Be A Top 10.

Thanks everyone, for your encouraging words about my situation at home.  I never realized how many of you guys actually find yourselves feeling the SAME way I do. 

My devotional this morning was a definite good reminder.

One thing that I always pray about, is the fact that I want God to help me make a positive impact on the lives of anyone I come in contact with, but especially my teammates and coaches.  I want them to see Him shining through me…that there’s something different in my life than most.

Breakfast is easily my favorite meal of the day.   From egg white omeletttes to oatmeal, some of what I consider to be the tastiest foods ever are comsumed at breakfast time.    Another fave of mine used to be bagels…that was before I realized exactly how many calories I was taking in with each and every one…not to mention, toppings.

Those Bagelthins just didn’t do it for me…the whole bagel taste just wasn’t there.  It was too much like a sandwich thin…I’d rather have toast.  Then I was sent these awesome little guys from Kim’s Light Foods to try out!

(1 Kim’s Light Wheat Bagel + 1 smashed nanner + peanut flour paste: 1/4 C. peanut flour, sugar-free vanilla syrup, pinch of salt, and water to thin)

Bagels and I rekindled our old flame 🙂

Things are definitely looking up around here.  The weather, for starters, is absolutely fantastic!  I am so excited that Spring is around the bend!

Check out the temperature reading from my car yesterday!  That’s almost shorts weather! Thank you, Lord for the sunshine!

I discovered yet another bruise at work today.  Haha.  Just had to share.

Lunch was eaten at my desk.  I’ve been really into eating eggs lately…they’re cheap, convenient, delicious, and nutritious.

(A side of snap peas accompanied by a kale salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, yellow pepper, and a microwaved egg + 1 white all tossed in peach balsamic glaze)

The money shot 😉

Not that I didn’t know this already, but my Nutrition class and MyPyramid Diet Analysis confirmed the fact that I consistently eat quite a bit more vegetables than the daily recommended value.  Can’t hurt, right?

Snacktime was another Kim’s Light Bagels’ treat.  PB&J before my gym workout and basketball practice!  It would be our last practice this season on our home court.  We’ll be having one more practice down in WV at the court we will be playing on for the Championship Saturday!

I took it easy because I didn’t want to have tired legs.  A good practice was necessary to calm my nerves about the upcoming event!  Before practice, however, I was interviewed by a man from The Patriot News about our season so far!

Here’s a link to the article if you’re interested 😉

2:29:15; 757 calories; 205 max hr

After practice, I scurried home to get a shower, pack for the weekend, eat some dinner, and get some good rest.

Momma FF emailed me earlier in the day and asked if I would like Chinese for supper…does she really have to ask?! 🙂 hehe.  She’s the sweetest!  She picked it up for us on the way home from her softball open gym.

To hold myself over until she got home (which ended up not being until about 8:15!), I made a green monster and had a light wheat bagel with sonoma jack’s pepperjack cheese + splenda.

And thennnn came the entreee 🙂

Steamed shrimp and chinese vegetables with lite garlic sauce, you know…the usual.

It took awhile for me to get in my head what exactly I wanted to bring with me for the roadtrip.  Obviously, I’m hoping for a Skype date with D on Saturday morning, but he has to be able to find Wi-fi first.  I packed the webcam, just incase 🙂

Just before bed, I had a cup of unsweet almond milk with some Newtree belgian biscuit chocolate.   Does anyone else know where to find this stuff in stores?  The only place I’ve seen it is at Target!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Who are the most influential people in your life?  What’s one thing you’ve learned today?

XO,

In A Funk.

I hate downer posts as much as the next blogger, but sometimes they just need to happen to get things off my chest.  Things are going so perfectly in some aspects…I get to hear from D at least once a day (typically), the team is preparing for our State Championship game this weekend, and the more I learn about Health & Nutrition through my school work, the more I love it.  Things at home are a different story.  I am 22-years old.  I like to come and go as I please, be able to sit down for a meal when I get home from practice, cook and bake when I feel like it, and have my own agenda in general.  Understandably so, my family also wants to be able to do those things, and since it is THEIR home, obviously they should be able to.  More often than not, this causes conflict if they get home and I’m in the kitchen.  I truly do my best to stay out of their way, but sometimes it’s inevitable that we will need to be in the kitchen at the same time.  I get very stressed out, because I can hear the sighs and eye-rolling as I’m preparing my food.  They just don’t understand why I refuse to make things easy on myself and eat like a “normal” person.    Lately, I feel as though everything I touch, say and do is a mistake.  I get so stressed out, while they stand there waiting me to finish up what I’m doing and get out of their way, that I usually end up rushing, spilling something, or just doing a crappy clean up job resulting in tears streaming down my cheeks and a night kept to myself reading in my bedroom.  I just need some elbow room…you know, just to be me?  I’ve been looking at apartments for awhile now, and I’m thinking it’s soon time.  I just want to finish up my Associates Degree and get my car paid off first, so I have some payments out of the way. 

