The Snacking Continues

School is stressing me out, and I am endlessly snacking. That is not good because my metabolism does not handle it as well anymore. I am still hoping to loose my Texas lazy pounds (along with my husband who gained about 20 of them!) in order to be in the best shape for running season.

Got home class and was starving from only having a Cliff bar for lunch. I had a bag of Baked Lays, plum, finished off piece of cake (sugar cravings still) and cup of coffee.

Dinner was healthy and delicious! Salad with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, grilled chicken, and few tortilla pieces.


Dessert: Banana Soft serve (not pictured because I ate it so fast) topped with blueberries, chocolate syrup, and Redi Wip.

Recap Sunday, Monday Breakfast

Breakfast: same as Sunday's dinner pictured below. Time to cram in homework!




Sunday was a pretty good day. Started my day with a run, and resisted finishing off another piece of cake thus no sugar headache!

Lunch was quesadilla (same as BLT quesadilla but I used black beans instead). Carrots on the side.


Dinner was actually more breakfast. I had strawberries, blueberries, 1/2 banana, greek yogurt, cinnamon, and honey.
This was also a new Greek yogurt. I will be doing a couple product reviews tomorrow, including this one.

Also had half a honey wheat bagel and fat free cream cheese on side.
There was a fair amount of snacking yesterday, but it was the weekend and my week was stressful. I had some pistachios, cantaloupe, 100 calorie pack Chips Ahoy, and some delicous homemade banana bread! Lucky to have a friend that bakes.

Trooper also went on his first play date yesterday, he had a blast! He wore himself out chasing Elphie around, and even laid down in the car on the way home. At home he did have to get a bath after missing a few jumps over the mud.

6 miles!!

Finally, I got myself up at got in 6 miles around 7 this morning. It was great! My husband even drug himself out of bed to tag along. I feel great, which means I needed a great breakfast. I took inspiration from Anna.

2 whole wheat/flax waffles
1 small banana
1 large strawberry
fat free cream cheese
cinnamon
drizzle honey
(I added two dollops of RediWip)

The picture does not do this meal justice...because it was DELICIOUS! And so filling. I think the flax waffles are super satisfying.

Jordan is brewing me coffee(YUM!) and I will be catching up on my food blogs then hitting the law books.

Trooper may have his first doggie play date later this afternoon as well, wish him luck!

Weekend Snacking

Well, so far this weekend has not been good training wise or foodwise. Friday night I repeated my BLT quesadilla. I also went to happy hour and had a little too much to drink. Four vodka, club soda, and lime too many to be exact. Which led me to be unreserved in my snacking, eating a large chunck of carrot cake.

Ugh...Saturday morning = sugar and vodka hangover. I woke up dehydrated and feeling the effects of too much sugar. I had a splitting headache. I wanted to immediately get in a run, but we had errands that had already been put off for weeks.

Breakfast was in the car...blueberry crisp Cliff bar. After errands, we took Trooper to the Bayou in hopes of getting in some exercise. I still felt awful so we jogged/mostly walked 3 miles in about 45 minutes.

Lunch: We had gotten a frozen pizza at the store on sale, so we decided to fix that. It was a brick oven portebella and spinach. I added more mushrooms and artichokes to my piece!



Also had a small side salad. (not pictured)

Then snacking began. I had some baked cheetos (horrible and artificial), ended up eating a lot of my husbands new BBQ Chex Mix (I love Chex Mix, it is dangerous to have near me), and I finished off the giant piece of carrot cake. Snack coma ensued and I took a nice long nap. The unreasonably hot weather causes me to sit inside, thus causing my snacking comas. Luckily it is about race season here, so I will be forced to get back in shape and clean up my eating habbits! The downside of being an adult and being in the real world: I can longer eat whatever I want all the time and see no consequences.

Dinner: I knew I needed to get back on track for dinner or I would feel awful tomorrow, another sugar headache would be unpleasant! Time for some fruit! I made a parfait bowl and had toast for dinner.
Picture keeps loading rotated wrong, sorry!

1 small banana
handful blueberries
3 large strawberries
vanilla yogurt
cinnamon
half Fiber One bar chopped up
drizzle of honey
Plus two pieces of light wheat toast
Dinner was satisfying although I was not super hungry.

We took Trooper on another walk and now it is time to work on homework. Tomorrow will be a day to get back on track with healthy eating and 7 mile run.

Goal before first race: drop down to optimal running weight (those 5 TX pounds), and drop a minute of my mile time

Lunch at School

I packed a quick and easy-to-eat-while-doing-homework-before class lunch. It was simple but did the job.

Balance bar (love these things, although they are more like dessert to me!)
plum
Quaker cheese crips


Got home and snacked on a couple wheat cracker and few chocolate covered pretzels (not pictured).

