Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pajama Passion

Happy Sunday lovelies. I can't believe this weekend is almost over. It happened so fast. I spent all morning relaxing and being lazy in my pajamas. Envision a comfy couch, a thick comforter and fat orange cat smothering me while searching for affection. My needy little bubble butt. Yeah, I call him bubble butt and no, I have no idea why. I celebrated my lazy-fest with a nice cup of chocolate chip cookie flavored espresso. In case you're wondering, this is the brand I've been using and it's delicious!


I added a little bit of fat free whip and cinnamon to my mug as well. Why? Because it's Sunday and because I can. REBEL!


While in my blanket cocoon, I enjoyed my favorite morning activity. Blog reading of course. I came across a droolworty post by Karin from Give Me Bananas. She made the best looking pancakes. I was hypnotized and just KNEW that I was having them for breakfast. It's been too long my round cakes of love! WAY too long!!

BREAKFAST (meal #1)

I decided to have just one large pancake instead of the usual plateful of three or four medium sized ones. As with all things, I'm trying to have smaller portions. And you know what? It was the perfect amount! Left me satisfied without the usual pancake brick in my stomach feeling.
  • 1/4 cup old fashioned oats

  • 1/4 cup wheat bran

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 a small banana
  • 1 packet Stevia
  • cinnamon
  • dash baking powder
  • just a splash of unsweetened vanilla almond breeze


I mixed this up in my blender and poured the mixture into a hot pan sprayed with Pam. I added the rest of the banana slices on top of the pancake as it was cooking. I flipped it once and let the other side cook for just a minute or two. SO EASY! I topped it off with Smucker's sugar free blueberry syrup.


Served on my lovely new "I Love You" plate from Target. IT WAS DELICIOUS!


I also had a cup of green tea.


I didn't have to be anywhere until 1:00. I was due at Mama and Papa Babushka's house for lunch, coffee and games. The usual Sunday fun. :)

LUNCH (meal #2)


I decided to make pan seared tofu and sauteed veggies for lunch with a flax pita on the side. I always prep something to take along with me on Sundays. It's just another way to stay in complete control of what I'm eating.


I seasoned the tofu simply with garlic salt, oregano and cayenne. I sliced them thin so I could get a nice sear and crunch on both sides. I also cut up broccoli, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, seasoned them with soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and sauteed them in a covered pan for just a few minutes.


Lunch was simple and delicious but a little salty. I think I used a bit too much soy. ??? I usually use teriyaki.

SNACK (meal #3)

I also packed a pear and a 4oz cup of plain 0% Oikos to have a bit later. I ended up having this about 2 hours after lunch. I also crumbled a small handful of blueberry Special K cereal over top to add a bit of crunch. YUM!


The visit was fun. We played Sorry and Yahtzee and I WHOPPED EM ALL! I won every single game. Yeah, I'm cool like that. A gifted gamer if you will. HA! ;)

Guess what I did the second I got home! Dove right back into my pajamas! I just couldn't help it. I love lazy Sundays so much. Nick was still sporting his and I got jealous. I had to join in on the fun!

SNACK (meal #4)

I decided to make a smoothie. I wanted something thicker than the usual smoothie consistency so I decided to play around with the ice, frozen fruit, milk and gum ratios.
  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
  • small banana
  • 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 cup ice
  • scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
  • 1 tbs caramel Torani sugar free syrup
  • 1 packet Splenda
  • 1/4 tsp xantham gum
  • 1/4 tsp guar gum
Nope, still too smoothie-ish to be considered ice cream. Then it came to me. Ildie, you idiot, put it in your freezer! I poured it into a bowl and popped it into my freezer for about 45 min. IT WORKED!! At first I was worried because the top felt hard but after I gave it a good stir, it got nice and creamy. I gave it an adorable name too. Pro cream. Get it? Because it's like protein packed ice cream! ;)


DINNER (meal #5)

The original plan was to have Tilapia for dinner since this is a NO CARBS for dinner night. However, I had the smoothie (I mean pro cream) later than initially intended and I didn't feel like fussing with the fish so late. I opted for a small salad instead.
  • Baby spinach leaves
  • Sweet butter lettuce
  • Black bean burger (Morning Star Farms brand)
  • 1/4 cup fat free cottage cheese
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Red bell pepper slices
  • Fresh cracked black pepper & sea salt
  • Spray butter


My improvised dinner hit the spot. I don't know why I waited so long to add cottage cheese to my salad. I LOVE the flavor combination! It was creamy and cheesy and just plain GOOD!

