Appearance Struggles with Weight Loss

One of the things that no one really tells you you when losing weight is how to cope with your new self. You think great I’m going to lose this much weight I’m going to look amazing and I’m going to feel amazing. Yet when you lose a certain amount of weight those thoughts seem to go right out the window, or at least they have for me.

I’ve lost 27lbs so far and things seem harder then they did before I started losing the weight. I still have the mentality of being horribly over weight and only being comfortable in sweatpants and large t-shirts. No matter what I wear its just never makes me feel good or pretty. Its totally a mind over matter thing but as everyone knows that’s easier said then done.

Losing weight is a life style change. Its not just about the changing of your eating habits and exercise habits but its also a mental change. How you see yourself needs to change both inside and out. Question is how does one do this? I wish I had the answer since clearly I’m struggling to be happy with my body. Don’t get me wrong I’m SO happy with how far I’ve come and what I’ve done I just wish I was happy with the results physically. I hear everyone tell me how great I look and how far I’ve come but I don’t see that. I don’t see myself looking good in anything. I am constantly trying on clothes in my closet thinking oh this will look good and then I go to the mirror and it comes off faster then a dress on prom night 😉

Some how mentally I have to figure out how to over come this obstacle. I thought I was alone in this struggle when in fact talking with friends who are losing weight that they too are struggling with this. I try and encourage them and tell them how amazing they look and how awesome they are doing yet for some reason I can’t tell myself that. While my mental block wont stop me from keeping on my journey it sometimes hinders it, it happens to the best of us; but I’ve got to keep pushing and keep trekking to be the better me. Just need to start pushing the negative thoughts about myself away and start looking at my successes. Small steps right?

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Transformation Tuesday or should I say Wowza Wednesday

So I finally did my first #transformationtuesday yesterday. I was going through my husbands phone looking at pictures of the kids and found one from last October Apple Picking with the kids. I was in some of the pictures and I thought holy crap I was that fat! They say the camera adds 10lbs but I look like it added over 100lbs or at least I felt that. I knew I was big but I guess my mind was telling me I wasn’t as big as I really was. So yesterday I had my 5 year old take pictures of me to see the progress and I can’t even explain to you how happy I was when I saw them. I feel like a whole new person even if its only 25 lbs. That 25lbs was a lot of work to come off and seeing it makes me even that more determined to get to my goal weight and to finally be healthy. #weightwatchers has done some amazing things for me and I don’t doubt for a minute that if I wasn’t on Weight Watchers I would still be at my heaviest maybe even heavier because I don’t know how to control my portions.

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Not bad if I do say so myself! You can tell especially in the tummy area that I’ve lost weight. I’ve still got my baby fanny pak hanging around but its so much better then it was before. My #arms need some major work as they haven’t changed much from when I was at my heaviest. Still got the flab that goes back and forth when I move. So I started to do some major arm workouts. I have simple dumbbells at home that are 7lbs. Doesn’t seem much but i have NEVER had a lot of strength in my arms its all been in my legs from ice hockey. So any weight that is heavier then a can of cream corn works for me right now haha. Hoping soon I can move up to 10 lbs weights one would think that after carrying around twins at the same time for the past 3 years I would have some massive arms of muscle but really I got nothin’ So today is the day I start my arm workout and hope by the time summer vacation starts with my family (end of June) I will have better toning. Then maybe that lovely shadow in the picture wont be there anymore that makes me look like I haven’t shaved my pits in months lol (just FYI they are shaved I blame my arm fat for making that lovely shadow).

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So my workout started with these: The ball workouts not only work your arms but work your core too. Trying to balance on those things is tough especially for beginners but once you get it works wonders. Don’t worry I may or may not have fallen a couple of times when doing the ball activity. Too bad it wasn’t on video because I could have entered that into America’s funniest videos.

