating Research”, registering for a 5K, and
stalking overstock.com for furniture deals. Have a Happy and Healthy
Monday.

It’s the very last night to enter my first ever give away! Good luck!

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The Yin and The Yang

I was SO looking forward to my full day on Sunday and I am happy to say it did not disappoint. I was meeting a friend really early so I grabbed a super quick breakfast of a Whole Grain English muffin with organic peanut butter and some V8 fusion. I decided my fabulous day warranted a fabulous glass for juice drinking!

After breakfast I got all packed up in the Wonderbug to head to Roanoke, VA to meet my friend Kristen for a girly day of fabulousness.

Our “main event” for the day was seeing Sex and The City 2 but we figured it would be almost against the law to see this movie without some shopping first. Now let me just say on the days that Kristen and I go shopping with no plan we end up just buying a little bit of everything. That is why normally we pick a store or a mission like shoes or dresses but Saturday was a super fantastic day of shopping bliss! Do you prefer to shop with pals or alone? I definitely prefer shopping with friends! Here are some of my favorite finds:

new gray shades

love the side detail

We moved on from sunglasses shopping to housewares and I got some fantastic coffee mugs and a matching serving plate.

Next we moved on to my personal favorite.. Shoe Shopping! I had some Macy’s dollars from an unfortunate run in with a rude sales person a few weeks back so I was looking for some fabulous finds.

Lucky Brand "Birna" flats in dusky citron. I have been stalking these all Spring!

Love the detail!

I also got these vintage collection 9 west flats for 1/2 price. I cant wait to wear these this fall with a fabulous gray dress and some tights!

I also picked up an embellished cardigan…

Finally, I picked up a couple of  dresses. The dark pink is very casual and I have plans to pair it with a black cropped cardigan, some chunky jewelry and some random flats or wedges in a totally different fun color. The second dress is my husband’s fave. I have big plans to wear it with some Steve Madden stilettos that I am currently stalking. I was also stoked that the second dress had 86.00 on the tag but came home with me for 9.99!! It was marked down twice and half off. Its one of my favorite styles. So classic and I ❤ the color combination!

After shopping the rain came. Fast and furious and out of nowhere. Thankfully Kristen had a huge golf umbrella and the only casualties were her soaked jeans and our hair. We managed to fight the storm and made it over to Panera for a quick lunch. The storm made me want something cozy so I got some potato soup and 1/2 chicken panini.

We loaded up the car and headed over to see Carrie and the gang in Sex and The City 2!!

Having always loved the show I of course loved the movie. I thought it was really fun. Some of my favorite parts without giving anything away….

• The “take a sip” conversation
• The gold sparkly shoes
• The “Single Ladies”
• The Dior T-shirt outfit
• Aiden (helloooo the hotness)
• A dog in a top hat
• The “Jude Law”

What was your favorite part?

After the movie it was back to the house for an absolute flip-flop for a night of urban camping.The hubs wanted to have the guys over for some camp fire/drinking/smores kind of night. I of course did not want hot dogs cooked on a stick so I had sushi and martinis.  I thought the sitting in nature thing warranted a martini!

Our make shift camp site

Carrie was jazzed for camping!

The hubs making a fire

My kind of camping dinner!

Harlow keeping us all safe!

smores -yum!

NIght Night! (No we didnt sleep outside after all but I gave it a good try)

Weight Watchers was closed today so next Monday will have to be the May wrap up. I think after the weekend of slightly overeating, having too much salt and too much alcohol this is probably a good thing. I have been drinking water today like it’s my job.  It’s funny how things have changed. I am actually looking forward to getting back to working out and clean eating tomorrow. I can tell a HUGE difference in my body when I overindulge. I like the person Im becoming. 🙂 I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!!

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