No idea what is to come for dinner...although honestly I really don't feel like cooking. I need a glass of wine, the couch, tv, and lazy naps!

Raining Start

Got up at 545 (forcing myself to sleep in a bit). Took Trooper out to find it raining--lost all motivation.

Made power breakfast in hopes to kickstart the day!

1 packet blueberry oatmeal
1 small banana
1 scoop sugar free strawberry preserves
handful peanuts
cinnamon
There will be coffee this morning-it is raining and I have to read my tax assignment.

Recap: Thursday

I was just kind of "blah" and tired Thursday. Slept in a little, then went to bed semi-early.

Lunch was on the go Cliff bar, grapes, and later Fiber One bar.

Dinner:

BLT Quesadilla

1 whole wheat toritilla
1 wedge laughing cow
1 smear red pepper hummus
1 piece of bacon crumbled/diced
2 slices tomato cut in halves
salsa
Heat each side on med-high skillet until lightly brown.
With Side Salad
Dessert was banana soft-serve (not pictured)

Study Buddy

Trooper is studying with me...he lays under the desk while I read for hours. He makes me laugh so I took a study break for a nice long dog walk!

Product Review with breakfast

Slept until 545 ish. That is sadly sleeping in for me. Walked Trooper real quick then hit the gym for about an hour. Home for breakfast!

Yesterday evening I snacked a ton! Pieces of granola bar, yogurt, handful of crackers here and there. I don't know what got into me, but I was a snacking machine! Somehow I am starving again this morning!

For breakfast I had frozen berries (slightly thawed), topped with yogurt, cinnamon, crush peanuts, and honey.
Side was piece of light whole wheat toast with sugar free strawberry preserves.



PRODUCT REVIEW: Wallaby Organic Yogurt-vanilla

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I bought a new yogurt I was not a huge fan of. I decided to do a review to explain further. I bought the yogurt at Central Market. You can get the large multi-serving container on sale for 1.99-2.99 (good deal $). It is organic. One serving (1 cup) has 190 calories which is a little on the high side for a serving of yogurt. I used 1/2 servings which is more reasonable.

Taste: the flavor is great! A rich vanilla that is not too sour or sweet.
Texture: Dislike! This yogurt is very runny, especially for those like myself who prefer to eat Greek yogurt. This is more like a topping for fruit than a base.
Review: will not buy again

Leftovers Salad

Dinner last night (Wednesday) was what I like to call a leftovers salad. I used up a bunch of stuff that we had leftover in the fridge.

1/2 small head iceberg lettuce (I prefer a greener lettuce like Romaine, but this was leftover)
1 small piece onion, chuncked
diced tomatoe
2 pieces turkey bacon crumbled
2 mushrooms sliced
3 artichoke hearts diced

Topped with...of course, Parmesan cheese and ground pepper.
On the side I toasted half a whole wheat tortilla.I was feeling pretty tired last night and sat after dinner to watch trashy reality TV: Khloe and Kourtney in Miami...I thought it was pretty hilarious actually.

I also skipped the gym and running last night (ugh, so lazy). But we did take Trooper on two long walks!

Power Breakfast as usual

Got home starving. On the plus side I got to talk to my best friend on the phone! Yay! Made the twenty minute walk back from school so much better. Got home and ate a handful of honey-roasted peanuts (Jordan needs to stop buying those things!), large handful of grapes, then tried a new bar that I had seen on other food blogs
Did not enjoy the bar. It was very heavy, not necessarily sweet enough to be chocolate, but not hearty enough tasting to be healthy. I took two bites and put the rest away for Jordan. I think it is time for coffee!


Slept in so late...had two hours of homework to cram in before 6 and 8. Today is classes from 840 to 220 so I needed to eat and be full.

I had the same breakfast but added a spoon of peanut butter to mix in. More protein!

BLT

Dessert: banana soft serve topped with sugar free chocolate syrup and honey roasted peanuts


I forgot my granola to snack on, and went without food from 11ish until 530 tonight. I was famished!!!

I snacked on some Quaker Nacho Cheese crisps while making dinner. We made BLT with leftover bacon from Sunday morning.

2 slice light wheat bread
1 wedge Laughing Cow cheese
1 large tomato slice
1 1/2 slices turkey bacon
large leaf lettuce
1/2 mushroom sliced
spoonful Texas avocado salsa
pepper

I love the salsa we bought from a farmer at Central Market. It is a green salsa with avocado and cucumber. It has quite a bite to it but is balanced out by the cool avocado and cucumber.
Side dish was grapes!

Lots of Tomato today

Lunch was quick but delicious before class:

1 whole wheat tortilla
2 large slices tomato
leftover hummus & tzatziki sauce
pepper

I just put it all in the pita, warmed in the microwave, folded and ate! Great quick lunch!
I also snacked on a plum which is not picture because I ate it on my walk to class.

