I Am Running!

And I don’t mean for exercise either, although I wish I could.  Sure would be some great stress relief. 

This week has been nonstop. I dutifully took pix of all of my meals all week…but by the time I finished working/kids/dinner/fight everybody off the computer/etc. and sat down to blog I have been waaaayy too tired!  And even then I can’t seem to type a sentence without constant alternating interruptions from the other four people in the house!

And work was busy too so I couldn’t even steal away a few minutes this week from there to blog.  (I am self-employed and work from home so I am not really stealing from anybody from myself when I do this!)

Girl Scout Camping

Last weekend we camped with the Girl Scouts.  Isn’t this cabin cute?  We fit 12 girls and 4 leaders in that cute little cabin!  Girl Scouts are spoiled and don’t tent camp…we use cute cabins!  (Wait until my rustic Peace River trip next month with the Boy Scouts.  No cabins there! or even bathrooms for that matter.)

Meals were provided but I packed myself a whole bunch of my own goodies for just in case.  I packed fruit, salad, Almond milk, Amazing Grass, spinach, my magic bullet type blender (to make Green Monsters at camp!) chickpeas, an amazing salad, balsamic vinegar, soba noodles, Via coffee, feta cheese and some snacks.  I was a good scout…I was prepared!

….and just in case was on Saturday lunch when they served hot dogs.   I pulled out my beautiful salad with all sorts of crunchy veggies piled on, topped it with the chickpeas and feta cheese, and then added some of my soba noodles with peanut sauce.  It was sooo much better than hot dogs! 

And I am so proud that my daughter, on her own, told them while she liked hot dogs, she  would opt for the pizza because the hot dogs were not healthy.  PROGRESS!  I SEE PROGRESS!!!

Weighing In

When I snuck onto the scale Sunday night, in full clothes (I KNOW, I KNOW!) I was down one whole pound from last week.  I felt good and I figured I would be down for the “official weigh-in” Monday morning.

Of course that was before we  went to Olive Garden for my mom’s birthday dinner! 

The “official weigh-in” brought me back to the previous week’s weight.   But really I know it is less because I still carried the weight of the meal from the night before.  I am still quite pleased with my weight loss.

Produce Box

I also picked up our fresh organic veggies for the week….what a fantastic bounty!  This definitely makes us eat more produce in this house!

Yoga

Tomorrow I am going to try and fit in a chair yoga class that I found.  I haven’t really talked about it, and will probably elaborate more in a future post, but I have a mild form of a neuromuscular disease which causes my arm and leg muscles to be very weak, and at this point, at this weight, I cannot get up from the floor by myself.   I am hoping the weight loss will help that, but honestly I don’t know if my muscles have degenerated to the point where even with the weight off I will be unable to do that.  At this point I am still hopeful though.

So back to the yoga…I know I need to add exercise to my routine.  It is something that is hard for me physically…and I am envious of you runners, it sounds so freeing to throw on a pair of sneakers and go for a run, but I will probably never be able to do that.   Right now I can walk, and I can walk 2 miles (3 is pushing it!) and I am happy with that.  But I would like to do something to help the flexibility of my muscles and yoga sounds great.   But I cannot do regular floor yoga.  I am excited to try this chair yoga, which is supposed to stretch and work on all of your muscles including the legs.  Hopefully I can fit it into my schedule tomorrow.

And after this long-winded update, I will leave you with some photos of what I ate today:

Pear Oatmeal with cinnamon and almond butter:

Fresh made carrot/apple juice (not green!!! but oh so good!)

Finally finished off the soba noodles with veggies and peanut sauce

Dinner was:

Vinegar dressing:

Cukes and sweet onions waiting to be dressed:

Dressed salad:  

A surprise photo from a sneaky daughter:

Cauliflower stirfry….even the cauliflower-hating husband said this wasn’t bad!  Finally!  YAY!My complete dinner of Boca Burger/Balsamic roasted asparagus/stir fry cauliflower/Thai cucumber salad.  Oh this was good!  I started eating and forgot to snap pix at first!

WOW!  This ended up being a mega-post!

I could finish it up finally because everyone else is asleep!

And as I post I am enjoying a glass of Merlot…but I am too lazy right now to deal with taking the memory card out of the computer, putting it back into the camera, taking the picture, putting the memory card back into the computer, uploading the picture, and then posting it into this post,    Waaay too much work for me at this moment…so you will just have to use your imagination.   It pretty much looks like a glass of Merlot though.

