Romantic dinner for Moi

Happy Tuesday Lovelies! I only had two things on the brain this morning, food and fashion. Let me explain. My soupy dinner was not as substantial as usual and I woke up starving. This is never a good thing! Then there was my annoying fashion dilemma rearing its ugly face again. It's getting nicer out and I have NO Spring clothes that fit. As in fit right without being either an over sized trash bag or a snug tube sock. I find neither of these looks to be aesthetically pleasing!! I will clearly need to go shopping soon! SIGH!

I found myself humming, smiling and singing all the way to work today. Visions of beaches, cocktails and sunshine were running rampant in my head. I'm clearly still enjoying the afterglow of our successful vacation planning. I'm currently happier than a pig in --it! ;)

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

I NEEDED oatmeal and I needed it BAD! My stomach felt like it was eating itself from the inside out.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• dash apple pie spice
• pinch salt
• Splenda to taste
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• (Microwaved and topped with 1 tbs ground flax, 2 tbs sugar free cherry preserves and 1 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter.)

Oh....so....good....

Work was... well it was quiet today. SO STRANGE! The last few days of the month (and in this instance, the quarter too) are usually riddled with insane demands, temper tantrums, whining and threats. All was well in florescent paradise though. I got a lot of filing done and cleaned my office up a bit. I think the sunshine was fueling my inner workaholic!

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:30pm.

I present to you a tasty salad, served in my new office bowl. I was sick of eating large salads off of a plate so I picked this up the other day for less than $2. Not bad right?

• Spinach
• Tomato
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Morning Star Farms Asian burger
• Kaia Foods Garlic & Sea Salt sesame seeds
• Spray Butter

We left with ambitions of enjoying some fresh air and sunshine on our break today but somehow found ourselves roaming around Pier1 like a bunch of drooling babies. I could just go crazy up in there if money were no option. I managed to refrain and left with nothing though. Nothing except refurnishing and redecorating dreams that were crushed by those little annoying things called "price tags". :)

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:00.

A plain cup of Yoplait Greek yogurt livingly accompanied by a juicy Fuji apple, cinnamon and a sprinkle of Udi's vanilla granola. YUM!


DILEMMA - I am STILL struggling with my water intake. No idea what the hot heck is going on. I used to drink way more, no problem. Lately I struggle to get in over 60oz. Not good! You would think that with the nicer weather, it would be easier. NOPE! I need to work on this some more! I just wanted to vent. All done now...

After work we went straight to the gym for Chest, Back and Cardio day.

WORKOUT!

Advanced Chest Press (plate loaded)
40lb x 15 (3 sets)
Row Machine (plate loaded)
50lb x 15 (3 sets)
Seated Chest Press (plate loaded)
70lb x 15
60lb x 15
50lb x 11
High Row Machine (plate loaded)
100lb x 15 (3 sets)
Seated Chest Press (cable)
75lb x 15 (2 sets)
60lb x 15
Face Pull with rope grip (cable)
90lb x 15 (3 sets)
Lat Pulldown with V-Bar (cable)
70lb x 15
60lb x 15
50lb x 15
Elliptical Cross Trainer
30 minutes, 2.64 miles, intervals at level 6-10

Total time at the gym = 1:18
Max HR = 169
Average HR = 139
Total Calories Burned = 638

I was a sweaty mess of a human being by the time we were done. GROSS!

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:15pm.

I rushed home and made a quick recovery shake with 1 scoop of chocolate peanut butter whey protein powder, 1/2 unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze and 1/2 cup water. Shaken, not stirred, thank you very much!


I was all by my lonesome tonight, unless you count the cat. He is my forever and always there, in your face, by your feet staring at you while you pee companion. HAHAHA! He's such a little pervert! Nick was at his Mama's having some sort of an unhealthy FEAST per the usual.

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

I set the mood for a romantic dinner for one this evening. I lit some candles, placed the remote within reach for some girlie DVR lovin and grabbed the necessities for a pedicure/manicure. Sometimes I love being home alone!

I actually felt like making something special just for me tonight. I had no plan but somehow managed to come up with the most amazing dish. A bowl bursting with healthy mexican style goodness. It couldn't have been simpler.

Into a saucepan I added the following...