I also had a blood orange to finish the night off right.


Nick's brother just got here to hang out. I almost forgot he was coming so I had to hustle upstairs to put some jeans back on when I heard his car pull in. FAREWELL MY BELOVED PAJAMAS! Until we meet again. I'm going to have to stop typing now. So... Hard... To... Stop... Time to play the role of lovely hostess. Ha, yeah right!!

Catch you tomorrow. ;)
HUGS!

Ildie

Saturday, January 30, 2010

"P" is for Productive

Hi everyone. I hope you're all enjoying Saturday. I know I am! I've done so much today! I set my alarm so I could wake up early and get a head start on everything. I know this seems crazy on a Saturday but sometimes I feel like I'm sleeping precious hours away. I stumbled downstairs and immediately brewed a delicious cup of hazelnut flavored espresso. I swear coffee tastes even more delicious since I cut back to one cup a day. Mmmm!

BREAKFAST (meal #1)

I was going to have something different this morning but all my body wanted was the usual. I caved into my oatmeal addition and made a delicious bowl of goodness.
  • 1/2 old fashioned oats
  • 1 tbs ground flax seed
  • 1/4 cup wheat bran
  • 1 cup vanilla almond breeze
  • 1/2 cup water
  • cinnamon
  • pumpkin pie spice
  • PB2
I topped this steamy sexy bowl with a dash more cinnamon and dove in.


Oh my! SO GOOD! I ate it out of my new glass bowl. Awe snap! I like it but it got a bit too hot to handle (just like me, HA) after about 20 seconds. I improvised and wrapped it in the blanket that I was also curled up in. It worked beautifully. Like a warm oatmeal cocoon.

After breakfast I tossed a load of laundry in and changed for the gym. It was still nice and early and I was excited about getting it done and having the rest of the day to relax.

WORKOUT

Seated Leg Curl (cable)
90lb x 15
90lb x 15
80lb x 15
Leg Extensions (cable)
90lb x 15
90lb x 15
80lb x 15
Leg Press (plate loaded)
200lb x 15
200lb x 15
200lb x 15
Hack Squat (plate loaded)
40lb x 15
40lb x 15
40lb x 15
Squats
x20
x20
x20
Plié Squats (plate loaded)
x15
x15
x15
Stiff Leg Deadlifts
45lb x 15
45lb x 15
45lb x 15
Elliptical - Interval Training - 30 minutes
Resistance 6-8
2.52 miles
364 calories burned

My legs were like JELLO today. I was going to up the resistance but my wobbly legs were screaming NOOOOO so I stuck with 6-8. I called it quits after about 30 minutes. WHEW! This was a good one!

After the gym I ran to the pharmacy and the bank. I was getting things done and it felt great. It wasn't even 11 yet and I was already done with most of my errands. YEAH! By the time I got home I was starving!

SNACK (meal #2)

I made a delicious, thick and creamy protein shake.
  • 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
  • 1 small banana
  • 1/2 cup frozen berry mix
  • 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
  • handful of ice cubes
  • 1/4 tsp xantham gum
  • 1/4 tsp guar gum


This was my first time using both gums together and it made the shake super thick and creamy. I swear it was almost like pudding. I know that sounds sort of weird but I liked it. I can easily see how adding more ice can magically turn a smoothie into "ice cream" and I can't wait to try that next.

After my smoothie-pudding I took care of the laundry, ran the dishwasher and took a nice long bath. All before 1:00 might I add. I was loving this long and productive day! I was enjoying it so much that I decided to get dressed and get my grocery shopping out of the way today as well. WHY NOT? I spent a fortune people! SIGH!

LUNCH (meal #3)

I'm addicted, what can I say. I give you the always delectable and delicious breakfast concoction. Also known as my new obsession. HEY, at least I put it in a pita instead of a FlatOut wrap this time. It's a TAD different right? :)
  • 4 egg whites seasoned with salt & pepper
  • Trader Joe's cilantro and jalapeno hummus
  • Sriracha sauce
  • Baby spinach leaves
All of this was stuffed into a whole wheat & flax pita. Accompaniments included english cucumbers, baby carrots and a cup of green tea. Simple, clean and delicious. Like the new plate? 79 cents at Le Target Baby! YEAH!