Okay, therapy over – food time.

Breakfast looked a whole lot like an english muffin & peanut butter, huh?  Think again 🙂  It’s one of my infamous oatcakes cut in 1/2 with banana peanut flour paste.

(Oatcake: 1/3 C. old fashioned oats, 1/2 mashed banana, sugar-free vanilla Torani, cinnamon, 1 egg white, pinch baking powder all mixed together and microwaved for two minutes; Banana peanut flour paste: 1/4 C. peanut flour, other 1/2 mashed banana, pinch of salt, sugar-free vanilla Torani, and water to thin)

 I know that it takes more time and effort to create a lot of my meals, but I think it’s a lot of fun.  Blogging about it is even MORE fun.  This is one of the few things that I do purely for my enjoyment, and I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to give that up.

Lunch was a beastly taco salad!  Meatless and all.

(Chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow pepper, and onion with Quorn meatless crumbles mixed with Pace salsa and topped off with low-fat Cabot Greek yogurt and more salsa)

Throughout the day, I usually sip on numerous bottles of water.  I contribute to a water fund that provides a Crystal Springs water cooler in our office.  It’s only like $1/day and I DEFINITELY get my money’s worth.  I probably fill up at least 3 times. 

I always snack at my desk, since I know I want to have enough energy to get me through a two hour basketball practice with 1/2 hour of strength training/cardio beforehand.  Vitatops are great because I can just throw them in my bag!  They’re only 100 calories and provide a protein/fiber punch along with lots of vitamins & minerals and are low in fat…not to mention they’re one of my favorite versions of chocolate. 

Right before practice, I try to get some natural sugar in me so that I’m amped up and energetic.  Cherries are a great source of natural sugar and provide Vitamin C and fiber…also considered a SUPER FOOD for your joints!  Not to mention…it’s National Cherry Month!  Why not celebrate? 🙂

3 hrs, 4 min; 968 calories; avg. HR 111

I went straight from practice to my Nutrition class, where I was presenting a healthy dish that I created to share with the class.  Each of us was in one of three groups: Lipids (fats), Proteins, or Carbohydrates.  When I think of complex carbs, I think of grains immediately, so when I saw this recipe on J’s page, I knew I wanted to make it, adapted of course.

It tasted GREAT!  Thanks, J!  Your recipe was a hit.

 There were several other recipes that people brought, and at the end of the semester, we’re going to compile them into a cookbook!  Pretty cool, huh?!  I’ll be sure to share some of my faves with you!

Here was my plate, aka dinner:

(L-R: Broccoli Pesto and Fusilli Pasta, Maple Pumpkin Oat Muffins, Whole Wheat Garden Pizza, Mediterranean Couscous Salad, and in the middle is a Banana Blueberry Smoothie)

Since everything was just a sampling (not an actual serving, or even half for that matter), and I had just burned off about 920 calories, I also had an EAS chocolate protein shake and some celery sticks which I packed in my bag.

I didn’t get home until 10:30 PM from class, so I crashed pretty much immediately.  Of course, my stuff was strewn across my room.  I was exhausted and in no shape to reorganize.  Sorry, family.

XO.

First Day Alone.

Pretty soon, you’re going to be tired of seeing the same old combination for breakfast.  I’ll apologize ahead of time, because I just can’t foresee anything looking more appealing to me in the morning than this combination.

(1/3 C. oats, 1 mashed banana, sugar-free vanilla Torani, cinnamon, pinch of salt, and 1/4 C. peanut flour)

The thing is, I learned something.  You MUST add a hint of salt to the peanut butter mix.  It takes things to a whole new level, which makes sense, since the best peanut butters I’ve ever tasted have a little added salt.  I used my Nutrasalt, which was the perfect addition.

