I love you, mozzarella...

As many of you know, I love cheese.  I have never met a cheese I didn't like.  It has been quite an adjustment cutting down on my cheese consumption.  Imagine my surprise when I was looking around Pinterest the other day and  saw the words "Skinny Baked Mozzarella Sticks."  Of course I had to make them and try them.  They are so easy to make....perhaps too easy.  They call for light string cheese.  It is soooo good.  I could have eaten about 20 more, but I had some self control and enjoyed every nibble.  I highly recommend these.  This is certainly a delicious appetizer for your next meal without the guilt!

Oh Mango....

I LOVE mango... perhaps a little too much.  I can't help myself around this time of year when they are in season.  I've been known to eat one every day.  However, did you know that:

Mango peel and sap contain urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy and poison sumac that can cause urushiol-induced contact dermatitis in susceptible people. Cross-reactions between mango contact allergens and urushiol have been observed.  Those with a history of poison ivy or poison oak contact dermatitis may be most at risk for such an allergic reaction. Urushiol is also present in mango leaves and stems. Wikipedia

So, imagine my surprise when I broke out in tiny blisters all over my left hand.  I had no idea that I would have that kind of reaction.  I have not taken a picture of it and posted it and for that you are welcome.  It is totally gross.  There were blisters all over my wedding ring finger and my pinky finger.  Ewww.

This has not stopped or even slowed my mango consumption, but I felt like I should make you aware of the possible problem because I had absolutely no clue.

Avocado and chickpea salad

My Friend, Cindy posted this recipe yesterday on her awesome blog, vegetarianmamma .  She actually linked the recipe last week, but made it yesterday and texted me to tell me how awesome it was.  So, I decided to make it my lunch.  She got the recipe from twopeasandtheirpod.com .  There are some wonderful recipes there as well.  After I made this, I decided it tasted like guacamole and figured I should put it in a wrap and add some salsa and spinach.  SOOOOOO GOOD!

Crab stuffed portobello mushrooms

My husband and I love crab.  Make it some cheesy crab and it is just perfection.  I was so excited to eat this that this is the photo that almost wasn't.  As you can see I already started eating my dinner and then remembered I should take a picture for the blog.  With our dinner we had a lovely salad and some brown rice.  I did not follow a recipe, but I will do my very best to write this out for you.

-2 giant portobello mushroom caps (gills scraped and stems removed)
-1 cup jumbo lump crabmeat
-4 wedges of laughing cow cheese (we used garlic and herb)
-4 green onions chopped-green and light green parts only
-1/4 of a red bell pepper diced
-1/2 tsp. old bay seasoning
-4 T. grated parmesan
-1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Heat oven to 375 degrees.   Spray a pan or a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Mix the crabmeat, cheese, green onion, red pepper, old bay and parmesan.  Split the mixture in half and put 1/2 of the mixture in each mushroom.  Top with panko bread crumbs.  Spray the panko lightly so it browns easier.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the filling is hot and the breadcrumbs are toasted.

Healthier cookies

My kids have noticed that mom has not made cookies in quite a while.  It isn't their fault their mom has no self control.  :)

I found this recipe for healthier cookies and it includes almond butter so it must be the best cookie ever!  It contains much better ingredients that I can live with rather than having 2 sticks of butter sitting on my counter for hours to soften.

Perhaps it is because I haven't had a cookie fresh from the oven in so long, but seriously, this is one of the best darn cookies I have had.  I'm not joking.  I would have no problem telling you that this cookie would do, or it was ok.  It is really, really good!  I thought I would miss the loads of butter and refined sugar and the loftiness of all purpose flour, but this cookie is really delicious!  I may still eat them all, but I won't feel as bad about it.  HAHA!  I am totally joking...i think.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup ground flax meal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup blue agave nectar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor several times to chop; continue processing until the walnuts are ground into flour; transfer to a bowl. Mix in the rolled oats, whole wheat flour, flax meal, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined.
3. Combine the almond butter, canola oil, agave nectar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract in the food processor and process a few seconds to blend the ingredients well; transfer the almond butter mixture to a large bowl and fold in the dried cherries and chocolate chips. Mix the walnut-oatmeal mixture into the almond butter mixture (dough will be very thick).
4. Scoop up heaping teaspoons of dough, and form into balls; lay the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and flatten the cookies with a spatula. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheets before removing to finish cooling on wire racks.