• 1 serving of Morning Star Farms grounds
• 1 tbs Taco seasoning
• 1/4 cup pinto beans
• 1/2 cup cooked Arborio rice
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• Sauteed and chopped onions, mushrooms and red bell pepper (which I cooked up with Pam & S+P right before adding it to the mix)

The entire meal was done in a less than 15 minutes and that includes sauteing all of the veggies first.


Topped with sour cream and enjoyed with a few low fat blue corn chips on the side.


The only thing it was missing was corn but I didn't have any at home. It was still insanely delicious though. And filling! Good grief! I will definitely be making it again.

Time to get my cry on and turn on one of my recorded episodes of What Not To Wear. I always cry when I watch that show. I just can't help myself! I bet it will only fuel my desire to go shopping even more... OYE! I wish someone would hand me $5,000 and tell me to spend it in New York. OH NO! PLEASE! YOU'RE REALLY BENDING MY ARM HERE! Pshhh, I would be ALL over that card baby! All over it!

Stay Sassy!
XOXO
Ildie

Random Rambles of beauty

Hello my gorgeous friends. I hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday. Today was a bit busy and rough at work but I MADE IT! JUST BARELY I TELL YOU! The veins were a poppin and there was a lot of tongue biting goin on! ;)

Let's move right along into a random topic. I like to do this from time to time. Gotta keep it interesting right? SPICE THINGS UP A BIT!

I was checking myself out in the mirror this morning. Grabbing at my face and my neck. Inspecting my porous crevices. Yanking at my gut and arms and what not. You know what I'm talking about ladies. We ALL do it. I kept investigating my TINY yet visible eye wrinkles (EEK) and permanent laugh lines. Pinching my bits and pieces. I did this for a good 10 minutes before slathering on moisturizer, getting dressed and painting my face on. Why do we do this? This ritualistic, self worth evaluation? I get carded ALL the time. Clearly people think I'm way younger than I truly am. (LOVE IT) Please don't let me know if you disagree with their perception... HA! Sure, I could use to lose some more weight (which I'm obviously working on) but I think I look GOOD for someone who'll be 33 in less than two weeks! (OMG)

Sadly, a lot of women don't share my views and feel insufficient. I used to be that way but somehow grew to love and accept myself. I'm eating right and working out to be healthy and to feel good. It's not purely for the physical transformation. I won't lie though, having a smaller ass is nice too.

Where am I going with all of this? A blogger I read regularly, Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point has started the most brilliant movement. Operation Beautiful is so simple yet so amazing. Please check it out **HERE**. ;)

(Here is a snipped from her lovely site) - The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough... just the way you are!

I just HAD to share all this with you. Random ramble session is now over. Thanks for listening.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:15am.

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 tbs flax
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• 1 tbs Acai powder from Navitas Naturals
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• dash salt
• Splenda to taste
• 2 tbs PB2
• 1 tbs sugar free peach preserves

I swooned with my decadent bowl buddy for a solid 30 minutes. For reasons beyond me I ate it super slow today. I usually INHALE my food. This was a rarity!

I spent the rest of the morning working my tired brain to pieces. So many emails, so little time.

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:30pm.

I don't know what I was thinking when I packed my lunch last night. The amount of food I had spread out before me was MASSIVE! I packed the last of the leftover sweet and sour veggies from the other day...


and a HUGE salad!

The salad contained the following.

• Romaine
• Sweet butter lettuce
• Green & Orange bell pepper
• Cherry tomatoes
• Asian veggie burger (Morning Star Farms)
• Drizzle of Spray Butter

I ate all of the veggies and maybe half of my salad (I picked the burger off the top of course!) and then sadly had to toss the rest. WAY TOO MUCH FOOD! :-O

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a hazy work coma. Before I knew it, my usual break time had come and gone and I never even left the building. This was probably wise because I would've ended up staying late to get everything done. Busy-Busy!

I was so busy that I almost worked through snack time. THE HORROR! Can you imagine missing snack time? So scary! I need to be more careful!

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:30pm.

The usual Mix of Oikos, Fuji apple and a drizzle of granola. It just never gets old!


I BARELY escaped the office on time today. Basically I forced myself to just walk away. The work will all be here tomorrow. No need to worry about that. It will be waiting for me.... silently.... lurking and slithering in the dark....

WORKOUT!