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Not the best pictures but you get the jist. Otherwise here are the links:

Sexy Summer Arms Workout


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So ending on an awesome note I ended up getting a hair makeover. For those that know me I’m a ginger but once I had kids its started to get a little darker so I went dark for the first time in my life right after the twins were born. It was really nice change for me and we all know we need change. Well I missed my Ginger hair and I went this past weekend and got it cut and colored. I was a toe head for about 1/2 an hour before she colored it back to what is almost my true natural color. I’m so glad to have it back and while I’m not completely in love with the hair cut its the only one that would work to get my hair back to almost the same length all the way around. I had at one point a layered angle bob. It looked great short but long I looked like I hadn’t brushed my hair in years. So the end results was:
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Not to shabby. Love the red. My natural hair color is only slightly lighter but not by much. It really goes well with all my soul stealing freckles 😉

A little humor to end the post:
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It been a little while

So if you are still following me you will notice I have changed the look of my blog some. I wanted to make it more free flowing and easier on the eyes. I really love the new look and my new “me” character. She’s pretty cute!

So its been over a week since I posted last. I just never got enough time to sit down and put a lot of thought behind my post. But I need to at least make a little time for a quick update. So today instead I will do a big update on how everything is going…

So for the off week it was a pretty craptastic week in the health department. There was NO meal planning what so ever and I was so mad at myself for not doing so because I ate horribly and gained 3lbs back. BOOO! I was very ashamed and even did a little cry to my husband because I felt like a failure. It just really goes to show you show much of a lifestyle change being healthy is.

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So after a horrible week I decided to buy myself the Polar Watch for losing 15lbs (despite my 3lb gain). I use it right with my fitbit. For those that don’t know what a Polar Watch is its a Watch with a heart rate strap that you wear and it counts your calories and heart rate during each work out. Its the best investment so far I’ve bought through this journey. I love my fitbit and wear it daily but with field hockey I’m not getting the accuracy I want. With the polar watch it takes MY heart rate and uses it to calculate calories burned. I got the FT4 which on Amazon goes for $64.99-$70.00 depending on the color. I got pink only because it was the cheaper one out of all the colors lol. Not the biggest pink fan but hey it was cheaper so worth it right?! I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who does a lot of working out. Its nice to know your heart rate and calories burned.
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So I am going on week 6 of the c25k program! Can I just say holy crap! I didn’t think I would make it this far but now it seems as though I’m starting to like running again. I’m still sucking wind don’t get me wrong but I’m doing it! And running for longer periods of time. For this fat chick thats a huge feat (not to be confused with feast lol). I have my first 5k at the end of the month for the Color Me Rad run! So excited for it too! I’ve already got my saying on my shirt planned out thanks to a friend of mine! He suggest I put on it… DO NOT PASS…Soul sucking Ginger (back) and then I thought on the front I will put You were warned I now have your soul and added another freckle. Total genius I tell ya!
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So I started back into Insanity again after taking a month or so off! So glad I did because I missed it completely!! I started my morning off with POP Pilates for Beginners as a new morning routine. Cassey over at Blogilates  has an amazing beginning workout. I have been wanting to do her workouts since shes keeps it fun and supportive. Try her out check out her videos she really is a lot of fun and there is something for everyone on her site! Figured I would try it every morning as low intensity workout and then finish off with Insanity’s high intensity workout.

My insanity fit test numbers:

Swift Kicks: 45
Power Jacks: 40
Power Knees: 60
Power Jumps: 36
Globe Jumps: 8
Suicide Jumps: 8
Push Up Jacks: 6 (struggled to do these with my bad hand couldn’t put a lot of pressure on it)
Low Plank Obliques: 26

Not bad numbers compared to my very first time which you can see my numbers here

 

RECIPES

So I came across some awesome recipes and even thought of one myself with a little help! Very excited that I’m become more of a cook then I ever was. My family always gives me crap that I never cook but when your parents make amazing dinners why the heck would I cook lol. Well now its my turn and the fam approves

soup
0 Point Soup (yes you read that right!)