I ate 1/2 of the mix at home and saved 1/2 for when I got to work…kind of glad I did since the lighting is so much better 🙂

I got a text from D with a timestamp of 7:43AM:

“Hey gorgeous, I’m at the airport, all settled in to wait.  I’ll text when I get to my connection. 🙂  Thanks for coming over last night”

It’s amazing what kind of comfort a text message can provide.  A little while later, around 10:30, I got a message from him again letting me know he made it to Charlotte.

4 meatless Quorn meatballs, 1 tbsp. Cedar’s garlic lovers hummus, & light ragu.  The huge side salad had a base of steamed kale, sliced yellow peppers, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes and peach balsamic glaze for dressing

Digging into lunch around 12PM was the only thing keeping me sane.  While in Germany, D won’t be able to use his phone, so communication will be limited.  He will, however have his computer.  I’m hoping for a Skype date this weekend…I’d like to see him on Valentine’s Day, but I don’t know how that will work, if at all, since the time difference is six hours.

1 slice Arnold 10 grain bread + 1 sonoma jack’s light pepperjack cheese wedge & sugar free apricot jam

Work dragged on as usual, and by the time 4PM rolled around, I was more than ready to get my butt in gear to hit the gym. 

Exercise is such a release for me, so I was really looking forward to meeting up with a girl on my team in the fitness center before practice at 5PM.

Dethawed, frozen pineapple pre-gym was necessary for a little natural sugar boost.  I also picked up some cherries walking back to my car from work since I go right past the farmers’ market.

Just as I finished up my 20 minute quickie on the Cross Ramp, my phone lit up…not that I was staring at it the entire time…:)  At 4:45PM, I got a text that read:

“Hey baby, I’m gonna get on the plane to Germany in a minute.  I’ll talk to you as soon as I can, honey.  I miss you already! Good luck this week with your games!”

My heart totally melted and I felt a sense of total peace after I said a prayer asking God to keep him safe.  He just has a way with me… I don’t know how else to describe it.

By the time practice was over, I’m pretty sure I had the whole team saying a prayer for his trip 🙂  Oh yeah, and I had burned 870 calories.  As soon as I got home, I was craving something cool and refreshing.

(1 handful frozen spinach, 2/3 C. almond breeze, 3/4 C. canned pumpkin, sugar-free vanilla Torani, 1 scoop vanilla whey)

You see, dinners for me consist of a mish-mosh of different cravings.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  While my veggies were roasting in the oven, I nuked a little cheesecake oat muffin.

(1/3 C. oats, 1 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese +1 tsp. peanut flour+sugar-free vanilla Torani)

I actually ate a spoonful of fat-free chocolate fro-yo with this and it was like chocolate cheesecake!  It held me over quite nicely until the rest of my meal was ready to eat!  One thing I realized, is that I can really make a mess in the kitchen.  I re-use as many dishes as I can while I’m preparing things, but I ended up with a lot of clean-up!

Totally worth it, though, am I right?!

2 Parsnips, green beans, baby bella mushrooms, sliced zucchini, and broccoli with a little dipping trio on the side of light ragu, Cedar’s cucumber & garlic Tzatziki, and Cedar’s garlic lovers hummus

A good old veggie roast was just what the doctor ordered to replenish my body …in fact, a food baby was born.

Don’t worry, though, there’s still room for dessert…especially on my first night alone   Chocolate was definitely in order.

Now that I was aware of how vital salt is in my peanut butter creations with peanut flour, I couldn’t wait to try out some more.  It makes a WORLD of difference, I’m telling you.

I made little peanut butter/chocolate sammies, which were divinee ❤  Check out the little flax seeds in the chocolate!  Outstanding.  Newtree Belgian Biscuit chocolate + Peanut flour paste (made the same way as in my breakfast bowl) is my favorite dessert.  It even overrides Arctic Zero ice cream.

I think my first night on my own wasn’t too bad.  I was happy with the way we left things.  We had an awesome night together before he left.  I completely adore his family and cannot wait to visit them again…oh yeah…and to visit him!  Only a couple of months and I’ll be on a plane to Denmark!

Thanks so much for all of your supportive comments and prayers for D.  I appreciate them more than you can imagine!  Blog friends are best friends, and I love each and every one of you 🙂

XOXO.

Mix & Matcher.

First off, thanks so much to all of your sweet comments on yesterday’s post about being a blessing…you have NO idea what kind of blessing you all have been in my life as well.  Thanks for being some of the best friends a girl could as for.