After lunch Nick and I decided to go catch a matinee movie. We watched The Book Of Eli. I liked it. Actually we both liked it. I don't want to give anything away so I'll just leave it at that. You should check it out. ;)

By the time we got home it was nearing dinner time and we were both HUNGRY! We needed something quick and we needed it NOW!

DINNER (meal #4)

Nick decided he wanted pirogues with smoked sausage. Nothing else would do. While he prepped his MUST HAVE dinner I started on mine.

I kept it sweet and simple and tossed the leftover chicken breast and sauteed veggies from dinner the other night onto a bed of spinach and added cherry tomatoes. Yep, dinner was served in less than 5 minutes.


And somehow, by accident (so strange), I found myself with a glass of wine. OH MY, how did that happen?


Hello lover.... I've missed you!


Time to snuggle with the Mr. Have a great night everyone.

Confession, currently on glass #2. UH OH!

XO
Ildie

Friday, January 29, 2010

Underwear Flamenco

OMG everyone, listen up! I have GREAT NEWS!

Well, are you ready? Are you sure? Okay, here we go...

I lost another 4.9 pounds since last Friday. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! I was seconds away from hugging the scale but resisted. Mr. Scale and I have a sordid relationship and I'm not quite ready to trust him yet. I NEED MORE TIME! I was SO happy when I saw the number staring back at me. I just kept looking at it in shock! I may or may not have danced like an idiot in my underwear soon thereafter. I may or may not have jumped around while clapping my hands and giggling like a kid high on candy crack. Okay, I admit it, I did both of those things and then some and I DON'T CARE! I was enjoying my "special" moment. This brings my total loss to 38 pounds. YAY!


In other "NEW PLAN OF ATTACK" update news.

Water consumption - Going excellent! I'm drinking a gallon a day.
Incorporating green tea - Drinking 2 a day as planned.
Drinking less coffee - Yeah, that's right, going good. I'm down to 1 cup a day.
Protein shakes after every workout - Done and done and loving it!
No carbs for dinner 3x a week - Consider it done. Not so bad after all.
More cardio - TACKLED! I dedicate 2 days a week to an hour of cardio and do 30 min. 3x a week as well.
Lift heavier with less reps - Yep, doing this as well and I actually enjoy this more. Lifting heavier makes you feel all bad ass. Like I can kick some ass, but you know, I won't cuz I'm a lady! HAHAHAHA! (yeah right!)
New Recipes - Nothing major but yeah, I did try a few new things in the past week.

And there you have it, I think that covers everything!!

I knew that today would be a GOOD day from the moment I walked out the door this morning. I doubt anything can ruin my mood. I was high on happiness.

BREAKFAST (meal #1)

I had the usual pumpkin oats but with a bit more KICK!
  • 1/3 cup Irish Oats (all I had left in the box)
  • 1 tbs Flax seed
  • 1 tbs Cracked Wheat
  • 1 tbs Wheat Bran
  • dash cinnamon
  • dash pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • Splenda to taste


DROOLWORTHY! The addition of the flax and wheat's was so good. It gave it this rich, filling and grainy/chewy (in a good way) flavor and texture. YUM!

Work was slow today. SAY WHAT? Yeah, you heard me right. SLOW! I told you today would be a good day. This is unheard of for the last work day of the month but I happily enjoyed the down time and FINALLY got caught up on my blog reading! I was so behind and I felt so incomplete. I consider reading about your daily eats and shenanigans as mental and visual therapy. Like bonding with foodie fanatic females through the wonders of the Internet. I FREAKIN LOVE IT!

LUNCH (meal #2)

As I threatened yesterday, today's lunch is a complete repeat of yesterdays because it was out of this world good. Please welcome the very sexy breakfast burrito.
  • 4 egg whites seasoned with sea salt & black pepper
  • 2 tbs cilantro and jalapeno hummus (Trader Joe's)
  • spinach leaves
  • Sriracha love drizzle
  • Whole wheat and Flax FlatOut


You add all this up and it turns into a magical protein packed miracle wrapped in flaxy love. TRY IT!