Bicep Curls (Barbell)
40lb x 12
35lb x 15 (2 sets)
Tricep Pulldown with Rope Grip (cable)
70lb x 15
70lb x 12
60lb x 14
See Saw Press (Dumbbell)
12.5lb x 15 (3 sets)
Hammer Curls (Dumbbell)
15lb x 15 (2 sets)
12.5lb x 15
Skull Crushers (Barbell)
20lb x 15 (3 sets)

Military Press (Barbell)
20lb x 15 (3 sets)
21's (Barbell)
20lb (3 sets)
Concentration Curls (Dumbell)
12.5 lb x 15
10lb x 15 (2 sets)
21's (Barbell)
25lb (2 sets)
Elliptical Cross Trainer, 30 minutes, 2.61 miles, 370 calories burned
1 min. - level 5
2 min. - level 6
3 min. - level 7
4 min. - level 8
5 min. - level 9
6 min. - level 10
7 min. - level 11
8 min. - level 12
9 min. - level 13
10 min. - level 14
_____________________
11 min. - level 5
12 min. - level 6
13 min. - level 7
14 min. - level 8
15 min. - level 9
16 min. - level 10
17 min. - level 11
18 min. - level 12
19 min. - level 13
20 min. - level 14
_____________________
21 min. - level 14
22 min. - level 13
23 min. - level 12
24 min. - level 11
25 min. - level 10
26 min. - level 9
27 min. - level 8
28 min. - level 7
29 min. - level 6
30 min. - level 5

Work stress fueled me through a GREAT workout. HA! I was feeling pumped and pushed it hard.

SNACK (meal #4) at 7:15pm.

I recovered my tender little arms with a cool, protein packed smoothie.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 banana
• 1/2 of frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 tbs Acai powder from Navitas Naturals
• 1 packet Splenda
• Dash cinnamon (because WHY not?)

This was a tasty blend! The color was NOT appealing but the flavor was very good!

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:30pm.

I have two words for you. Chocolate Pancakes! I was dreaming about them ALL day long today. It's been WEEKS (several long agonizing weeks) since I've indulged in their deliciousness and I could resist them no longer. Of course I made the healthy version! The best of both worlds!

Into my trusty little blender went the following.

• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 1/4 unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbs unsweetened dark cocoa
• dash pumpkin pie spice
• 2 packets Splenda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Blended till smooth and creamy. This was enough to make 4 regular size pancakes. I heated up my largest frying pan, sprayed it with Pam and delicately poured my little round cakes of love. I cooked each side for about 2-3 minutes. I topped them with the last smidgen of PB2 that I had left (I WEEP OPENLY IN DESPAIR), Kaia Foods cocoa mole sunflower seeds, 1 tbs of coconut flakes and a drizzle of Smucker's sugar free blueberry syrup.

I took my first bite and gasped. Yeah, it was THAT good! Pat on the back Ildie. Pat on the back!

I think I'll end my night with a delicious cup of my new favorite coconut chai black tea (Zhena's Gypsy Tea) with a splash of sugar free cream. Divine!


Alright my lovelies. Time to unwind before I'm forced to return to florescent paradise (work) tomorrow. Have a great night!

HUGS!
-Ildie

My "Special" day

Doodely-Doodely-Doo... I'm losing my mind.... Woooo-hoooooo....

Ever have one of those "special" days at the office? You know the kind. Panic attacks, stress, hysterical laughter followed by self pep talks to keep the "rage" inside. So uhm yeah, I'm having one "those" days today. I'm SUPER busy all of a sudden and it's starting to show. My emails look like they were written by a 9 year old with NO spelling skills. They sound like Cantonese jibberish and make NO sense. I can't even stop long enough to proofread before hitting send. MUST GET IT DONE! Weeeeeeee!

Before the storm, there was the calm this morning. Which I celebrated with a warm bowl of oats.

BREAKFAST (meal #1) at 9:30am.

Will You Be My Valentine, Oatmeal?

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 wheat bran
• 1 1/2 cups water
• TON of cinnamon
• Dash salt
• Splenda to taste
• 1 DECADENT tbs of Naturally Nutty, white chocolate coconut PB
• 1 sugar free heart Peeps marshmallow

OMG! I love this Peanut Butter. It's super thick yet creamy and has a great coconut flavor without being too sweet. All Naturally Nutty nut butters are made with organic flax and hemp seed, American grown organic peanuts and natural almonds. I tell you what, whatever their secret is, it's working! It gets a solid 10 out of 10! I can't wait to try the other two flavors!