Today, an apple butter cottage cheese blizzard was on the menu for brekkie…you know, since they’re calling for snow and all 🙂

1 C. fiber select + 3/4 C. fat free cottage cheese + 1.5 tbsp. no sugar added apple butter + a splash of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze

I also had a little glass ramekin of about 3/4 C. frozen sweet red cherries which I microwaved until warm and juicy.

The vibrant color cheered me right up 🙂  As did this devotional…

I really want to start STRIVING to grow closer to God this year.  That’s one of my biggest goals.  I always use my car ride to work worshipping Him, but I really lack in my scripture reading and just spending time with Him in general. 

Just a shot to show you how dismal I can become while I’m sitting at my desk at work…haha.  I sometimes feel as though I’m staring at my computer screen for hours…it’s a good thing I drink 203984209348 tons of water so that I’m constantly up and down to run to the restroom 🙂  It’s best for my sanity, believe me.

Lunchtime finally rolled around and I was excited to try one of the favorite foods in the blog world for the first time!

1/3 C. quinoa + steamed broccoli + canned mushrooms + 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast + 1/4 C. lima beans

YUM.  I certainly didn’t know how much I was missing out on without quinoa in my life.  It gave me a tonnn of energy and is a total superfood. 

After work and before the gym, I also had a blueberry Chobani

I always thought that I needed whole grains before a workout to give me some carby power, but this yogurt did the trick SO well!  I think since the fruit in it has some good carbs as well along with the cane sugar, it gave me a lil push!

Before practice, I had some time to burn…in the fitness center, all of the cross ramps and ellipticals were taken, so I opted for the bike.  At first, I attempted the stepper machine, but for some reason I couldn’t get it to work correctly.  I did a quick 20ish minutes and then some floor ab work.  I forgot my heart rate monitor, but I’m thinking I burned a total of about 800 calories, if not more between practice and the gym.  We were playing full court for about 40 minutes and running some tough drills, too.

I packed some chickpeas and baby carrots to munch on during the car ride home so that when I reached the kitchen, I wasn’t ready to chew my arm off.  Healthy snacks are ALWAYS a good idea for this girl…especially since my metabolism is totally rev’d up!

1/2 ww. light english muffin with 1 tbsp. forty spices hummus

I’m a little disappointed that my bball sneaks still haven’t arrived…the tracking system said they should’ve!

Dinner was pretty boring, to be honest.  I’m running low on veggies, so I just took all the ones I had in the fridge, plated them, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar…oh yeah, and I cooked up some onion…not much flavor, though…I was disappointed.

I also tried to whip up some egg white french toast pancakes (5 eggwhites, sugar free vanilla torani, and cinnamon), but you can see how that turned out…total fail…I realized as they were cooking that I forgot to whip in some baking powder. 

One success I DID have at dinner was this awesome Cherry Cordial Protein Shake.

1/2 C. frozen sweet dark cherries, 1 scoop scivation chocolate whey powder, 1/2 C. unsweet vanilla almond breeze, 1 tbsp. unsweet cocoa powder

Things that escaped my camera:

• other 1/2 of my lite ww english muffin with ff s.berry cream cheese
• a finger swipe of chocolate almond butter
• a few sugar free jelly bellys
• 1/4 avocado eaten straight up
• spoonful of fat free ricotta cheese with sugar free boysenberry jam

I like allowing myself to mix and match foods.  I rarely have an actual meal that goes together.  Sometimes it’s nice to have a sit down meal all at once, but I’m more satisfied when I hit each and every craving.

What about you?  Do you enjoy more of a sit down, meal of things that all work together to create a meal, or do you like a little of this and a little of that?

HAPPY FRIDAY!

 

Xo.

Make Me A Blessing.

I woke up today and went through the same routine that I do every single other work day.  It’s almost obsessive compulsive(?) , I think.  I’ve got it down to a science and give myself the exact amount of time that I always need, which probably isn’t good, considering, if one mishap occurs, I’m in trouble.

Breakfast today was pretty basic…other than the Pina Colada Protein shake, of course 😉

Just a simple Thomas Lite Whole Grain english muffin sprinkled with cinnamon and sprayed with ICBINB.

At work, I had an apple for a mid-morning snack around 10am while I was reading my devotional. 

[source]

It got me to thinking…I’m SO blessed.  I should be blessing others more often.  God has given me a stable job, an amazing family, and the ability to go back to school and do something I love.  I think it’s time I start being more appreciative on a DAILY basis. 