8 cups FAT FREE LOW SODIUM chicken broth
1 cup peeled and diced carrots
1/2 head of cabbage diced
1/2 package of frozen green beans
1 medium onion diced
1 large zucchini peeled and diced (you can keep the skin on if you like)1 cup baby spinach chopped
1/2 cup kale chopped
1 cup mushrooms chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
5 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregeno
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Pinch of Red Pepper flakes for some spice

Spray a pot with cooking spray and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are tender. Done! Easy Peasy

tortellini
Skinny Tastes Three Cheese Tortellini and Mushroom Soup (with some changes sorry Gina!) 4PP for 1.5 cups
changes to my dish are in bold
Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp butter
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled & chopped (2 carrots)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced (4 cloves LOVE garlic)
  • 8 cups fat free chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarians)
  • 2 cups water
  • 5 oz shitaki mushrooms, sliced
  • 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 small Parmigiano Reggiano rind (optional)
  • 9 oz three cheese tortellini (Buitoni)
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 oregano
  • pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 ginger
  • Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (optional for topping)

Directions:

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When melted, add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Cover and reduce heat to low and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.

Add the chicken broth, water, mushrooms, rind and increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. When broth boils, add salt (to taste) and black pepper; stir to combine. Reduce heat to low, simmer until mushrooms are soft, about 20 minutes. Add tortellini and cook according to package directions for al dente.

Once cooked, remove the rind, stir to combine and garnish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano if desired.

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Spicy Shrimp and Shirataki Noodles (4PP)

Shirataki Noodles are Asian Noodles that you can find in grocery stores with the salads fixings. They are 0 PP per serving! How awesome right. Now make sure your rinse these well otherwise they don’t taste right. They really don’t have much of a taste so having spices helps 🙂

Spice Mix
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

Two 8-ounce packages House Foods Tofu or Yam Shirataki spaghetti or angel hair noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil (I just used cooking spray)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 green onions (white and light green portions), trimmed and diced
1  pound large cooked  shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients of the spice mix, set aside.

Open the noodle packages and place in a strainer to drain, rinse, then use your hands to separate the noodles as you rinse them a second time. Drain again and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, sauté the peppers, green onion, shrimp, and garlic. Once shrimp starts to brown add the noodles and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove and toss in cherry tomatoes

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the blog being back up and the new look! Let me know what you think!!! ❤

Motivation? You got it!

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This right here is one of the reasons I started this blog. One reason was for accountability but another was to help with motivation. I want someone to read this blog and say “If she can do this so can I”. I want people to understand that diets are not just doing it once and hoping that it sticks, you have to change your lifestyle and your outlook on life to be able to see those changes and keep them off. Its a LIFESTYLE change both inside and out. And honestly I think that is what helped me get to where I am right now. Yes I know I’m only in this since the end of February but I’ve stuck with it BECAUSE of that mind set. I want someone to read this blog and find that motivation that I know everyone has in them but just needs that extra push or help.

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Going at a lifestyle change like this by yourself I find sets someone up for failure. If you want to change your diet and your weight then you need to have a support system. If you start to fall of the bandwagon you need someone to help lift you back up and kick you in the butt to keep you motivated. Also having your friends and family behind you makes a world of difference. If you have negative people in your life pushing you down and not cheering you on then more than likely it will start to bog you down. While I know sometimes those negative comments can really motivate someone the constant negative comments start to bottle up after awhile and I say that from personal experience. I am what I make myself but I also have others that help me along.

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One of my favorite quotes because in the end its true but it took me forever to realize this. I would like to say that every single person is beautiful when in reality there are some that are not but that has more to do with their morals and personality or lack their of lol. But really almost every person is beautiful regardless of what you think of yourself. You have to find yourself in your own journey and once you do it will make the journey a whole lot easier.

I really hope that I can help motivate someone here reading this blog that feel like they just can’t do it. When in fact ANYONE can change their life and their lifestyle if you have the right mind set and support system to do so.
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Some amazing inspirational quotes that I keep on my computer and phone to remind me daily that what I’m doing is the right thing and that I CAN and WILL succeed and be the new happy healthy me. Maybe you will find a favorite too 🙂

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Now onto some awesome and AMAZING recipes!

veggie soup

Hamburger Veggie Soup: only 4points plus for 1.5 cups of this delicious meal!