And on that note….I am tired and Cookie and I are going to go off to bed as well.

Superfood Pumpkin Creativity

Don’t know why…but today turned into a pumpkin kind of day.

I started the day out with a Green Monster.  I was craving pumpkin in it…but was too lazy to deal with it so I just made a simple, regular drink….with spinach, banana, almond milk, Chocolate Superfood for a change, and 1 TBS flax meal.

I was pretty full after this and was thinking I could hold out until lunch….but that was not to be!   The hunger started creeping up on me by 10 and I knew I needed to eat something.

I started out with pumpkin oatmeal, and finally broke down and opened the can.  I put 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk, and 1/3 cup water in a bowl with 1/3 cup pumpkin.  Remember, this is the pure pureed pumpkin, NOT the pumpkin pie filling!

I popped it into the micro for 3 minutes at 50% power ‘cuz I didn’t feel like dealing with the oatmeal pot to clean afterwards.   When it came out I dumped on top a whole bunch of pumpkin pie spice (not measured…just a lot),  1 TBS raisins, 1 TBS walnuts pieces, and  1/2 TBS Agave syrup.   The vanilla I had added to the pumpkin milk (see below) smelled so good, that I dumped a bunch in here too (maybe 1/2 to 1 TBS….a little more than I meant to!)

It was still missing something so I mixed up 2 TBS of Chocolate PB2.   I would have liked regular old almond butter in it, but I didn’t want to use the points and the Choco PB2 has only 1 points for 2 TBS.  That did it and my oats were perfect!

Now I have also been craving a pumpkin latte lately, and had been researching recipes on how to make it myself, naturally.  I had found some recipes that used pumpkin puree in them and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use up some more of the puree.   So using this recipe as a launching pad, into a pan went 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk, 1 heaping TBS of pumpkin puree, a large amount of pumpkin pie spice (again, a very very generous sprinkle…no measuring), 1/2 TBS Agave nectar, and 1/2 TBS vanilla. 

Even though I am not Latin myself, growing up in a Latin community I have learned lots of Cafe’ Con Leche tricks, and one of them is how easily milk will foam when it has been heated.  It works much better when heated in the micro and then whisked afterwards, but this  would do just fine.

I mixed all the ingredients together (and ended up dirtying the pot anyway that I had saved from the oatmeal!) and then when it was hot whisked until foamy.  I poured it into my cup and poured some good hot strong coffee in with it.   Aaahhh….pumpkin fix satiated.

Of course I still have this little guy to cook who came in my organic produce box on Monday.   I can’t decide what to make from him….kids want pumpkin pie (surprise!) but I was thinking of cutting him into wedges and roasting him for dinner.  I will see….

Total points for breakfast was high today though at 8.5 between the Green Monster, pumpkin oats, and pumpkin latte.

And finally for now I leave you with this:

FabTeen was eating her breakfast (which I had her make herself today as I was running late) and then apparently grabbed the camera I tend to leave lying around (handy), and snapped a picture of it.  She came running to me with the picture and said, “Mommy…this is a healthy breakfast, right?” 

Coming from Little Miss Queen of Junk Food I felt a glimmer of hope for her future eating habits bubbling inside!  I think I might be doing something right!

A Fun Monday

I am going to post a couple of recaps here of Monday and Tuesday!

Monday the kids were off of school and FabHubs took off of work.  We had some tickets to go to Boomers and decided to use them.  We had a fabulous time.  I managed to eat healthy most of the day….I flubbed up a little at dinner though.  Not too badly….but not too goodly either.

The  day started off with my Monday Weight Watchers Weigh-In and I was DOWN!  YES!!!  By 3 pounds!!!  YES!!!!  Bringing my total to 17 pounds since July 20.

I am pleased about the slow, steady weight loss.  I really feel I am adjusting my body’s setpoint by going so slowly and healthy…and that the weight will stay off this way. 

Breakfast was one of the two usuals.  Due to the cooler weather I opted for some oatmeal.   Gotta take advantage of that hot cereal weather…normally I have hot cereal on hot days!

It was 1/2 cup oatmeal cooked with Vanilla Lite Silk Milk, topped with 1/2 sliced banana, 1 TBS walnuts, and 1 TBS Almond Butter.  YUM! 