 I mean, somedays the only interaction God and I have is a simple “hello” or a quick prayer request for a friend.  What kind of relationship is that?  No wonder I feel like I’m in a spiritual rut!  I love when I feel totally on fire in my relationship with Him.  How can I keep the flame burning!?   I want to be a blessing in others’ lives.

Lunch rolled around and it was time to break out my leftover Ruby Tuesday’s salad 🙂  In the magic orange bowl, we’ve got baby spinach, cukes, carrots, broccoli, peas, chickpeas, zucchini slices, and some beets.

All assembled:

I topped the bowl with 1/2 C. fat free cottage cheese and a dressing made from beet juice and 1.5 tbsp. of fat free vidalia onion dressing.

Nom, nom, nom.

I knew I’d need some carbs in me before practice, so around 3 PM I ate this snack:

Another Thomas Lite english muffin with fat free cream cheese and sugar free boysenberry preserves 🙂

Practice was pretty laid back today.  We didn’t get to play much since not many girls were there..  Sorry for the shotty lighting in the HR monitor picture.  It was taken while I was waiting after practice for my physical to be done.    210 max hr, 579 calories.

They only did the basics…checked my blood pressure, heart, lungs, etc.  The nurse said that my blood pressure was a little low, but that it was okay being that I’m an athlete and a health conscious person.

On my way home, I called my buddies at the Great Wall and ordered up my fave chinese dish for dinner!  Betcha can’t guess! 😉

Steamed shrimp and vegetables with lite garlic sauce.

Mmmm. Crisp, yet tender steamed vegetables like broccoli, green beans, carrots, green peppers, and baby corn are like total comfort food to me…especially when I don’t have to make them myself!

After dinner, I realized my meal was lacking in the whole grains department.  I would’ve ordered brown rice to go with it, but the Great Wall doesn’t have it. 

I had yet another lite english muffin dipped in fat free strawberry cream cheese…I still don’t understand how they’re only 100 calories.  So fluffy and perfect!  That makes 3 in one day! Haha.  Now if only I could get some fat free pineapple or fat free pumpkin cream cheese!

After dinner, I went back to get ready for my shower and realized that my webcam had finally come in the mail!

I immediately downloaded Skype to my laptop and played with it for awhile. 

A little later, I munched on some sugar free Jelly Bellys as a snack…

And by “some”, I mean the whole package minus the black licorice ones. ICK.  It’s okay though.  Jelly Belly’s are fat free and only 160 calories in a bag.

Just before bed, I had some cocoa roasted almonds and some frozen cherries with lowfat milk as well.  Fat and carbs help me drift to dreamland quickly.  🙂

How can I be a blessing in your life?  Any prayer requests out there?

XO.

Pure In Heart.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
-Matthew 5:8

As I read todays verse, I couldn’t help but be relieved at what God was saying to me.  I also thought about the fact that for those who have impure motives, this verse may be a bit frightening.  Regardless of the outcome, God knows our intentions and our hearts.  Sometimes I do things with good intentions and end up screwing up pretty badly.   

1 scoop Scivation chocolate whey protein, 1 C. fiber select cereal, 3 ice cubes, 3/4 C. unsweet vanilla almond breeze

After all, we’re all human.  Things never work out exactly as we plan them. 

Work today was super slow.  I spent most of the day stressing about when I would have time to finish up Christmas shopping.  You know, it probably gets on God’s nerves that we spend so much of this special time of year fretting over things that Christmas isn’t even about.

Chopped romaine, cucumber, yellow pepper, carrots, and fat free balsamic vinaigrette.

Rather than focusing on the birth of our Savior, we’re too wrapped up in the commercialism of Christmas time.  The gifts, the decorations, the parties, and the food.

Cinnamon/splenda chickpeas + sweet potato slices

Don’t get me wrong, I love the family get-togethers, gift giving, cookie baking, and Christmas parties just as much as the next girl.  I’m simply stating that I need to reevaluate my priorities.  I’m not saying it’s wrong to participate in such activities, either!  For some people, though, it all causes an unnecessary amount of stress and thus, we lose sight of the reason for the season.

+

Pre-gym snack = Justin’s maple almond butter (THE BEST!) + bananer

 Enough of the heavy stuff, I suppose.  Now, onto the fun part of my day…BASKETBALL practice…after a quick 10 min. warm up on the Cross Ramp and some ab work on the mats.

We don’t have another game until Jan. 8th, so practice everyday is only about an hour and 1/2 instead of two.  But as you can see, I’m still getting a mega cardio workout.  I forgot to hit “stop”, so naturally it’s showing you that I worked out for 4 hours.  Not the case.  Haha…Two total.

