Busy, Busy Day!

Well, as you know my friends from home are here visiting.  One flew in last night.  Anyways Jordan and I spent Tuesday night frantically cleaning the apartment, cutting the dog's hair, and I tried to cram 5 days worth of homework into two. 

I think it went well.

So far today I have oats for breakfast, a Luna bar for lunch, and cocoa roasted almonds for snacks.

(I have not taken any pictures because I was charging my camera battery for girls night out!)

Recap Tuesday:

Snack while doing homework: 

Cocoa roasted almonds.  Love these! I realized the picture did not turn out well because they are sitting on a dark colored towel.


Lunch was really brunch:

Vanilla yogurt, strawberries, cereal, honey, cinnamon!

Side of wheat toast with new jam! Palmer's sugar free jam with fiber.  Pretty good stuff.


Dinner was a nice tortilla pizza.  After all of my burnt crusts I decided to take inspiration from pie making and cover my edges with tin foil before broiling.

Worked like a charm.

Artichoke and spinach pizza.

I had a sweet tooth tonight, probably from cleaning and homework stress.  So I decided to make a key lime pie parfait.

1 container Yoplait Light- Thick and Creamy(must use this) Key Lime Pie
1/2 cup (you choice how much) Kashi Go Lean
Redi-Whip
Better than Key Lime Pie.

Rise and Shine

So far this has been a good morning.  Slept over about 15 minutes, but got up and went straight to the gym (after packing the hubby's lunch).  Did 2.5 miles of interval training.  Then did 25 minutes on the elliptical.

Done by 6:40 and took the dog for a spin around the block.  While I was heating up my overnight oats I chopped up some fresh strawberries!  I can't believe there are still such good looking strawberries available.  Not to mention they were only $1.50!!!

Topped the overnight oats with cinnamon, cereal, and honey.  Delicious!

The Week Begins Again

Ahh...somehow it is already Monday night and I am overwhelmed with homework!  But that is okay, because I will be taking a break this week when my old college roommate comes into town for a visit!

Dinner tonight was a salad.  I really had no appetite but needed to finish up some lettuce.  This included romaine lettuce, leftover boneless wings, avocado, carrots, onions, Parmesan.

On the side I had makeshift garlic bread.
1 piece of highly toasted bread
1 wedge Laughing Cow- Garlic and Herbs


[Before dinner I hit the gym for 40 minutes on the elliptical, no running today]

Lunch was quick and between classes.  I tried a new flavor of Cliff Bar:  Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch.  This was a very dense, very intense bar.  I think I prefer the fruit and nut flavors.  But it was filling.

Breakfast:  Overnight Oats
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
Soak overnight, microwave in morning.  Perfectly thick oats!

To finish a recap of the weekend- Sunday evening was a salad topped with whatever was in the fridge:
red pepper humus
whole wheat penne
onions
carrots
Paremsan
artichoke hearts

Also, Trooper got a Purdue bandana made by mom (the artistic one of the family)

'
He loves it!

MIA

I apologize for being MIA this weekend.  It did not go at all as I had planned.  Jordan ended up playing on a softball team for my school on Saturday.  We found out Friday night when we were at the happy hour, so needless to say we left pretty quick and went to bed.

Up at 7 Saturday, I hit the gym for about 45 mins (2 miles treadmill, rest of time on elliptical).  We then went to the fields around 9.  It turned into an all day event, which neither of us were expecting.  I had a free hotdog at the fields, it was gross and plain and not worthy of a photo.  Finally made it home around 430pm.

Exhausted.

Purdue had a big football game at 8pm we were preparing to watch.  (No more will be said about the game for obvious reasons).  We rested, snacked, then it was time for dinner.  We ordered from Buffalo Wild Wings and sat on the couch to watch the game.

I ordered the blackened chicken salad.  Soooo good.  Too much cheese- I always take most of it off.  But lots of tomato, onion, and chicken!

Watched football all evening and fell asleep at some point.