Food of the week: Almond butter

I am in love with this stuff.  More than I probably should be, but it is very yummy.  Tonight, I added a couple of teaspoons to my banana ice cream.  :)  This almond butter is all natural, with only 2 ingredients. I love that!

Spread it on crackers for a yummy afternoon snack!  You won't regret it!

The Hungry Girl

Hungry-Girl.com is a great reference for Tips and Tricks to save calories.  You can sign up for her daily newsletters here.  They are very informative and helpful.  She has some great, yummy suggestions.  You can also follow her on Twitter @HungryGirl.  Check her out!

More LARA bars

We are all out of the LARA bars I made the other day.  This morning I made Cherry Pie and Blueberry muffin bars.  I must admit that the Blueberry Muffin ones are my FAVORITE!  I love the blueberry and lemon zest flavors together.  My daughter is sticking with the peanut butter chocolate chip ones as her favorite, so of course I made more of those as well.


For more recipes, click here.

Blueberry Muffin
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup seedless/pitted dates
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Cherry Pie
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup seedless/pitted dates
1/3 cup almonds
2 tsp. cinnamon

Toss the dried fruit in the food processor and buzz it until it forms a paste. You will know it is a paste when it forms a ball and whizzes around the bowl.

Take the paste out and put the nuts/cinnamon/zest in and pulse into small bits. Don't do it until it is peanut dust, you still want a little texture.

Combine peanut bits and fruit paste and squish around with your hands until it is all in one ball. Spread out on some plastic wrap on a plate and separate in 3 equal pieces (yes, I weighed them to see if they were exact because I am crazy that way). Form them into bars. Wrap them individually with plastic wrap or put them in the snack size bag or if you don't like using those things, put them in an air tight container....I do not recommend you stack them or have them touching without a piece of wax paper or parchment if this is your storage method.

Broiled fish with Herbs

This recipe is adapted slightly from The Master Your Metabolism Cookbook by Jillian Michaels.

Broiled Fish with Herbs

(serves 4)

Cooking Spray

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

4 garlic cloves

1 T. lime juice

8 cremini or button mushrooms stems removed

4-4oz haddock fillets

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes

Place oven rack 6 inches from broil and turn broiler on to high. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a food processor, add the basil, parsley, garlic and lime. Process until finely chopped.

Fill each mushroom cap with about 1/4 teaspoon of the herb mixture and place on the baking sheet. Spread the remaining herb mixture over the fish. Scatter the tomatoes on the baking sheet around the mushrooms and the fish.

Bake until the fish flakes easily when you press on it (about 10 minutes)

I also roasted some veggies. I just chopped some zucchini, squash, red onion, and red bell pepper in a pan and sprinkled all of it with garlic powder, onion powder, thyme and rosemary. I put it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees, stirring it up half way through.

This entire meal was less than 300 calories.

Meatless Burgers

Southwest Burger

I am not a vegetarian.  I could never be a vegetarian.  I am definitely a meat lover and at one point in my life I would have been totally game to eat my weight in Delmonico steaks, but I recognize that I need to live by the "all things in moderation" saying.  That being said, having a dinner without meat shouldn't be that hard, right?  I have never had an urge to have a veggie burger or any other kind of meatless burger, but I figured, what the heck?  I'll try anything.

Tonight, I made the hubs another recipe from his Men's Health Magazine.  I made him the Southwest Burger from the most recent issue and, yes, it was meatless....and very tasty.  While I sauteed some sugar snap peas, red bell pepper and a little garlic in some cooking oil, I also cooked the burgers.  The hubs grilled the pineapple and the buns for our burgers.

The grilled pineapple made the burgers very juicy and the bbq sauce made it very tangy.  The burger itself was made with quinoa, oats and black beans and was very filling.  I must say that I am surprised that I liked it as much as I did.  I will definitely have it again.

I had a veggie burger and lived to tell the tale....

Wiggity wiggity wack! It's another wrap idea. :)

I sure have been eating a lot of wraps at lunch this week. Today, I had some beans left over from dinner so I used them on top of spinach with some salsa, some avocado, and a sliced babybel. So delicious. I am a huge Mexican food fan and this was very yummy and you have to love a wrap that is only 250 calories.

HOME MADE LARA BARS!!!!