The most famous lazy girl dinner EVER on my blog…Broccoli slaw steamed in the microwave, light ragu, fat free cottage cheese, and garlic lovers Tribe hummus ❤ You don’t have to tell me, I know it looks gross, but it tastes just like lasagna! 

Next up, I roasted 1/2 of a small butternut squash sprinkled with paprika, salt, pepper, and chili powder.  I made a little pot of vanilla icing for dippage.  I swear, it was just like Pillsbury, but super healthy.  Just some plain Fage 0% yogurt with sugar free vanilla syrup & cinnamon!

Next, I packed my lunch for the next day, cleaned up the kitchen, and did some things around the house.  I unloaded my gym bag from practice and repacked all my clothes to do the same thing all over again the next day.

 

Around 8PM, I finally sat my butt down to watch “The Singoff” finale! I hadn’t gotten to see all of the episodes, but I knew that my favorite was Committed.  They are a contemporary christian group that had voices like angels.

The other group was great as well, but they weren’t my favorite.  I snuggled up to watch the show with a warm bowl of oats for dessert.

For the FIRST TIME EVER, I made this bowl on the stovetop.  Beth (SO GLAD YOU’RE BACK!) darling, you were SO right…TOTALLY creamier and more volumnous than the microwave method!  It contained 1/2 C. old fashioned oats, 3/4 C. unsweet almond breeze, and 1 C. water, sugar free vanilla syrup, & cinnamon.  I let it simmer for about ten minutes and then refrigerated it for a little bit to avoid scalding the roof of my mouth.  Mmmmmmmmm.

I also had two squares from this chocolate bar before hitting the pillow!  Chocolate is the best way to end ANY night 🙂

What’s your favorite oatmeal combination?  I know many of you love toppings like nut butters, coconut, sugar free jam, cocoa powder…any weird combinations that you can’t get enough of?!

XO.

 

You Do The Math.

Food+Family=Thanksgiving.

Okra+broccoli=Lunch.

Apples+Cinnamon=Dessert.

Tradition+Thanksgiving=Ornaments from Nana & TT 🙂

Packed Goodies From The Dinnertable + Thanksgiving Without Bran = A Trip To The NICU.

Bringing Bran & Jare Thanksgiving Eats To Enjoy @ The Hospital + Spending Some Time With Them = Thanksgiving Highlite.

Black Friday Shopping + 2:30AM Departure Time = Two Silly Sisters By 10AM.

Arriving Home For Hot Tea & Lunch + Watching “Post Grad” OnDemand Together = Sleepy Girls & Great Memories.

Fat Free Ricotta + No Sugar Added Apple Butter On Wheat Bread = Breakfast Of Champions.

1/2 Smashed Nanner + Tbsp.  Artisana Raw Almond Butter Sammie = Great Breakfast Dessert Before Practice.

Basketball Practice Scrimmaging High School Boys At 8AM = 768 Calorie Burn Before Thanksgiving #2 With Dad’s Side Of The Family.

Family + Food + Football = Thanksgiving Numero Dos.

Microwaved Sweet Tater And Apple Cubes + Salad With Turkey, Sweet Peas, & Tomato With A Crusty Wheat Roll = Perfection.

My Beautiful Family = Priceless.

Sunday Shopping With Seester #2 + Park City Mall = Serious Damage To The Wallet.

Christmas Shopping Accomplished + Memories Made With Aunts, Grammie, & Morgs = Success.

New, Much Needed Running Sneaks + Several Weekend Workouts = A Definite Good Thing.

Brooks Summons Running Sneaks = The Only Kind I’ll Ever BUY 😉

French Meadow Bakery Frozen Meals + A Bed Of Fresh Baby Spinach = WIN: Delicious, Quick Lunch.

Chicken Without Antibiotics + Lentils = Killer Nutritional Stats.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010 = Memories.

The End 🙂

Thank God for Veterans :)

Verse of the Day

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”

—2 Corinthians 5:17

3/4 C. Fiber select cereal base, 1 fage 0% yogurt mixed with sf raspberry syrup, topped with banana slices, unsweet coconut, 3/4 packet cocoa roasted almonds, and Udi’s gf original granola with fiber select sprinkles

Chocolate-coconut covered, banana-raspberry almond breakfast parfait…and yes, it was as amazing as it looks.

Thank you to all the VETS out there for your service and selflessness.  I had a beautiful day off, and I hope you did too. 