Sunday:  Woke up around 730 and needed to get in a long run.  I honestly did not feel like running, it felt like a chore this morning.  But, I knew once I got started I would feel better.  I did.  I did 6 miles in an hour, then walked the dog for a bit.  It felt good.

Got home and at the usual oatmeal (not pictured).  Then, passed out napping on couch for a couple hours.

Around 12:30 I took a mini-birthday cake and balloon to my friend who lives out in one of the suburbs.  On the way back got to stop at World Market (mmmm...new wine!) and the grocery store for necessities.

Got home around 3:30 and still hadn't eaten lunch.  I was not really hungry but felt that I should at least eat a snack.

Go-to snack.  Yogurt, fruit (strawberries were on sale), cereal, cinnamon, honey.

I must get an appetite for dinner.  I also have about ten hours of homework that must be done in about three.

Here are some meals that occurred Thursday night-Saturday:













Free Subway sandwich- I added mushrooms, artichokes, and mustard.

Finish off with two pickles.

Spinach-artichoke tortilla pizza (I believe Friday night)

Toasted almond butter and jam sandwich + coffee Saturday morning.

Gym Time

Well, after my Power Hour Fit TV series my muscles were so sore I had to skip the gym yesterday.  So today I got up at 5:30 to work off some of my TV snacking.

I hit the treadmill for 3 miles (and watched the end of 10 Things I Hate About You!).  Then walked on it for 10 to loosen up my legs a bit.  Then hit the elliptical for 20 minutes.  Not an intense workout, but my muscles are feeling better! 
Still going to put off the strength training another day because my upper body is pretty sore still.  (I will conquer the Power Hour one day!)


Breakfast was routine:  oatmeal. 

I did it the hard way, in a pan-on the stove.  I made a double batch so I have leftovers for tomorrow.

Routine toppings as well: Kashi cereal, almond butter, honey, cinnamon.  "If it isn't broke, don't fix it."  I believe that phrase speaks to my breakfast oatmeal.

P.S. It actually feels like Fall in Houston!!!!  Woke up to 65 degrees, it is a miracle!

Snack Attack and the DVR

Well, the hubby is gone 3 evenings this week helping a friend move after work so I have the apartment and TV to myself.  I watched way too much television yesterday evening, but I caught up on all the new fall shows!

NCIS- awesome!  I am addicted to this show ever since I watched a marathon of reruns on USA.
The Good Wife- didn't want to get addicted to another show, but this is a strong woman attorney:  I set the series to record.
NCIS LA:  I recorded.  I have not watched.  I love NCIS and don't know that I can watch a spin-off that stars LL COOL J.

For dinner I made a tortilla pizza topped with lots of mushrooms, artichokes, and spinach!

















Lots of veggies.

Topped with Parmesan and broiled slightly.  I always seem to burn 1/4 of the "crust".  My broiler must be hotter in one section.

Still amazing!

Snacks this afternoon consisted of 100 calorie bag of popcorn and coco roasted almonds!

Evening snacks (I should not eat in front of the TV, it is mindless) consisted of stealing a bag of my husbands Vickie's Sea Salt chips and a Luna Chai Tea Bar (I love Chai, but this was overpowering).

Love Cereal? Try some free!

Click here for a free same of Total Blueberry Pomegranate

Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast of Champions...I hope.

Inspired by all the overnight oats on blogs I made my own.

1/2 cups oats (so much cheaper than instant)
1/2 milk
1/2 water
cinnamon

Let sit overnight.  In the morning I just heat up (although I believe some bloggers eat them cold) in the microwave.  No dirty pans, no stove.  Then add toppings.

Federal Tax reading time.

P.S. Love new season of House already.  Can't wait to catch my DVRed NCIS!

Routines

Are you a routine person or a go with the flow?

Personally I love routines.  I find comfort in routines.  Routines make me happy.  My favorite thing "to routine" is my workout.  Throughout college I woke up early every morning (M-F) and hit the gym.  It started my day out right and I felt great.

Well, law school has different plans for me.  I end up getting up early to try and cram in more reading before class so I only make it to the gym on Tues/Thurs when my class starts later.  I am now getting into food routines, particularly oatmeal.