No you aren't reading wrong and yes it is VERY easy!!!!! Remember that this was my food item of the week this week. These bars are about 4 for $5 where I live. My daughter (6 years old) and I both eat them so I figured there MUST be an easy way to make them. I mean there aren't many ingredients in them for goodness sake. So, I looked it up in Pinterest and found this. It lists many of the bars and their recipes! Woo HOO! The leg work was done for me already. Each recipe makes 3 bars.

Today I made the peanut butter and jam and they were 217 calories. Of course I didn't follow the recipe directions exactly, so here is what I did:

Peanut Butter and Jam (217 calories)

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup seedless/pitted whole dates (double check the pit is out. 1/4 cup for me was about 6 dates)

1/2 cup raw peanuts

Toss the dates and cherries in the food processor and buzz it until it forms a paste. You will know it is a paste when it forms a ball and whizzes around the bowl.

Take the paste out and put the peanuts in and pulse into small bits. Don't do it until it is peanut dust, you still want a little texture.

Combine peanut bits and fruit paste and squish around with your hands until it is all in one ball. Spread out on some plastic wrap on a plate and separate in 3 equal pieces (yes, I weighed them to see if they were exact because I am crazy that way). Form them into bars. Wrap them

individually with plastic wrap or put them in the snack size bag or if you don't like using those things, put them in an air tight container....I do not recommend you stack them or have them touching without a piece of wax paper or parchment if this is your storage method.

Seriously, this took me all of 10 minutes to do. So easy and delicious!!!

Next, I made my daughter's favorite...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie (227 calories)

1/2 cup seedless/pitted whole dates (about 12)

1/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 T mini organic chocolate chips

Same idea as before. Make the fruit paste with the dates. Take the paste out and make peanut and cashew bits. Add the paste and the nut bits together and also add 2 T of mini chocolate chips. Squish together. Form bars. My daughter came from home from school and ate one up immediately! She gives it two thumbs up!

I will now be working my way through the list, posting every recipe and annoying each and every one of you with my Larabar creations. Let me know if there is a particular one you want me to make next. :)

Breakfast for lunch!

My mornings are a little too crazy to make myself a really good breakfast. I make protein bars on the weekend and eat them all week. I'll normally just eat one of those and sometimes some fruit, but that is normally the extent of it.

I have been eating a lot of wraps this week and this one has 1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites scrambled on top of some baby spinach. I also added a chopped up babybel light, salsa, and avocado chunks. I was sad when I had eaten it all. It was the PERFECT lunch and hit the spot! The total calorie count was only 273 calories.

A new use for the old bananas....

My son used to eat a banana every night before bed for many years. Both of my kids still love them and we ALWAYS have them in the fruit bowl. The banana popularity ebbs and flows in our house and sometimes we have bananas that are overripe. Before the lifestyle change, my daughter and I would take those overripe bad boys and turn them into a delicious chocolate chip banana bread...mmmmm, warm banana bread and a cup of coffee.... anyways, back to my point. I found a FANTASTIC new way to use my overripe bananas!

BANANA SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM!!!! And it is so hard to believe that it is really only a banana. It is soooooo good!!

The good news is that I had all the ingredients I needed in my house. The bad news is that I had to peel and chop my bananas and wait for them to freeze in my freezer.

There are a million different recipes for banana soft serve all over the internet. The recipe that I decided on may have been one that I read, but I honestly don't know which one it was. I apologize for the oversight. All I knew is that my banana soft serve had to include chocolate somehow.

This is what you need (serves 2):

2 frozen chopped up bananas

1 T. honey

3 T. cocoa powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Toss these ingredients in your food processor and pulse until the big banana chunks are broken up and then blend until creamy and looking like ice cream. Share half of it with a friend and add a topping like berries and enjoy your 165 calorie dessert. You could also add some peanut butter but your calorie count will be higher.

Who read this post and tossed some bananas in the freezer?? Who can resist a dessert that is loaded with the nutrients they need anyways?? HA!

Yummy Chili!

We love chili, but our old version had beef and italian sausage, not so good for you. So I took my usual recipe and replaced the beef and Italian sausage with extra lean ground turkey and the vegetable oil for cooking spray. My usual recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen, The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook.