CHOMP!


And then, get this, I had chocolate. I TELL NO LIES! It was a mini treat for a job well done on the weight loss. I can't even remember the last time I had chocolate. I had a square (just 1) of Newman's Own Organics espresso dark chocolate, which was roughly 60 calories. WELL WORTH IT! I nibbled on this for like 30 minutes, slowly savoring every little bite. DELISH!


For a break today I took my overly happy ass to Target with Ann. We couldn't think of anywhere else to go and Target has always been our fail-safe destination of choice. Ann is addicted to this place. It's sort of scary. Even when she needs nothing, NOTHING, she will go there and walk around and leave with at least $50 dollars worth of "must haves". HA!

I was just BIT naughty today. I picked up two cute plates and a glass bowl. I'm sure they'll make their photographic debuts on the blog soon. So all in all, not too bad. I was proud of myself!

SNACK (meal #3)

The snack was the usual sexy bowl of good stuff.
  • 4oz plain 0% Oikos
  • 1/2 banana
  • cinnamon
  • 1 packet Splenda
  • a dash of Kaia Foods buckwheat cocoa ganola.


The Kaia Foods granola is super tasty and not too sweet.


The stats are pretty good as well.


It had a great crunch and went perfectly with the creamy yogurt and soft banana. GOOD! It gets a 9 out of 10.

I snuck out of work early. Just by 20 minutes but I still felt like a REBEL! It was just early enough to beat the rush hour traffic home on 77N which is always horrid. As soon as I walked in the door I started cleaning. I was going WILD like a Pledge and Windex tornado. I dusted my tender little heart out until there was no more dust left to clean. I love a clean house! I also threw a load of laundry in, emptied the dishwasher and cleaned out the fridge. Yes, I DO find this to be FUN and I'm well aware of the fact that this makes me a freak.

After my Pledge attack I brewed a nice cup of double spice chai tea, added a splash of sugar free cream, a dash cinnamon and curled up on the couch for a while with Nick. I love Friday evenings!


DINNER (meal #4) I only had 4 today. Wasn't very hungry earlier.

At about 7-ish my stomach started grumbling. TICKLE ME FANCY, IT'S TACO TIME! We quickly joined forces in the kitchen and slammed dinner out in less than 30 minutes. YAY FOR TEAM WORK! I had the usual vegetarian taco salad (recipe **HERE**) and Nick had his with ground beef. He calls mine dog food. WHA??? It's delish! He's crazy! I had it with fat free blue corn chips, cannellini beans, fat free shredded cheese, avocado, romaine, tomato and a healthy blob of Oikos to top it all off. YUMMY!


Oh I'm so wired. I hope I can force myself to go to bed earlier tonight. I average 1:00 am on Friday nights but I would like to get to the gym EARLY so I can enjoy the rest of my Saturday.

I leave you with a quote...

In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips and chains. Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale. ~Stephen Phillips

HUGS!
Ildie

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Twas the night before weigh in

Twas the night before weigh in
And all through the house
Not a carb was a stirring
Not even a crumb for the mouse


HA! HI EVERYONE! It's Thursday night and I'm SO excited! Friday is almost here. It's been a long week and I'm very ready to unwind this weekend. Though I will admit, I'm nervous for tomorrow morning. STUPID SCALE better be on my side or I may resort to "violence".

It was a very busy day at work today. My brain hurts!! Tomorrow should be just as busy. It's the last work day in the month and those are always crazy at the office. To focus this morning I started the day right with a warm bowl of goodness.

BREAKFAST (meal #1)

  • 1/2 cup Irish oats
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin
  • 2 tbs fat free french vanilla pudding mix
  • dash cinnamon
  • dash pumpkin pie spice
  • Splenda to taste


I just can't get sick of this stuff. It's just so satisfying and delicious! YUM!

Work...Work...Work...Work... The hours were just flying by this morning. WOW! I swear I blinked at it was noon!

LUNCH (meal #2)

Twas..... Twas.... DELICIOUS! And simple, healthy, low calorie, high protein and low fat. Did I already say it was delicious? Okay, just making sure you understand HOW MUCH I enjoyed it! I was still thinking about it hours later and will probably pack the exact same lunch tomorrow. It was a breakfast burrito made with 4 egg whites, cilantro & jalapeno hummus from Trader Joe's, Sriracha and spinach leaves. I stuffed all of this goodness into a whole grain and flax FlatOut. I AM IN LOVE!