Oatmeal is comforting to me.  In a weird way my favorite foods are the one constant I have kept since moving away from home. 

I right this because my food choices seem to be becoming more and more bland.  I need the routine to combat the stress of school and life right now.  So I apologize if my food pictures become slightly boring and/or repetitive.  (I.E. eating oatmeal for two meals Tuesday).


Tuesday meals consisted of:  Breakfast-oatmeal, Lunch-soup and sandwich, Dinner-Oatmeal and toast


Lunch:
 I tried the store brand version, it was way cheaper and pretty good.  A little too much broth.

 

Had with a mushroom and cheese toasted sandwich.

As a said, dinner was more oatmeal.

Oats with almond butter, Kashi cereal, and honey.

Toast with blackberry jam to finish of the meal.

Also had a cup of coffee and popsicle.  There may have been a peanut butter Fiber One bar consumed today as well.!

Fit or Fat - Photo Quiz

Fit or Fat - Photo Quiz

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Fit TV Power Hour

Well I have been having some trouble with my right knee/acl.  I did the elliptical last night for 30 minutes (hoping for light use) but could barely walk the dog last night!  So even though Tuesday is one of my days that I can get in a full hour of cardio or running I had to skip it. It is very upsetting because my schedule is so limited that I have only those two days that I really look forward to hitting the gym like old times.

Instead I decided to do some strength training because I have been very lacking on that lately.  In college I would strength train at 3 days a week and now I am lucky to get in cardio/running.  So, I have DVRed all these shows from FitTV and decided to try Power Hour with Cathe....  Wow!  My heart was pumping and my arms are like jello!  I actually couldn't even finish the ab portion at the end.  (Don't worry I will finish it after a little break!)  It was intense and made me realize that my muscles need more attention. 

I refueled my muscles with a little protein.  I showed the whisk because this mini-whisk is amazing!  It actually came in a set I got for Christmas awhile back.  It mixes protein thoroughly.

My arms are still shaky even just typing!

It has already begun to storm this morning.  I love storms!  Houston does not have enough storms, they are so relaxing.  I plan on doing a little homework, catching up on the new House and finishing the ab work.

Monday-Fall Series Premiere

Breakfast was usual yogurt, fruit, cereal parfait.



Lunch: Blueberry crisp Cliff Bar
(old picture)


Snack: 100 calorie bag popcorn (not pictured because I ate it all while watching a Drop Dead Diva episode)


Dinner:
Hummus wrap with mushrooms, pickle, onion, lettuce
Side salad



I also made homemade fries for the hubby. Sliced the potatoes. Brought to boil with 1 tbsp salt. Cooked 3/4th the way. Then tossed in bowl with olive oil, Gordon's seasoning, salt, pepper, chili pepper. Baked until brown.

Soooooo good. I ended up eating quite a few!


Anyone else excited about Fall Tv series premieres???? Here is my hot list:
House-today
NCIS-tomorrow
maybe NCIS-LA
Criminal minds-Wednesday
Greys Anatomy-Thursday

What are you looking forward to??

By the way I don't actually get to watch these during the week due to homework, but I DVR and catch up on weekends and slow days!

Sunday Wrap Up

Well, Sunday started out with a 7.1 mile run. The longest I have run in quite a while. It felt exhaustingly good.
Came home and toasted up whole grain flax waffles with half a banana, spoonful of yogurt, cinnamon, and honey.

My husband can't understand why I don't like syrup, but I just don't like it and will put about anything else but syrup on my pancakes and waffles!

Lunch was quick.
Turkey wrap with laughing cow cheese, pickle, lettuce
Side salad with a scoop of hummus!


Dinner: leftover whole wheat penne, mushrooms, spinach, peppers, onions. Drizzled with tuscan infused olive oil.

Two popsicles were also consumed for dessert.