Cooking Spray

2 medium onions chopped

1 medium red pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice

6 medium garlic cloves minced

1/4 c. chili powder

1 T. ground cumin

2 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

2-2.5 lbs extra lean turkey breast

2 (15 oz) cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (28 oz) can tomato puree

Heat the cooking spray in a large pot or dutch oven. Over medium heat, add the onions, peppers and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, until they begin to soften. Then add the chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne pepper, and coriander. Cook until the veggies are softened and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes or so. Increase heat to medium high and brown half of the turkey. Once that half is browned, add the other half. Be sure to break up the big pieces of turkey with your wooden spoon.

Add the beans, tomatoes with juice, and tomato puree. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 1 hour, covered, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for another hour, stirring occasionally.

Every cup (this recipe makes 15 cups) is only 159 calories, 1.1 g fat, 4.8 g dietary fiber, 5.2 g sugars, and 21.3 g protein.

What is for lunch today...Turkey and Hummus wrap!

I made some hummus yesterday and today for lunch I spread about 2 tablespoons of the yummy goodness in a wrap, added some turkey breast, baby spinach, cherry tomato halves and rolled that baby up! So incredible! All of it for less than 200 calories. I must also add that I had some fresh mango with my wrap as well. I am not sure I have mentioned how much I love mango lately, but it is true.....I LOVE it!

Food of the week: LARA BARS

I am in love! I may have been the last person to discover these, but I am happy to join the bandwagon of Lara Bar lovers.

I have been trying to eat cleaner. Now, I am not going to lie I do have a relapse every now and again, but I must say that I am doing so much better at it. I have days, just like most people, that are completely crazy and I do not get a chance to make lunch or a snack. I work from home, so I take for granted that the fridge is right there, but nothing is already made to grab really fast when I need to eat.

These bars are phenomenal. None of the bars have more than 9 ingredients and all of the ingredients are a food that you would eat on their own. I had the Apple Pie Lara Bar on my way to the grocery store. In that bar are dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. It was truly delicious.

There are more than 20 flavors. I can't wait to try Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Lemon and Peanut Butter and Jelly. I'm excited to make my way through every one of them. Do any of you have a favorite one I need to try next?

Guilt Free Hummus

I made some homemade Guilt-Free Hummus today to use to dip veggies in and to spread on wraps for lunch. It is about 15 calories a tablespoon! I made it according to the recipe except that I used 1/4 cup of fat free Greek Yogurt instead of nonfat plain yogurt and I tossed in an extra garlic clove because I am a garlic junky. It is very tasty!

My breakfast...again

My morning routine is drink a cup of coffee and a huge glass of water, workout, drink more water and then have breakfast. I think I have had this breakfast all week....except I replaced the strawberries with mangos for a few days ( I LOVE MANGOS). I think I may be satisfied with this breakfast forever. I can't get enough of the cinnamon cream spread. All of this for less than 200 calories. It is a great way to start my day.

Salmon Burger with Dill Yogurt Sauce...

HOLY SMOKES! This was so good!!!! My picky husband who does not normally like salmon even loved it and that says A LOT! He took a bite of the burger and said, "Wow! Now, this is a new favorite."

My friend, Belynda introduced me to the blog www.canyoustayfordinner.com and I love the story that is told in it and the author, Andie, writes incredibly well. She is very funny and I love that. Check it out!

Anywho, back to the burger (recipe found here). I love making new things and when I came across this salmon burger, I knew I had to make it. Fortunately, hubby kept an open mind and I know he is glad he did! I can not tell you how delicious this burger was... garlic, ginger, lemon and soy sauce...you can't go wrong. I must now make my way through all of the recipes Andie has posted since as she is obviously some sort of food wizard. Try it!

Kale Chips

I have seen these all over the blogs and on Twitter lately and I wasn't really sure how I felt about the idea of them. I mean, a leafy green posing as a chip? I decided to just try them to see how they were.

Kale is VERY good for you. One cup of the stuff is 206% of your daily Vitamin A, 134% of your daily Vitamin C, 9% of your daily Calcium, 6.3% of your Iron. It also has 299.5 mg of potassium and 1.3 g of dietary fiber.

All I did was tear the Kale leaves off of the stems into bite sized pieces and tossed them in a bowl. I drizzled them with a little olive oil and tossed the leaves around a bit. Then I sprinkled them with some sea salt and tossed the pan in a 500 degree oven for 5-6 minutes until the edges started to brown and when I moved them around they were chip like.

They will definitely do for my 3:00 afternoon snack. I must admit, I was impressed. Hubby wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole, however.