I also tried the last of the fruit leathers I received from Kaia Foods. It was the lime ginger flavor. I have to admit, it was least favorite of the tree that I tried. It was almost bitter and didn't really have any sweetness to it. A bit bland too. This one gets a 5 out of 10.


After my feast I got some more work done and then decided to leave the office for a bit. I needed a mental health and well being break. I ran to the grocery store with Ann. My LOVELY sis-sis treated me to a few goodies. THANKS ANNIE-BOO-BEAR! Amongst my gifted goodies were a bag of flax seeds and some wheat bran. YAY. We searched for Chia seeds too but had no luck. BAH!

SNACK (meal #3)

It appears to be my typical mushy bowl of creamy goodness right? NOPE! Check THIS out ladies. Dannon now makes GREEK yogurt. I tell no lies! Here is photographic evidence. This bad boy packs 15g Protein, 80 Calories and 0g Fat. LOVE!


I guess I don't know if this is a NEW product or just NEW to me. I know that I've never seen it around here at any of the grocery stores that I frequent and I frequent a LOT of them. Ann and I both picked up one to try while we were out earlier. Not bad, not bad at all!! For those of you who may not have access to Greek yogurt where you live, there may be NEW hope. :)

Anyways, I'm rambling. Here's what was in the mix. Which by the was Ahhhh-mazing!

  • 1 container Dannon 0% plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 banana
  • dash cinnamon
  • 1 packet splenda
  • PB2
  • Kaia Foods, Cocoa Mole sunflower seeds (LOVE THESE)


After work it was off to our LAST CHANCE workout before my scary scale encounter tomorrow morning. EEK!

Stair Glider - 10 minutes

Level 3
.62 miles
110 calories burned
Elliptical - 35 minutes
Min. 1-6 (resistance 6-8)
Min. 7-12 (resistance 8-10)
Min. 13-18 (resistance 9-11)
Min. 19-24 (resistance 10-12)
Min. 25-30 (resistance 10)
Min. 31-35 (resistance 8)
2.94 miles
435 calories burned
Bike - 5 minutes
Level 6
40 calories burned (I forgot how much I hated this thing. Waste of time)
Treadmill - 10 minutes
5 min. - 5 incline, speed 3.0
5 min. - 2 incline, speed 3.0
70 calories burned (+/-, I turned counter on midway through)
5 minutes or so of random ab moves. I wasn't feelin it.... ??

And that was that. What's done is done. Now I wait.... (tic-toc. tic-toc) for the alarm to ring tomorrow so I can weigh myself. ;)

SNACK (meal #4)

When I got home I quickly made myself a "mini" smoothie. MMM. So good!
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein
  • frozen peach slices
  • frozen mixed berries
  • xantham gum


I'm enjoying this new diet staple so much now! I'm actually sad that I won't get to have one tomorrow. I wouldn't feel right drinking one without a workout though and I never work out on Fridays. Tis sad....

DINNER (meal #5)

Tonight was another NO CARBS for dinner night. To keep it simple I decided to make chicken and veggies. I seasoned the chicken with soy, teriyaki, cayenne, sea salt and cilantro and popped it into a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or so.

I also sauteed a big batch of broccoli, sugar snap peas and baby carrots (which I boiled first for maybe 15 minutes) in a mix of sweet chili sauce and teriyaki. The veggies took maybe 10 minutes. SO EASY! AND GOOD!


As I sat down I stared at my plate and realized that something was missing. SRIRACHA! I love this stuff.


Ahh, there we go. MUCH better.


Dinner was delicious. For a bit of a nightcap later, I made a cup of tea. A lovely coworker of mine gave me a chocolate covered strawberry teabag to try. I added a splash of milk and a dash of cinnamon. WOW. It was amazing. Tasted just like a chocolate covered strawberry. She picked it up at World Market. If you have one near you go get some. I think it's a Valentine's Day, seasonal item.


Alright my lovelies. Time for bed now. Wish me luck. I'll update you tomorrow and I hope to have good news.

HUGS! ;)
Ildie
 

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