 I even got to enjoy lunch with my favorite veteran 🙂

You guessed it!  Poppa Freckled Foodie was my dining companion.  I spent the morning helping him in the office (he’s a self-employed professional engineer), so he treated me to lunch at our favorite chinese place.

I got the usual…I was CRAVING all the steamed veggies.  Chinese places really know how to cook their veggies.  For real. 

Steamed shrimp & vegetablesss.  Nix the bok choy + extra broccoli, just the way I like it.

Lunch was so great.  I love when I feel like I can just sit back and chat with my Daddy about anything.  Those times are few and far between, unfortunately, but when they DO happen, I’m happier than a kid in a candy store.  Love him so much! 

Afterward, my girl Mandy & I hit the consignment store.  I had some clothes to donate & I cashed in on my last donation, picking up a cute grey, wool dress originally from GAP and a shirt dress that I found in the store from Eddie Bauer! 

I also ate a gala apple & a vitatop along with 2 pitted dates before basketball practice at 5PM.  It was over by 6:45 and I had reached a pretty high max HR again 🙂 

Afterward, I refueled with some dinnerr.

Lox in a vegetable wrap, dipped in light toasted asian sesame dressing. 

Those clear-ish wraps that all the goodies are tucked into were found at the consignment store!  They’ve put in a “grocery section” and I was a little iffy about buying something that was found there, but it was a great purchase!  🙂  The stuff was never actually USED before and the package still had the “safety” label intact.  I actually scored a jar of Barney Butter for $3.50! Can you believe that?

I had a Zone Perfect Oatmeal Raisin bar for dessert before bed.  It was divineeee.  Just like eating cookie dough!

Mandy even bought some goodies while we were out today, and she wanted to show me how she’s used them to incorporate into her lunch today!

Way to go, Mandy!  Super healthy & well-rounded 😉

Before you closeout your computer today, be sure to enter Anne’s AWESOME oatmeal giveaway!  It’s only open til 4PM so get to it!

How was your Veteran’s Day spent?

XO.

…In My Own Little World

This morning’s inspirational note is taken from Matthew West’s new song, “My Own Little World“.  It was a great reminder to me this morning what my mission on Earth really is, and to keep my priorities straight 😉  It’s amazing what God can speak to you about through the radio!

Breakfast

3/4 C. Fiber Select cereal (bottom), 1 Strawberry chobani, toppings: Fiber Select, Udi’s Gluten-free original granola, 1 scant spoonful NuttZo, and Nanna Flakes.

“In my own little world it hardly ever rains
I’ve never gone hungry, always felt safe
I got some money in my pocket, shoes on my feet
In my own little world
Population: me
I try to stay awake during Sunday morning church
I throw a twenty in the plate, but I never give ’til it hurts
I turn off the news when I don’t like what I see
It’s easy to do when it’s
Population: me
What if there’s a bigger picture?
What if I’m missing out?
What if there’s a greater purpose
I could be living right now
Outside my own little world…”

Before I left for work, I ate 1/2 of the tupperware contents, and refilled the eaten 1/2 with frozen berries (bloobs, raspberries, and blackberries) for consumption at the desk 🙂

Check out the difference between our kitchen lighting and the fluorescent lights at work! 

Anyway, I’m pretty much addicted to this gum and chew just two pieces the entire day.  I buy the packs in bulk and eat two pieces at once, saving it at meals. LOL.

Does it gross you out to see gum sitting on the side of someone’s plate at a meal?  I don’t do it when I go out to dinner or whatever, but at my desk, I see no harm in it.  After all, I’m dining solo so no one else has to see it? 🙂

Speaking of lunch at my desk, today was a soup & sandwich kinda day.  Cold, blustery, and in need of some cozy foods.

Open faced sammie on Rudi’s Low Carb bread spread with some Dr. McDougall’s Lentil soup mixed with Garlic Lover’s Cedar’s hummus and topped with alfalfa sprouts, baby spinach, and 1/2 reduced-fat serious snackers jalapeno cheese.

Some Dr. McDougall’s Split Pea soup with some added canned mushroom slices

I think this lunch was probably packed with sodium, but I just drank about 2 liters of water afterward and called it good 🙂

After work, I hit the gym before practice.  I’ve been LOVING pitted dates as pre-workout fuel but to my remorse have been slacking in the photo department.  They are SUPER energizing.  Probably because they’re ALL carbs aka natural sugar.