1 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 large green pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups beef broth
2 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian stewed tomatoes
1 package (9oz) frozen cut green beans
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 cup of small pasta
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil (can use fresh chopped)
1/2 tsp pepper

In dutch oven or soup kettle, cook the beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until beef is no longer pink. Drain.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until veggies and pasta are tender.

YIELDS: 10 servings (1.5 cups per serving).

chicken
Chicken Rollantini Stuffed with Zucchini and Mozzarella. 4PP per chicken

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups (1 medium) zucchini, shredded
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Romano cheese (or parmesan)
3 oz part skim shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
8 thin chicken cutlets, 3 oz each
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 lemon, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
olive oil non-stick spray

 Directions:

Wash and dry cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat. When hot saute the garlic 1 minute, or until golden. Add zucchini, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, salt and pepper and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool. When cool, add mozzarella cheese and mix to combine.

Lay chicken cutlets down on a working surface and spread 3 tbsp of zucchini-cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one and keep seam side down.

Combine breadcrumbs and remaining 2 tbsp of Romano cheese in one bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper.

Dip chicken in lemon-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down in a baking dish (no toothpicks needed). Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray with oil spray.

Bake 25 – 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Rest Day never felt so good

Hello Tuesday we meet again. We meet again with my body feeling like its a 90 year old woman when I try and get up and down off the couch. Feels like a 100 year old woman when I’m gimping around trying to chase the dog or the kids. Its only on Tuesdays that I feel this way. Its my one day of relaxing and its the one day my body says to me….
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Every part of my body hurts from the weeks prior workouts especially the lovely 240 minutes of field hockey last night ha. I love the sport and love playing but sometimes I forget I’m not in my early 20’s and in my “prime” haha. Monday I surpassed all of my previous Fitbit stats! WOOHOO! Again my numbers are off on it because of the soft surface of the turf but even with them being off these numbers are pretty awesome if I do say so myself.
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On Sunday I ran Week 3 Day 3 of the C25K program and I totally rocked it finally! So for Week 3 Day 3 it was run 1.5 minutes walk 1.5 minutes run 3 minutes walk 3 minutes in that order. It then calculates from the GPS your average speed and pace. It estimated I could run a 9 minute mile. That’s pretty awesome if I do say so myself! This program is Active.com C25K. This is by far the best App for c25k that I have used and I’ve used about 5 of them to find a good one. I did have to pay for it but it is totally worth every penny. You can also find 5k events through the app closest to you and sign up for them through the app.
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Weighed myself today and I have officially fallen under the 220 mark!!! 219.8 to be exact and I can’t even tell you how exciting this is. When I entered this into my Fitbit app on my phone I had forgotten it had updated itself up to myfitnesspal which in turn updated to my FB page. I signed up for myfitnesspal last summer and entered in my weight official starting weight. Since then I have officially lost 25.2 lbs since last summer. I couldn’t believe I had lost that much weight that’s an entire toddler! I wish I had taken pictures from last summer to see the difference between then and now but I wasn’t thinking about it lol. Every milestone is one step closer to my final milestone. I WILL get there!

 

So I have found myself falling in love with Luna Bars made just for women. They have become my new addiction for a quick snack or a quick meal. I’ve been trying to find a good snack bar that isn’t high in points but also filling. I’ve done Cliff Bars which are amazing but each one is 7 points and that can be really high especially for a snack. The Luna Bars I’ve found range from 3-5 PP and don’t go above 5. Every single on of these I’ve tried I have NOT been disappointed in. I even liked one with peanut butter and I don’t like peanut butter very much 🙂

I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone looking for some great flavors for snack bars and for filling ones. I can’t even explain to you how amazing these are. #lunabar is amazing!

So decided to test out Kale Chips. I love Kale but I’ve never had chips before. So I tried out this recipe and I do like them. I will continue to find different ways of doing them so I can change it up. Look how beautiful these Kale Chips look! Thanks to Carmel over at Our Fifth House for the awesome recipe.
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INGREDIENTS: 
Kale  – washed, dried and broken by hand into chip-like pieces (don’t break them up too small)
Half of a Lemon
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
DIRECTIONS: 
Preheat the oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Once the kale is washed, dried and broken up lay your pieces on your baking sheet.  Don’t over crowd.  Squeeze the lemon over the sheet.  Lightly drizzle the olive oil over top.  Shake paprika and garlic powder over the top and toss a little to make sure all the pieces are coated.  Then salt and pepper, and pop them in the oven.
Bake for 10- 15 minutes  – and enjoy!