By the time we got up to Boomers everyone  was hungry.  FabHubs stopped at McDonalds to let everyone pick something off the dollar menu to tide them over….I haven’t had fast food since back in June and I was not going to break that trend now!  So I  opted out…but when we got to Boomers I was hungry!  So I had a healthier (I think) snack…..

A simple pretzel (with waaay too much salt which I had to scrape off) and a bottle of water which I had brought.  It was perfect and held me over for most of the afternoon.

Then the fun began!!!

We played air hockey:

Rode Go Karts: 

The Swings:

Played on the Bumper Boats:

Became Secret Combat Agents in Laser Tag:

And played some Mini Golf:

By this time it was after 6 and I was FAMISHED!

I dragged everybody to Sweet Tomatoes as we don’t have one near our house and there was one right by Boomers.  I was craving a good salad!  Only the MeatEater, otherwise known as the FabHubs, protested, although afterwards he relented and said it wasn’t that bad.

I piled mostly veggies on my plate…with a few of the “Bad” salads thrown in (sorry…a little blurry) Boy do I love Jicama…I need to buy some of that for my salads at home!   I also had shredded raw butternut squash…I have never eaten that raw before and that was good!  The beets and carrots were also raw!

I had a slice of their delicious whole grain seed bread…shhh….with butter.

 

And that  is when I sort of ate more than I should have…I had a couple of spoonfuls of the Leek and Potato soup (with cream)….a couple of spoonfuls of the Lemon Orzo Chicken soup….a couple of spoonfuls of the vanilla pudding….half of a chocolate muffin…half of a lemon muffin…and a small chocolate chip square. 

I really do need to get a handle on the buffet stuff!  I like to sample everything!  But because I wasn’t sitting behind a computer all day, I also got a bit more activity than usual..so that was good.

All in all we had a fabulously fun family day!

Oh The Weather Outside is Delightful!

Yeah…that is not how the song goes but that is how it is!  FINALLY!   The forecast is set to be back to the 90s next weekend (when I will be out camping with the Girl Scouts…UGH) but we had our first cool-down this weekend…and it sure took a long time coming!

Last night our thermometer dipped down to 59…probably balmy for all you Big Loser ladies out there in Utah and Colorado…but beautifully chilly for us!

And we stayed in the low 70s today…no sweating for the first time this season.

But I had a huge laugh when my kids came downstairs.  Obviously both South Floridians, unused to cool weather!

FabTeen came down first this morning was wearing longjohns under his clothes!  HELLOO!  It is not THAT cold!  And the FabPreteen came down in not much less!   Tights under a skirt with a shirt, sweater, and jacket on top.  LOL…my kids are winter wimps!

 

I was sooo much better in my shorts and t-shirt…until my feet got cold and I had to hunt down these that I had not seen since last winter…..

So there you go….cool weather has finally made an appearance in South Florida and we wimpy people stood up to that 71 degree temperature!

On the food forefront, FabHubs made his homemade  English Muffins:

And I succumbed, along with one egg and a piece of bacon, a lot worse than oatmeal, but much better than my former two eggs, two bacon, english muffin with butter and preserves breakfast.

.Dinner is yet to come…but we will sit outside tonight and enjoy the cool temperatures and build  a fire.

Leftover Lunacy, Eagles, and a Sushi Celebration

For lunch today I just couldn’t decide where to begin…but there were a bunch of leftovers in the fridge that were just begging to be used up, so I threw a leftover party!

Into a bowl went a bunch of salad that needed to be finished.  On top of that, 2 ounces of Drunken Shrimp I made last week, and finally a big helping of the leftover balsamic roasted veggies from last night.   I put them on top of the salad cold and they still tasted great!

I took out the bottle of balsamic dressing to use as dressing bit didn’t end up needing it.  The salad was really flavorful with all of the toppings.

After lunch I treated myself to a Honeycrisp apple and a TBS of my good ole’ addiction, the Almond Butter.  It is all I can do to not eat that stuff by the TBS right out of the jar!!!

A Milestone Earned

Tonight was a special night for our family.   The FabTeen was really FABULOUS tonight!!!   He had his Eagle Board of Review.  That is where the Eagle Board meets with the candidate and reviews his project as well as his scouting history, and approves him (or not) to be attain the rank of Eagle.   Did you know that only 1 out of every 4 boys that joins scouting makes it to Eagle?   I am so proud to announce that I am now the mother of an EAGLE SCOUT!