Coffee Break & Guest Post

Well it is a coffee day: 2 cups.

Also, guest post from Anna's iPhone:

Two multi-grain waffles with strawberry cream cheese and mandarin oranges.
I will be trying this combination very soon although I will probably substitute blueberries because they are still in season.

Is it Friday Yet?

I cannot wait until Labor day weekend, I really need a full day off school already.

Slept until 530 this morning because Trooper slept that late as well. Got up, took him outside, hit the gym for 30 minutes on the treadmill (including hill intervals).

Came home for a filling breakfast: 1 packet Fit Lifestyle raisin, apple, walnut oatmeal
Topped with: 1/2 banana, cinnamon, few chopped peanuts, honey

Monday Update

Well, it was a Monday so I pretty much ran behind the whole day.

Dinner was:

Salad made with our local salsa, leftover bean burrito mixture, lettuce, carrots, mushrooms, and toasted whole wheat tortilla! Yum yum!





Dessert was 100 calorie pack with milk.

My First Half Marathon!!!

It is official, I have signed up for my first half marathon. I will be running the Austin Half Marathon (so excited because Austin is my favorite city!) on February 14, 2009. Happy Valentine's Day to me! My wonderful husband will be there with our dog to support me!

Central Market Date

Snack: grapes!

Lunch: Well, Jordan and I wanted to get out of the house and we are lame so we had a Central Market date. It was great! It was the Hatch Chili festival so we got to try all kinds of foods with fresh chilis. We also bought some local salsa made with avocado and cucumber.

And....we got to pickup my favorite salads for lunch! These things are so filling! I will likely not eat dinner because it is that much food! The picture is bad, and I was in a hurry to eat so I did not realize it until now. But, trust me....delicious!!!!



I had gotten up at 7 this morning and did a 6 mile run (10 minute/mile average...ugh too slow!). I came home and made up some muffins for Jordan, and I had my cinnamon roll yogurt, fresh blueberries, and toast with peanut butter and cinnamon.

Saturday Night Dinner

Jordan had a coworker over to stay the night and hangout so I decided to make dinner for the boys.

As snacks I set out, tortilla chips, salsa, and sourcream-salsa dip. I snacked on just a few of these.

Dinner was vegetarian burritos.

1 each red,green, yellow bell pepper
1/2 to 1 onion
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
chili pepper
red pepper hummus
diced tomatoe/jalopenos or fresh tomatoe or salsa
shredded cheese
sour cream (optional)

Dice peppers, onions, mushrooms and saute sprinkling with chili powder to taste. Once the vegetables have begun to cook down, add in the two cans of rinsed beans. Heat through.

To prepare:
Take one tortilla of choice (I like whole wheat, my husband likes flour), spread with hummus, add tomatoes, then cover with cheese. Heat in microwave until tortilla is softened. Add scoop of bean mixture and fold burrito up.

Put burrito into a hot skillet then cover until lightly browned, flip over and repeat.

Side Salad

Up and At 'Em

Lunch: leftover pizza. It was actually probably a little better this time because I heated on a cookie sheet which crisped up the bottom a bit.




Breakfast:

Well at 520 am I woke up with a massive headache. Dehydration. I took Trooper on a quick walk and noticed it was almost cool outside. I begged Jordan to get up and take me to the park (because it was dark out and I was afraid to go alone). After an hour of convincing he finally was up and ready. Unfortunately we did not get to the trail until almost 7, which means the sun was coming up and it was starting to get hot.

I did 3 miles in 29 minutes including my warmup walking. I was steady but not fast. However, the run cured my headache!


It was then time to search for a new backpack with straps that do not leave my collarbone bruised. After going to 3 stores I came home with 2 different backpacks which I will be testing today. I plan on loading up my books and walking a few blocks to see which bag tests out. During the backpack hunt we picked up some protein bars for breakfast on the go. I had a blueberry crisp Cliff bar. It was delicious.

[Picture to come from my phone]

Finishing Friday

After classes Friday I came home I took Trooper on a walk.

For a snack I had a bag of Baked Lays potato chips (not pictured). I then went to the school's first happy hour. I had planned on only having one drink so that I could get in a good run this morning. One drink turned into three and I could feel the dehydration headache almost immediately....ugh.

The husband and I did not stay out too late, on our way home we smelled the pizza place (New York Pizzeria) that is located in the bottom of our parking garage. After smelling it everyday since we have moved here we decided to splurge and order some. We went inside and were overwhelmed with even more deliciousness! We looked at the menu and ordered the large vegetarian. We went across the block to our apartment, took the dog out for a walk and when we got done the pizza was ready.