This bowl was SO GOOD. The marshmallow heart got all melty and ooey-gooey! Mixing that with the creamy peanut butter was just ridiculous!

OH. I ALMOST FORGOT! I lost another 1.8lb. This brings my grand total to 42.1. YAY!

I'm still drinking a gallon a day along with two green teas and only 1 cup of coffee. I'm also on track with the new workout plan as well my daily intake of protein and carbs and healthy CLEAN food. Clearly this combo is working well for me so I'm not going to change a thing! If you have questions on what I'm doing specifically fell free to email me. :)

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12;30pm.

I kept it simple and clean today. I had a nice salad with only three ingredients. Yes, just three. I like simplicity!

• Spinach
• Baked Acorn squash leftover from last night
• Kaia Foods sweet curry sprouted sunflower seeds

I could not believe how good this combo tasted. I used no dressing of any kind and it was still perfect. These freakin little seeds are delicious! They went excellent with the hot squash and cool spinach combo. AHHH. SO GOOD!

By lunchtime my insanity was hitting it's peak. I was finding it hard to concentrate and focus on work. I kept having to redo things to make sure they were being done correctly. I don't mind being busy. Busy is good. Today however, was bad. Just bad. I decided to force a break and left the office for an hour to get my grocery shopping out of the way. It was nice to get away for a bit.

SNACK (meal #3) at 4:15pm

I wanted to keep my snack lighter than usual. I'm going out tonight for some Birthday fun (a triple B'day bash at that, WHEW) and a beer or two might find it's way into my possession. Well!!! I'm just saying! It might happen! I just had a plain 4oz container of Oikos with cinnamon and sprinkled a bit of Back To Nature chocolate delight granola on top.


After work I FLEW home, put all the groceries away, got ready for some Birthday shenanigans and finished this post. Now I must go. I have a purse fully stocked with snacks just in case.


We're going bowling and then to a bar/restaurant for some karaoke. They may or may not have something on the menu that I can have so I like to plan ahead. NO EXCUSES REMEMBER?

Have a great night. I will recap my Birthday adventure for you tomorrow.

XOXOXO!!
Ildie

Safe Subjects

I've been trying to come up with something brilliant and clever to talk about all day today. Which of course means we could just talk about how amazing I am but we've done that before. HA! I needed something new. Something FRESH and exciting! Do we talk about just food? Just my workout? Which coincidentally is WHY you read this blog to begin with so I guess that would be a safe subject. Do we politely chat about the weather? It sucks here... There, that's covered.

Alright, I'll cave. I guess we can talk about my tantalizingly super fruit infused breakfast.

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

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 tbs ground flax
• 1 1/2 cups water
• TONS of cinnamon
• dash salt
• Splenda to taste
• 2 tbs Trader Joe's superfruit spread

I love this spread. SO flavorfull and chunky. It contains pomegranates, cherries and goji berries. MMMM!

Do any of you follow Lost? We watched it last night and to be honest, I'm still LOST on Lost. Yet I love it. I'm intrigued because I can't figure it out. All I know is, the writers better wrap up this last season right or heads will ROLL! ;)

LUNCH (meal #2) at 12:00pm

Yep, I kept it super simple. I brought in the leftover veggies from last nights dinner and had them with a wheat and flax pita on the side. Boring you dare ask? BUT OF COURSE NOT!


I love veggies so much. Sometimes I play around with the idea of becoming a vegetarian. I don't think it would be a far stretch for me. I eat the occasional pork loin, chicken breast or seafood. Are seafood and shellfish allowed? I need to investigate this!

On our break today we found ourselves at World Market again. Cursed be that store for it's never ending COME HITHER charm! I returned a kitchen timer I got there the other day which did NOT work and picked up a bottle of sugar free Torani chocolate syrup. I can't wait to add it to my chocolate protein shake tonight!


I also picked up some sugar free Valentines Peeps. OMG, I love these sugar free pillowy puffs of marshmallow decadence. Only 60 calories for the entire pack of three!!! SOLD!!!! I picked up three packs. :-o (Oh my, I gasp...)