March 30th

So this past week has been uneventful with the fact that I had a tooth pulled that had been hurting me for the last 6 months. I have a HUGE fear of the dentist so going to the dentist is tough for me. I like to think I’m a tough cookie but the dentist makes me cry like a little school girl. So they gave me some anti-anxiety meds and laughing gas to calm me down. So I’ve been on a “soft food diet” for the last couple of days. I’ve made some great food regardless of restrictions. As for working out I haven’t done anything due to the fact that much moving was making my tooth and lack thereof tooth.

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I did get to spend some 1 v 1 with the ham man himself Parker on Saturday. The girls had a meltdown so daddy stayed home with the girls and mommy and Parker got to go the pet store and grocery store. He talked the ENTIRE car ride and was so excited to spend time with just me. Such a treat. I’m also pretty sure I spent WAY more at the grocery store than I wanted to because of him but I didn’t want to tell the kid that he couldn’t have the healthy stuff (which he asked for instead of the junk…MOMMY WIN!)

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So I’ve been on an oatmeal and fruit kick lately. This meal total was 9 points and so filling. I love Quaker Old Fashion Oats. Add some fat-free milk (or Almond milk which I love too) and a little brown sugar and you’ve got yummy oatmeal. Top with your favorite fruit and its a nice filling meal that looks amazing and tastes just as good if not better.

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These things right here are pretty amazing and LOW in points! A great mid morning or mid afternoon snack. I’m not always a fan of Greek Yogurt because it can be pretty bitter but if they have certain flavors to them it takes the bitterness away and gives it a nice sweet taste. Best part about these is the fact my kids aren’t fans and I get to enjoy these ALL BY MYSELF. All parents know how that is right?!

So for dinner on Saturday I decided I was going to try breakfast for dinner. My husbands favorite meal is French Toast. Now most know french toast can be pretty heavy in calorie count and for one simple slice it can be over 6 WW points! So I decided to try STUFFED FRENCH TOAST my own way….And here is the finally result
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Doesn’t it look amazing??? Well it was. My husband was very impressed and said it needs to be a new meal for us at least once a month lol.
So this is how I did it.
Fiber One Bread White bread (2 slices was 3PP)Better N’ Eggs/egg substitute (0PP for 3 tablespoons)
Strawberry Cream Cheese (try to find low calories mine was 2PP for 2 tablespoons but I only used 1)
Weight Watchers Cream Cheese (2PP)
Cinnamon and Nutmeg to taste
Fruits of your picking

I placed my egg substitute in a bowl and put as much cinnamon and nutmeg as I felt was “good enough” . Kinda reminds me of how my mom always told me “when it feels right then its right”…Yep thanks mom that TOTALLY helps 🙂
Then I took my slices of bread and on one piece I used 1 tablespoon of Strawberry Cream Cheese and on the other was the WW cream cheese. Then I topped each side with banana slices, strawberry slices and blueberries. Stacked it together and basted the outside of the bread with the egg mixture. Then put in my griddle and browned it to perfection. I did add a little sugar-free syrup to the top but really it didn’t need it since it was sweet enough by itself. Still good with it or without it. On my husbands TWO I did one strawberry and one pumpkin cream cheese spread. He enjoyed it. So really you can make it however you want with your own ideas and spread because it so simple.

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So for dessert I decided a nice shake would be good to have healthy and tasty. Strawberry Vanilla Shake.