Quinoa Salad

Last night for dinner we tried the recipe I mentioned yesterday for Quinoa Salad. It was SOOOO Yummy and very easy to make.

My only complaint about the recipe is that the author says that it makes 4 sides or 2 entree portions. HOLY COW! There is no way I would have been able to make it through half of this recipe in one sitting. I would say that there are probably 5 or 6 entree servings in this. I had already put the calories for it in myfitnesspal earlier in the day so that I could see where I stood and I had to adjust it after I saw that I was eating way less than half the recipe.

A change that I made in the recipe was that I did not put the feta in and I added chicken breast to it. It was delicious and I am looking forward to eating it again for lunch today.

A day in the life...

So today is another milestone day. As of this morning, I have lost 70 lbs. Woo Hoo! Is it wrong that my first thought is to celebrate with a cupcake?

Anywho, I have had many of my friends ask me what I eat in a given day and I am going to try to break it down for you here. I actually eat all day long. It fools me into thinking that I am eating a LOT. My calorie limit per day via myfitness pal is 1380. So here we go:

Today's food intake (yes, I have already decided)

8:00 coffee, splenda and unsweetened almond milk

8:30 workout

9:00 1 piece of ezekiel toast with cinnamon laughing cow cheese and strawberries

10:30, 15 almonds

12:30 Veggie salad with balsamic only and one whole hard boiled egg and one hard boiled egg white

3:00 Fage greek yogurt with blueberries and raspberries

6:30 quinoa salad found here with chicken and no feta

9:00 yoplait smoothie

Hope that helps!

**quinoa salad photo courtesy of Womansfitness.com as I have not yet made this today :)

Spaghetti Squash Yummmmmmmm

I am a huge fan of Italian food. Huge. It was probably a big contributor to my need to lose weight. Who doesn't like pasta covered in a garlicky tomato sauce topped with cheese?

Tonight I made spaghetti squash for the first time. I followed the directions on the sticker that was attached to the squash. I pierced the rind all over with a fork and cooked it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes per pound. Then I put it in a pan and roasted it in the oven at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

I must admit that I did not follow a recipe, but I will do my best to tell you how I made the sauce and the measurements of everything I used.

Just put the things in that you like. While the spaghetti squash was in the oven I cooked 8 oz of ground extra lean turkey. Once that was fully cooked I removed it from my pan and placed it in a bowl. Then I sprayed the same pan with cooking spray and cooked half a medium diced onion, half a red bell pepper, about 8 oz of diced mushrooms. After those soften for a couple of minutes, I put in 3 minced garlic cloves (we loooove garlic). Once the garlic is cooked, about a minute, I added a 28 oz can of tomato sauce and the turkey from earlier. Then I chopped up some fresh basil and oregano and added it to the sauce.

When the spaghetti squash is done, cut it in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds from the middle. Using a fork, scrape the meat of the squash (it comes off in long strands like spaghetti) and put that in a bowl. Be careful because the squash will be hot. Put some spaghetti squash in bowls and top with the sauce and then some grated parmesan. All of this was around 300 calories. So very yummy! I could eat this every day.

My snack today: Pop chips!

It's 3:00 snack time! Do you LOVE BBQ potato chips? You will love these Pop Chips! The bag says that they are:

"Never fried. Never baked. We start with wholesome potatoes, add a little heat and pressure, and POP! It's a chip. Then we season it with the finest all-natural ingredients for a snack so tasty and crispy, you won't even notice it's healthier."

I believe my whole family would eat lima beans as long as they had this BBQ flavoring on them, but everyone here loves these tasty and crunchy chips. They are only 120 calories per ounce, no fat, 18 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar, and 2 g protein. Sooooo good!

They also come in original, sour cream and onion, sea salt and vinegar, cheddar, salt and pepper, jalapeno, and parmesan garlic.

Planning Meals Ahead

I have always been a planner, someone who has lists for everything. I LOVE post its and the whole idea of color coding and leaving myself reminders. I know, you wouldn't be the first person to call me strange. I go to the grocery store EVERY Friday and I shop for the whole week. I am not a fan of going to the grocery store, so the fewer times a week I go, the happier I am. Since I only go once a week, I have to plan the menu for the week ahead on Thursday night. I know what we are going to eat every day. This way I can make good meal decisions and we aren't desperate to eat just anything.