MINI SNACK (meal #3-a) at 3:30pm

I forgot that I packed a tanjelo to enjoy with my lunch and it looked TOO GOOD not to eat. It was my first time trying one and I must declare, delicious! Super juicy and sweet. :)


SNACK (meal #3-b) at 4:15pm

The usual yogi mess. A 4oz plain 0% Oikos mixed with cinnamon and a packet of splenda poured over a juicy and crisp Fuji apple. I sprinkled the very last of my Kaia Foods cocoa bliss granola on top. TIS SAD. :(


I was NOT excited about the gym today. Sometimes, to be frank, I would rather shovel s--- than do an hour of cardio. But of course I got it done. I try not to make excuses. I just go and get it done and then feel great about it.

WORKOUT!

Elliptical Cross Trainer (45 min. total)
1-2 min. - level 6
3-4 min. - level 7
5-6 min. - level 8
7-8 min. - level 9
9-10 min. - level 10
11-12 min. - level 11
13-14 min. - level 12
15-16 min. - level 13
17-18 min. - level 14
19-20 min. - level 6
21-22 min. - level 7
23-24 min. - level 8
25-26 min. - level 9
27-28 min. - level 10
29-30 min. - level 11
31-32 min. - level 12
33-34 min. - level 13
35-36 min. - level 14
37-45 min. - level 8
3.8 miles
548 calories
Summit Trainer - Stair Glider (15 min. total)
.82 miles
152 calories
Level 1 (I hate this thing! I think I might be too sort for it.. ??)

700 calories burned total during entire workout. YEAH!

When I got home I lovingly unpacked my bottle of chocolate Torani. The plan was to add it to my smoothie tonight. However, Nick surprised me with a little box from Capella Flavor Drops before I had a chance to make it. EXCITING! The lovely folks from Capella sent me three samples (chocolate fudge brownie, orange creamsickle and vanilla custard) to try and review and they all sound and smell incredibly delicious! I immediately changed my mind about using Torani and decided to try the chocolate fudge brownie drops tonight.


SNACK (meal #4) at 7:15

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder
• 1 small banana
• handful of frozen strawberries (1/2 cup??)
• 10 drops of Capella chocolate fudge brownie flavor drops
• NO GUMS today, I needed a break! :)

Awe snap, DELICIOUS! The drops added an intense chocolaty fudge flavor and aroma. The smoothie tasted like a liquid brownie. DROOL! I drank it in 2 minutes flat! AMAZING! The flavor drops get a 12 out of 10. Yeah, that's right, they were THAT GOOD! I seriously can't wait to try the other flavors. I think I'll add the vanilla custard to my oats tomorrow morning. Getting all giddy just thinking about having it tomorrow. ;)

Here is a little information about the drops off of their website----Capella Flavor Drops are a highly concentrated, Water Soluble PURE FLAVORING, which require just drops per serving. Unlike syrups, Flavor Drops dissolve instantly. Use them to flavor Shakes, Smoothies, baked goods, water, or even fresh brewed Coffee or Tea. Without any Fats, Calories, or Sweeteners, the sweetening is all up to you.
ALL of our flavorings are Diacetyl Free. They are Gluten free and contain NO caffeine and zero sugars.

After my chocolate infusion, I frolicked in my bubble smothered tub for a while. Ahh, the simple life. While floating around, I contemplated dinner. It was another NO CARB night. What to have... What to have...???... After much deliberation with myself, I decided to have a salad. Somehow, it always ends up being salad to the rescue. For some odd reason I just had a vision of a superhero, dressed as a salad. HA! I'm clinically insane! :)

DINNER (meal #5) at 9:15pm

• Sweet butter lettuce
• Spinach
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cauliflower
• Avocado
• Low fat Feta crumbles
• Spray butter

The combination of the feta with the avocado was brilliant! Creamy, cheesy, smooth and luxurious goodness. I devoured this!

I think I'll go watch The Office now and then TRY and then force myself to go to bed early. I doubt I'll need much forcing though. I feel exhausted right now.

Tomorrow morning is my usual Friday rendezvous with Mr. Dirty Scale. EEK! I hope to have more good news for you tomorrow. Though after an almost 5lb loss last Friday, I'm going to be realistic and not expect an AWESOME loss again. We will see. WE WILL SEE!!!

XO
Ildie