Ingredients:

1/2oz Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Vanilla Pudding and Pie Filling Mix
2 Cups Strawberries Sliced
1 Cup Fat Free Skim Milk (I used Almond Milk)
1/2 Cup fat-free plain yogurt

Combine all ingredients together in a blender; puree until smooth. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving

It’s off to Watch the Season Finale of The Walking Dead here’s to hoping the cannibals don’t kill off Daryl or Glen otherwise I may cry
ctGsZm-who-do-you-think-will-be-the-l-vHC7You speak the truth Glen 🙂

Monday…Monday…

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While most people are bitching and complaining about it being a Monday I’m off in my own little world skipping and humming my own tune because 1) this kids have school in the morning and I get to enjoy my coffee by myself in quiet and 2) I have field hockey to get my aggressions out from the weekend and previous week. So I’m sorry to all you Monday haters but I love my Mondays 🙂

So I haven’t updated in almost a week. I’ve been trying to keep up with workouts but I have a broken tooth that has been keeping me sidelined for insanity since its a lot of up and downs for work outs and it makes my tooth hurt. So on Thursday I get the thing FINALLY pulled after 6 months of pain. Once I recover from that I will be back into the insanity like I need and want to be. So I’ve been doing simple workouts which are high intensity to lessen the throbbing tooth pain. Working on my legs more than anything since its not as hard for me to do right now. Started doing the squat challenge. Don’t know what that is? Its a 31 day challenge where you up your squats each day with a rest day thrown in. Squats are pretty “simple” for me thanks to playing ice hockey for 21 years of my life 🙂 Most important thing is form obviously. If you do a simple squat wrong you can really hurt yourself if you aren’t carefully and really do some damage. I’ve seen people pop tendons in their calf muscles from doing this. Painful stuff. But if you do it right I’ve done this once and I noticed a nice toned change in my thighs! Good stuff 🙂
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So this past week I’ve made some AMAZING meals that I just HAVE to share with you. Click on each picture to get the recipes on how to make. Figured this way was easier so you didn’t have to scroll for an eternity just to get to a good recipe you want to try. As always thank you to the lovely ladies at Simple Nourished Living and Skinny Taste for their amazing recipes. I may have doctored some of them to fit my needs I didn’t have to go off course to much, if anything I added a little spices to them to give it slightly more flavor 🙂

 

TGIF?!

So here it is Friday and I’m just exhausted from the week. My oldest daughter Makayla turned a whole hand on Wednesday and we spent the day at a huge play place for her birthday just the family. They had a blast so much so that the ride back was tears from being exhausted. We got home with the birthday girl asking where were all of her presents haha. Oh how that little big girl knows how to work mom and dad 🙂

4Happy Birthday Miss Makayla

Still sticking to Insanity and doing pretty well with it. My legs are starting to feel like jello and my abs are being used more than I ever thought they would haha. But I am enjoying it for the most part. My biggest frustration is fighting off the puppy from attacking me while I’m doing my mummy kicks. Guess he thinks its time to play! But hey I completed day 9 yesterday and on day 10 today! That’s some big steps!!! WOOHOO

So these past couple of days I’ve made some pretty kick ass meals that I will totally be added to my meal lists for each month. Not only are they tasty but they are super easy to make!

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Santa Fe Chicken. 4point meal for 1 cup chicken and mixing.
Now this meal is from Skinny Taste. Now the corn and beans were spicy a little to spicy for the kiddos but the chicken wasn’t and they ate that and the rice faster then I could keep it on their plate. The best part of this meal was that it cooked in the crock-pot so I didn’t have to do much work!
Ingredients:

  • 24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
  • 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
  • 15 oz can black beans
  • 8 oz frozen corn
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
  • salt to taste

Directions:
Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top.
Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning to taste. Serve over rice or tortillas and your favorite toppings.

3
Chipotle Chicken Salad. 5points for 2 cups

Now this simple meal is great for a lunch. Make it the night before and have it ready for the next day! It was really good but my goodness was it spicy. Next time I make it I wont add as much cilantro since I’m not the biggest fan and instead of the chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce I may just put in diced green chili’s. But if you like the kick I say try it and love it! Nice change up on salad.

Ingredients

Dressing
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup fat free sour cream
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Salad
4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained
Instructions
To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.

Hope those that are following my blog enjoy it so far! Leave me a comment if you do I would love to hear from you! ❤