I use a grocery list app on my iPhone religiously (also available for droid). If I realize we are out of storage bags, I add it immediately to my GroceryGadget App. This way I never forget anything at the store and I can make better use of my time.

GroceryGadget allows for you to check things you need at the store and as you check them, it organizes them in categories so you make better use of your time while in the store ie: deli, produce, dairy, frozen foods etc. Once you put an item in your cart, you can check it and it will disappear off of your list. This also helps me to not put extra things in my shopping cart. If it isn't on my list, I am not buying it. I use this app religiously, even when I wasn't eating healthy

Food of the week: Shirataki

When we have stir fry, we normally have it over brown rice which has 230 calories for a cup. That really isn't bad since we normally put shrimp and a ton of veggies on it. Tonight we had our stir fry over Tofu Shirataki.

I followed the directions on the bag and drained it, rinsed it, and put it in the microwave for a minute. Then I dried it and tossed it in our stir fry. They were actually very good. Pretty much just like spaghetti. Even my husband, the picky eater, liked it.

The Shirataki noodles are 20 calories a serving (4 oz) and have half a gram of fat, 3 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber and 1 gram of protein. We will definitely be having them again. Our stir fry was a whopping 306 calories.

Diet or Lifestyle?

Yesterday was Easter and it was also my diet "cheat day" and boy, did I ever. I hosted brunch at my house and made baked french toast casserole, spinach and gruyere breakfast strata, cinnamon rolls (see photo----> ) and sour cream coffee cake from scratch, ham-egg-and cheese croissants, bacon, and home fries. For dessert, I made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream (to celebrate my dad's birthday) and Easter themed cut out sugar cookies with icing. I did not count the calories in myfitnesspal. I am not even sure if I would have been able to.

When reflecting on the day with my husband, I told him that I felt like an alcoholic who took a drink after not having had one for months. After eating all of those rich, delicious treats, I keep looking for more and it took a lot of will power to not continue eating the junk. I was smart at least to send the left overs with my guests, so the temptations weren't so bad.

I am glad that today is like any other day again and I can get back on track. The structure seems to work better for me. I know where I stand with my diet at all times. After all of these changes though, this isn't really a diet, is it? It isn't like I am going to stop what I am doing and go back to where I was a year ago. I think I just need to remember that. One day is not going to send me back to a year ago. It is ok to take a day off and eat things or everything that is not good for you. Just go to bed, wake up and start over again...the right way.

So, I refuse to feel guilty about my actions. It was VERY yummy and today is a new day. I'm back to recording numbers in myfitnesspal and working out a little extra, pretending like it will undo all I did yesterday. LOL!

Delicious snack....

Well, It is almost 3:00 and that means it is snack time. This is my new favorite snack. This Fage Greek Yogurt is 100 calories, is fat free, has only 7 g of sugar and 18 grams of protein. I added 1/4 cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup of raspberries which brings the total of my snack to 137 calories. I love it because the yogurt is in 6 oz cups, so it is a good sized snack that will satisfy my belly until dinner.

My Motivation

These jeans were my rock bottom. The fat on my sides used to lop over the sides. They were tight around my thighs. They were the only jeans I had that fit and I refused to buy a larger size. That is when I decided it was time for a change. I couldn't live that size anymore. Not only was it unhealthy, but it made me unhappy with myself. So I started working out 3 times a week and making changes in my diet. It started out slowly, but when I started feeling differences in my clothing, it only motivated me more.

Believe me when I say, if I can do it, ANYONE can. I was a mindless eater. I gave absolutely no thought to the things that I would eat in a day. Now, I know that if I want to have ice cream later, I need to make a few adjustments in my diet during the day. There isn't anything I deprive myself of.

Even on days that I had absolutely no motivation to work out, I would convince myself that it was only 30 minutes. I could do it. After I did it, I was glad I got off my butt.

Last night, my husband was reading the blog and said that he couldn't believe that I had lost almost 70 pounds. It is hard to tell when you see your spouse every day and it comes off gradually. I sent him this picture this morning and asked, "Do you believe it now?"

I will never wear those jeans again.

