A positively perfect day

Today I want to rant about POSITIVITY and happy-happy, joy-joy type goodness. I was in a special mood yesterday. I'm sure my post made that painfully obvious. Or did I hide it well? Either way, apologies my lovely (and patient) readers!! We all have those days! I'm in a much better mood today. So much so that I would like to declare today positively perfect day! I have some personal matters that I'm currently "handling" and they had me bit frazzled yesterday. I'm happy to report that as of this morning, things seem to be moving into the right direction. I'll share all the details with you once I get it all sorted out. Just know that as of right now, everything is just peachy keen.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:00am.

I swear my oats tasted better than usual. It probably has something do with the absent stress monster that was clinging to my weary back yesterday. AHHH! I'm in such a good mood!

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• dash cinnamon
• dash apple pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda to taste
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 tbs Trader Joe's pumpkin butter

I completely forgot how much I ADORE this sweet and creamy pumpkin butter. It was SO good with the oats. Now if I could only stock up on canned pumpkin and add that to the mix as well. That would be amazing! I've been hording one large can of pumpkin at home and I'm scared to open it. I know once I eat it, that will be the last of it. I'M SCARED TO LET GO! I can't find the stuff ANYWHERE right now! I've been looking for months! IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:15pm.

I'm a lover of leftovers. I'm also a lover of cabbage. This made packing lunch for today a no brainer. I had the slaw-cauliflower combo leftover from last night and topped it off with a black bean veggie burger from Morning Star Farms. It was SERIOUSLY amazing! I enjoyed it way more than my dinner last night. Sometimes the trick is to just let your food hang out in the fridge overnight. Magical things can happen inside refrigerated tupperware. MAGICAL!


On our break away from the office today we were on a secret mission. It may or may NOT have involved Birthday purchases for a certain fantastical Papa. Mr. wonderful will be celebrating his eternal youth on the 21st. HI PAPA! You know I love to torture you so. ;)

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:15pm.

I had the pleasure of another Dannon strawberry Greek yogurt today. I'm loving these little sweet treats. Great flavor, creamy texture and 12g protein. SOLD!


After work it was off to the gym for my weekly LAST CHANCE workout before weigh in tomorrow morning. I know most people HATE scales but that square little devil sure keeps my ass in check. For me, weighing in weekly (though lightweight stressful) just works. Of course this method doesn't work for everyone and you should always do what makes you comfortable. To some people this means tossing the scale out the window or burning it in a ritualistic ceremony. HA!

WORKOUT!

Elliptical Cross Trainer, 1 hour, 5.1 miles, 716 calories
1-5 min., (level 6)
6-10 min., (level 7)
11-15 min., (level 8)
16-20 min., (level 9)
21-25 min., (level 10)
26-30 min., (level 11)
31-35 min., (level 12)
36-40 min., (level 11)
41-45 min., (level 10)
46-50 min., (level 9)
51-55 min., (level 8)
56-60 min., (level 7)

GOOD GRIEF! I thought the hour would never end!! People that find an hour on the elliptical to be "fun" or "easy" are either crazy, or great liars. Maybe one day cardio will grow on me. Until then I will openly HATE IT and FORCE it.

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:45pm.

I got home later than usual from the gym. I had to make a quick stop and Mama and Papa Babushkas house to pick something up. By the time I walked in the house I just had no desire to mess with the whole smoothie making process. I opted for a fudge brownie Jay Robb protein bar instead. I LOVED IT! It was dense, chewy, chocolaty without being too sweet and just plain tasty!


The stats were pretty nice too with 14g protein, 6g fiber and 220 calories. The carbs were a bit higher than I like at 23g but not bad overall. I would totally have this again. I give it a 9 out of 10.

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:00pm.

While devouring the bar, I also started prepping my dinner. Mama Babushka hooked me up with some brussel sprouts during my quick visit after the gym. I completely depleted my veggie stash at home because I've been on some sort of a vegetable kick this week. CAN'T GET ENOUGH! In a last minute desperate attempt I politely asked my Mama if she had any to spare. Of course she did. LOVE HER!

I seasoned the brussel sprouts with sea salt, black pepper and cayenne and tossed them on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. I decided to bake the last of my orange cauliflower as well. You know, just to cover all of my veggie bases. For some protein I tossed a jalapeno chicken sausage in with the veggies as well. SO EASY! Of course I drizzled some Sriracha on top as well. I need my heat!


Well that's it beautiful people. I'm going to call it a night and maybe watch an episode of Dexter before crashing. We're already done with season 1. I LOVE IT!

I'll fill you in on my weigh in and how I did last week in my usual Sassy Friday Update Style. Have a great night.

XOXOXO
Ildie