After that that was done we were all hungry and I decided to treat the new Eagle Scout to one of his favorite meals, Sushi.  FabHubby does not like sushi…but the rest of us do and it was not his day so he had to grin and bear it…and eat curry instead!

The Eagle Scout and I shared some Tuna Takana, a Dragon Roll, and a JB roll.  Don’t know how many points are in those…but I am thinking it shouldn’t be too bad! (well, maybe except for the fried shrimp in the Dragon Roll)

I wish I would have taken a picture of the Takana when it arrived but we had already started in on it when I decided to take it.  It is pretty even half eaten…but when it first was served the presentation was stunning!  The Dragon Roll really looked like a dragon too!  I always order these when we get sushi, but this is the first time I have seen it with snout and tail.

And Yay Me!  I got the full day in, all on the same day.  And now I am tired and going to bed!!

The Heat Continues

While the rest of the country continues to enjoy cool brisk temps, here in So. Fla we are still in the grips of a heat wave with record highs!  Last night the weather man was saying this is even hotter than our usual temps for August.

GREAT!  We are still without A/C and were looking for a break….hopefully it will be coming soon. I believe we are supposed to get a mini-cool down this weekend…..with temps dipping down into the frigid 80s!  LOL….my goodness…sure beats the 90s though.

Leaving the weather and moving on to the food forefront,  this morning’s meal consisted of an espresso with my tsp of sugar and then my yummy yogurt mix-in….or yogurt mess as I have seen it referred to on another website.   Yeah…I guess it does look like a big mess!

I have always hated milk since I was a kid  and many times rather than put milk on my cereal I  have put yogurt on it, with a fruit, and mixed it up.  I love the sweetness of the fruit with the crunchiness of the cereal, and the smooth creaminess of the yogurt all mixed up together.  Until recently I didn’t know anybody else did this!  Aha…It seems I am not alone in my weirdness then :).

Today’s  yogurt YUM (I just can’t call it a mess) consisted of 4 ounces of plain Fage 0% yogurt, a sprinkling of raspberries from this week’s organic box, 1/2 TBS of  almond butter (OMG I love this stuff!), 1/2 TBS Agave nectar, 1/4 cup Kashi GoLean, and 1/2 banana, sliced.   It was  so filling and  good!  That Almond Butter really added sumthin  sumthin to it!

Keep On Keepin’ On

Updating yesterday:  No Go on the kale chips yet!  The poor kale is wilting in the fridge!  I need to try it today.

I  also got a nice recipe for  some massaged kale.   I have seen that term many times before but I never realized until my friend sent the recipe  last night that it actually meant massaging the kale with my fingers for ten minutes!  I had always thought it was some kind of kale.  DUH! 

Shows you how much I know about kale….Boy….that kale gets better treatment than me!

Dinner was baked chicken thighs for the rest of the family…although I stole a tiny piece of meat.   Still trying to reduce my meat intake but sometimes it is hard to resist!

I had a YUM-O mish-mash of brussel sprouts (my new favorite love), carrots, sweet potatoes, and sweet onion, all organic and all chunked up…thrown into a pan and tossed with balsamic vinegar and a TBS of olive  oil.  Then I roasted it until caramelized.   If a year ago you would have told me I would be craving this I would have thought you were NUTZO!

Along with that I had a bowl of salad with my homemade Green Goddess dressing.   And the little piece of chicken…and I was stuffed.  Oh..don’t forget my two glasses of Merlot…can’t forget those!

I am really loving the organic produce buying club I joined with these boxes every other week.  It is really forcing all of us to eat more veggies, and more variety of veggies.  Although FabHubby was NOT happy about the brussel sprout I made him eat.   He whined like a little kid!

This week  I got:

2 lbs  carrots
1 pint minipeppers
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 large head romaine
1 head broccoli
1 head kale
1 bunch  radishes
8 large onions
1 bunch asparagus
4 sweet potatoes
7 bananas
4 pears
1 lb strawberries
11 honeycrisp apples
2 pomengranates
6  ounce container raspberries
1 small honeydew
1 small pineapple
2.5 lbs grapes
6 plums

Okay…the picture is actually from last week’s box….I didn’t snap a pic of this week’s.  But it sure looks delicious doesn’t it!!!

Strawberries, raspberries,  apples, and romaine are just about gone!  We  are working on the rest.

Look! I am making progress on the picture uploading thing!  Only took me an hour as opposed to multiple hours and I didn’t give up this time.  Here is hoping it gets easier and faster.