They look like this:

[source]

Usually I eat about 5-6 for about 130 calories and 31g carbs!

They keep me movin’ and groovin’ to maintain stats like this after an elliptical warm up followed by a basketball practice at 5PM.

Obviously, I did NOT workout for 15 hours and 42 minutes.  HA.  I forgot to take a picture last night after practice, but when I took off the band, the calorie count stopped.  568 calories, max hr 176.

I dined in the car again, but took my photos beforehand to save you squintage.

1 egg + 3 whites, spinach, onion, tomato, mushroom, and reduced sugar ketchup swirled ontop. Holy protein, batman.

Apples & butternut squash + sugar free syrup & cinnamon microwaved until soft

And finally, I had a slice of Cinnamon Raisin Bread from the Baker

halved and folded over with Sonoma Jack’s pepperjack cheese in between mashed with some Splenda

I’m telling you, this history class is the FIRST one that has ever made my curiosity for the subject grow.  My professor never lacks the ability to hold one’s attention.  Tonight, we studied the beginning of World War I.  I never thought World History could be SO fascinating and easy to understand all at the same time.  I also got my Napoleon paper back.  The result?  100! 😀 Happy camper, right here.  Thank you, Lord!

When I got home, I ate a Pomegranate Chobani with cereal & Crum Creek Mills trail mix, + some crunchy raw green beans before bed as a snack. I packed up all the goods for the next day and trudged forward.  A good nights sleep was definitely overdue.

XOX.

Halloweeny Weekend.

Friday afternoon, we had a pretty leisurely basketball practice.  After all, the girls had their first game on Saturday, so coach wanted them to be nice and rested.

I came home to a kitchen full of helpers getting ready for the big Halloween party to be held on Saturday night by my sister & cousin along with their friends. 

 They made all sorts of goodies for the party and pretty much went all out.  

Momma Freckled Foodie even dyed the Mac & Cheese green so it looked like it was moldy.

The cut out bats & pumpkins from the loaf of bread for the spinach dip!  Too cute.  I was hangry when I got home and immediately upon smelling all the cooked foods went into a salad making frenzy.

Spinach, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, cucumber, avocado, orange pepper, and fat-free Vidalia onion dressing.  And a vitatop to round out my meal.  Later on, I also took a dive into the sugar-free fat-free vanilla ice cream container waning in the freezer.

 

In the morning, I ate a naner and a vita, did insane abs, biking, & ellipticalling until it was time to shower and get ready to go support my girls in their first basketball game!

Before I left, I wolfed down this monstrous salad.  It had a new addition, though!

Crum Creek Soy Bites in “Everything” . Just like an everything bagel made into croutons! ❤  LOVE them.

The girls kicked BUTT at the game.  It sucks that I won’t be able to play until Spring, but I was glad I went anyway.

Final score!!  They annihalated the Philly team!  I was so proud of them. 

After the game, I took advantage of the fact that I was in the Harrisburg area, and went sneaker shopping.

Not bad for under $50!  🙂  I think they’re cute.

I painted my nails and got ready for the party.  Guess which color I chose.

If you guessed the one on the left, you’d be correct.

My costume was quick and easy.  🙂

I decided a runner would be suitable.  I actually RAN to the party. LOL.  It was only out the street from our house in a barn.  You can’t see it in the picture, but I did have a medal on that I won in a 5K last year.  It was under the jacket.  I also put on a nike ear warmer headband.

Before I left, I threw together a sampler platter for dinner.

Veggie Patch meatless meatballs with Garlic Lovers Cedar’s Hummus, Tzatzki Cucumber Garlic dip, tomato slices, baby carrots, cucumbers, and sprouts all with two slices of Low Carb Julian Bakery bread.

A lot of costumes at the party were super cute, but here were some of my faves.  Keep in mind, this was a FAMILY & friends party.  Clean cut, of course 😉

MARIO & LUIGI!

PIRATES!

FATHER & DAUGHTER
(NURSE & REFEREE)

A CUTE LITTLE HUNTER!

The kids bobbed for apples, took a hay ride, danced, hung out by the fire, and played a few other games…like this one!  They had to see who could eat the donut off the string fastest without using their hands.

It was so funny to watch, because they were swaying back and forth trying to reach them.  Then you had the smart alecks that decided to cheat 😉  Haha.

The bonfire was my favorite.  I ran home, consumed a large bowl of steamed vegetables with light ragu after ward + a big, juicy apple, and went to bed.