Saturday Run

Ah, woke up without an alarm this morning. But technically the dog woke me up. It was at 7 am, which is sleeping in to me! Then decided to go get in a run. Initially I had planned on doing at least 6 miles, but the husband wanted to go so we got there and cut it down to 3 miles (I kept a 9 minute pace the whole way) and then walked for 20 minutes after around the beautiful Rice neighborhood. *Side note- we walked by a house having a party with valet parking outside their house! I am always amazed what people with money do here* Anyway, back to the run it felt great and I kept a steady pace. I love running, but I am a slow runner. I would say I am slow for two main reasons: 1) I have short legs and short stride 2) I like to look around and zone out with my thoughts so I tend to run a little slower without concentrating.

For me, running is not about speed it is about quiet time to myself. What do you run for? Speed, enjoyment, distance?


Back home for breakfast I told Jordan (my husband) I would make him pancakes. I had bought a new whole wheat mix that I was excited to try out. The pancakes tasted great, unfortunately I am not a great pancake turner so a couple were pretty smushed.



I had a yogurt, banana, Kashi Go Lean bowl. I am using a different yogurt right now. We shopped at a local Kroger and they did not have a good selection of Greek yogurt so I bought a bulk size Dannon. The flavor is great, but consistency just is not as good as Greek yogurt.

Breakfast was great! And now it is time for coffee and getting ready for football!

Thursday Into Friday

Well the remainder of my Thursday was a series of bad decisions.

I attended a happy hour event, which led to margaritas, which led to a decision to go out when we got back to the apartment.

Total drinks ended up 3 margaritas and 3 frozen mimosas! When I got home finally (around midnight!) I was starving because we had not eaten dinner. Then came bad college food choices. 1 bag of popcorn, 1 bag of sea salt chips (individual bag of course), and a bowl of Easy Mac. No wonder I have gained the "Texas 10".

Waking up early Friday morning I realized all that alcohol and food binge made me feel horrible and lethargic. It is amazing how badly it zapped my energy level!

I did not feel very well so I had a couple spoonfuls of regular oatmeal. I knew once I got moving I would be starving at lunch, so I packed a lunch with hummus and mushroom sandwich and side of grapes.
I also hit the stationary bike for 20 minutes.


Snack today included 100-calorie bag of popcorn and bag of Baked Lays. Goodness where have my good eating habits gone?

Dinner:
Bland looking salad, but it did the job. Lettuce, mushrooms, hummus, onions, black pepper, few penne noodles.
On the side: makeshift garlic bread
1 piece of whole wheat bread-toasted
1 wedge lauhging cow Garlic and herb

Dessert:
Continuing the bad food choices: turtle cheesecake. I ate abut 3/4ths of it.

Hoping to get in lots of cardio this weekend to undue the bad food choices of the week and get my energy levels back up!

Almost Friday

Good morning! I started my day as usual, got up, walked the dog, made the hubby lunch, then hit the gym. I have more time on Tuesday/Thursdays so I got in 45 minutes of cardio. I did 2 miles on the treadmill at an incline. The last portion of my half marathon is uphill, so I need to slowly expose my body to incline. Then did 25 minutes on elliptical.
Breakfast was my remaining oatmeal, heated, and topped.
1/2 banana
spoonful almond butter
cinnamon
Honey
So filling!!!!

Homework, coffee, weight training (hopefully).

Wednesday Dinner Spectacular

While grocery shopping we picked up a huge butternut squash. I had never cooked it before so I decided I was up for the challenge Wednesday night. Anytime I cook new things I browse a bunch of recipes on line and then blend them together to make something I like.

I decided to cook half the squash one way (cubed, roasted), and the over half differently (leaving the half whole and roasted).
Here is the cubed squash. Sorry the picture is sideways. Sometimes it will not load the pictures the correct direction. Anyone know how to fix this?

Anyway this was sooooo good! I liked this cooking method way better even though the prep was tedious (peeling and cubing). The half squash seemed mushier to me, although we might have just overcooked it.

On the side I made homney with cinnamon and honey.
All together now!
My husband had some pasta (he needs more than veggies to stay full) and a side of italian bread with Tuscan dipping oil.

Dinner was a success.
Then a 3 mile run with my new water belt (breaking it in).

More squash tomorrow night!