The pizza had tomatoes, spinach, onions, red/green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives. The vegetables were fresh and cooked to slighlty firm perfection. Overall, I did not find the pizza amazing. The crust was a little flimsy and soggy. The pizza got better the closer you got to the crust end. There is a pizza place downtown named Franks which has the best ever vegetarian pizza. Franks pizza really loads on the vegetables (although I do feel New York's vegetables were fresher) and has just the right thicknees crust that is crispy and chewy at the same time. But...I did enjoy the slice of pizza!


Jordan and I also splite a slice of cheesecake (not pictured). When Jordan is eating something with me it usually gets eaten before I can get to the camera.

TGIF

Well, I accidentally slept in until 520, but I was not going to have time to hit the gym before class anyway. Walked the dog, fixed a packet of Kroger's Fit Lifestyle apple, raisin, nut oatmeal and began to read tax.


Dinner Thursday night: I was so unmotivated. I have blisters, my book bag is so heavy it cuts into my shoulder blades by the end of the day, and to top it off I carry it in 100 degree heat. Jordan had more leftover artichoke pasta.

I made Easy-Mac, added 1 wedge laughing cow cheese, frozen peppers, frozen peas, two large white mushrooms (vegetables were sauteed). I of course sprinkled this all with Parmesan cheese.



I followed this with a piece of Angel Food cake which I cut in half and spread Yoplait thick & creamy mixed berry into. I then sprinkled with cinnamon. This was a perfect summer dessert!




Lunch:
Was a prepacked fat-free tuna salad kit. I did not take a picture because I was in a hurry to walk
the dog and get to class on time.

Snack:
Baby carrots and wedge of laughing cow Swiss cheese. Delicious brain food!

School, School, and more School

5:00am

Trooper was up, my alarm went off, and I pulled myself out of bed to hit the gym. I slept in my gym clothes last night because after my food coma last night I needed to burn out some of the sugar and toxins. After a quick dog walk, I hit the gym for 3 miles on treadmill, 25 minutes on elliptical. Back at the apartment I wanted to do some weights, and turned on the TV....to find a great program on FIT TV. So I followed the second half hour of the show and my triceps are burning!

Feeling much better I grabbed a standby power breakfast. Maple/Brown Sugar oatmeal, protein powder, frozen berries! Also guzzzled even more water!

Now it is time for homework!!!


RECAP of WEDNESDAY:::

Well yesterday (Wednesday) my three tough classes lasted from 840 am to 220 pm. I made it through without recitation; however, I was prepared given the 8 hours of preparation I had done. Today I have one class and one mediation seminar. I am also still sore from carrying my bookbag around, and looking to invest in a nicer one with more shoulder strap support. Yesterday was weak in the exercise department because I hit the midweek-overwhelmed by work-slump. I took the dog for a 15 minute jog early in the morning and of course walked to and from school (about 40 minutes total).

Lunch yesterday was shoved in my mouth in between class breaks and scrambling to finish my briefs. I had a protein bar and 100 calorie pack of cookies (not pictured).
After lunch and returning from class my food choices went downhill. As I mentioned, I seemed to hit a wall yesterday and was just overwhelmed with school and life. I needed a snack big time when I got home, so I had an apple. Good choice. Also ate a snack size Twix from the fridge for some chocolate comfort! Then I was making a cup of pick-me-up coffee and came across my Fat-free, sugar-free double churned fudge brownie ice cream(sooooo good!) in the freezer. I ended up taking some spoons right out of the carton while I waited on the coffee. Not such a great choice, but it was soothing.

Dinner was easy and cheap (because we are trying to cut down the grocery bill):

1 box whole wheat rotini, cooked
1 large can mushrooms, stems (store brand is cheaper)
1/2 white onion chopped
approx. 2 cups artichoke hearts
1 tbsp diced garlic

I cooked pasta separately. I sauteed garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Then roughly chopped the artichoke hearts and added to pan. After cooking through a few minutes I added the pasta and let cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

We topped with Parmesan cheese and some marina.


There were plenty of leftovers for todays lunch.

After this I was still craving sweets, mostly because I was stressed out about school and had horrible blisters on my heels that prevented me from burning off steam at the gym. I made a parfait with Yoplait Thick and Creamy-Key Lime pie and handful of Honey Bunches of Oats sprinkled over, then a large amount of Redi-Whip. I could not find the camera so I am missing a picture, but I will definitely be making this again so a picture will come later!


The bad food choices start now....

My husband came home with dessert: 1 piece of cheesecake, 1 piece of carrot cake.
I have never had carrot cake before (I know, crazy to think) so of course I dug in! This piece of cake was literally probable like 4inx4in and weighed a pound. It was so delicious! I am not a huge cake fan, but this was not super sweet and had more of a banana/zuchinni bread texture with pieces of walnut, raisin, and shreds of carrot. Before I knew the whole piece was gone and I was in food coma! I continued to pay the price with the massive sugar headache that came on about 30 minutes later. Needless to say I did not feel well, did not get any more homework done and went to bed after drinking a ton of water!!!