Goal Weight

When I started my weight loss, I made a realistic goal to shoot for. Then I reached that goal and made a new one. Then I reached THAT goal and made a new one. I think I am on my 4th weight loss goal at this point. I am very, very close to my next goal weight, but wonder if I should just continue doing what I am doing and see how far I go. I mean, I AM eating (probably the healthiest I have ever been) and I AM working out (hardly obsessive about it). How do you know when you have reached the goal your body decides is best for you? Just wait until you stop losing weight? I guess I haven't thought this through as much as I thought. With my next goal weight looming near, I find that I really don't have the answers yet... hmmmm. How do you know when to stop trying to lose weight and just work on maintaining?

Easter eggs!!

Look at what my family did last night! What do YOU do with your hard boiled Easter eggs?? All I can think of is egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad....and those aren't the most low calorie thing to make.

*side note....I had 1 egg and 1 egg white in my lunch today and found it very cruel peeling the shells off of eggs with faces.

Calorie Burn Calculator

Since I use the Myfitnesspal App on my smartphone it also calculates the number of calories I burned during my workouts and adds them to my total so I can eat more during the day. Sometimes it is hard to determine how many calories I have burned, so I found this Calorie Burn Calculator and it has A LOT of different activities listed. All you do is put your weight in and how many minutes you performed any of the activities listed, and it gives you the amount of calories you burned during that activity. Pretty Sweet!

My Cheese Obsession...

I LOVE CHEESE! It's true. I love it more than one person should love cheese. I have tried breaking up with cheese entirely, but I just can't stay away. This week I have been snacking on The Laughing Cow products. I will spread the cheese on bread or celery for a low calorie snack. or add the cheese to sandwiches. The spreadable cheese wedges are between 35-45 calories a piece and the Mini Light Babybel is 50 calories. Soooo Gooood!

Granola Bars (gluten free, high protein)

I came across this recipe at Sarahfit.com (my new favorite blog).

1 ½ cups rolled oats

½ c almond meal

2 servings of protein po

wder

3T shredded coconut

½ c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

2 T honey

1 mashed banana

2 tsp. cinnamon

¼ c almonds

¼ c golden raisins

Mash all of the ingredients together and spread them out into a 9 1/2 X 11 pan. Put into a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Cut into 10 servings. Sarah says each bar is 146 calories, 5.4 g fat, 19.5 g of carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 7.8 g sugar, and 6.8 g protein.

They are very tasty! They aren't crunchy though. They are more like a delicious and healthy oatmeal cookie. I love them! My house smells absolutely fabulous after baking these!

What's for lunch?

I took a trip to Trader Joe's today and came home with a lot of yummy goodies! Today, I am having an open faced turkey sandwich, spread with Laughing Cow Veggie cream cheese and some mango. So delicious! Ezekiel bread has 4 grams of protein a slice and is low glycemic, so it keeps you fuller longer. I have a feeling, I will be having this for lunch tomorrow as well.

Total Calories: 292

One Guy’s Food Review: Lean Cuisine ‘Steam fresh Asiago Cheese Tortellini’

Today’s review is for the Lean Cuisine ‘Steam fresh Asiago Cheese Tortellini'.

Just the facts:

Serving Size: One package (10 oz.)

Calories: 280

Fat: 7g

Fiber: 5g

Protein: 14g

Sodium: 670mg

Carbohydrates: 39g

Diet Exchange: 1 Lean Meat,2 Starch,1 Vegetable

Weight Watchers® PointsPlus™: 7

Preparation 4/5

This is a somewhat different style of preparation for a frozen lunch as it comes in a steam bag. You simple place the bag in a microwave (label side up) for about 7 minutes on high. You do want it to sit, either in the bag or in a bowl, for a minute so it can set. One note of caution: that bag is VERY hot when it is done, so take care removing it from the microwave. I used scissors to open it instead of cooking my fingers on it.

Once open, I poured it onto my bowl and gave it a quick stir.

There's more! Click to read the rest.

iMapMyRun

IMapMyRun is so incredibly handy! When you run with this app running you can keep track of your pace, the live route map, your distance, and calories burned. While listing to the tunes on your smart phone it will give you voice prompts that will update you on your progress as you go. You can also post your runs on facebook. This is a fabulous way to keep track of your goals and get the most out of your workout.

Almond Milk

This little gem is a great calorie cheat. It is only 40 calories for a whole cup (less than half the calories of skim milk) and you can replace it where you use skim milk. It is pretty tasty in your coffee and in your cereal in the morning. I'm not going to say that I was so excited about the calories that I saved that I dunked a shortbread girl scout cookie in my coffee at breakfast. :)