Valentine’s Day and Chocolate just go together!

Started the day eating well, then kind of lost control over the chocolate today.  Well, as Scarlet O’Hara says, “I’ll think about it tomorrow.  After all, tomorrow IS another day.”

Breakfast- two “healthified” breakfast cookies that I made fresh this morning ( I also added a cup of dried cranberries to the batter).  Here’s the recipe:

Morning snack- Multi-grain Cheerios with walnuts and almonds and a cup of hot peppermint herbal tea

Lunch- Chobani Blood Orange Greek yogurt and a Pink Lady apple with a bottle of diet citrus green tea

Afternoon snack- a FiberOne Peanut butter bar and a bottle of water and two Hershey’s kisses

Probably burned 100 calories just shivering at track practice!  Then I taught Zumba at 6:30.  FUN valentine crowd!

Supper- Late again! A tossed green salad with avocado and walnuts and Ken’s Light Options Raspberry Walnut dressing and a seared fish filet.  I also had THREE pieces of the Russel Stover dark chocolate candy that my Valentine gave me this morning!

You can Google anything!

Amazing how easy it is to Google just about anything!  This morning, I pondered the large amount of whole wheat flour in my pantry since both Jessica and I bought five-pound bags of it before the Grand Opening at the gym and I thought, “I would really like to try making some whole-wheat pancakes.”  So, I googled “WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKE RECIPES” and found way more than I needed in just a few seconds.  The one I tried was really simple and really good.  It made plenty of pancakes for two people.  Here it is:

1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt, 3/4 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 egg, 1 TBLS. canola oil.  Mix dry ingredients, whisk in wet ingredients, fry in batches in hot oil.  Top as you please and enjoy!

Breakfast- three whole wheat pancakes with real butter, honey, and fresh blueberries and two cups of coffee

Morning snack- three of Jessica’s no bake energy balls AND, gulp, THREE miniature Hershey’s Special Dark candy bars with a bottle of water and a cup of coffee.

Lunch- three of Fatz’ chicken tenders and a tossed salad with a very UNsouthern glass of unsweetened tea. I also had three Lorna Doone cookies with a dab of Cool Whip and sliced strawberries. Gotta get back to my eating routine soon!

No afternoon snack, and I didn’t get in much exercise at all today.  I did very little at track practice, and I’m practicing some new choreo for Zumba tomorrow night, but this just isn’t the same as a full-out hour of sweating.  I guess my body could use a rest though.

Supper- a big mug of lean, spicy, delicious venison chili and a salad with mixed greens, half an avocado, some walnuts and dried cranberries and a little Ken’s Light Options Raspberry Walnut dressing. I also drank a cup of skim milk.

Portion control…not my strong suit.

Does anyone REALLY eat only 3/4 cup of cereal?  I just dump it in the bowl and I know it’s more than a recommended serving.  Same goes for my other meals.  Maybe I need to start eating everything from a saucer instead of a dinner plate.  That way, I’ll still have a FULL plate.   I always clean my plate too.  I know those starving children in Africa are going to be more hungry if I don’t eat everything that I’m served.  AND…IF I was going to get dessert, I would NOT get it if there was food left on my plate.  The eating habits of a lifetime are hard to kick!

Breakfast- one bowl of multi-grain bran flakes with a double handful of fresh, delicious blueberries, skim milk, and two mugs of coffee

Morning snack- a few of those spiced mixed nuts I fixed for Barry yesterday and a big glass of water

Lunch- a peanut butter and honey sandwich on whole grain bread and a pink navel orange with a cup of icy cold skim milk

Jessica and I went to the gym this afternoon and I got in five miles on the treadmill, walking and running.  I drank a bottle of water and then nearly froze going to Wal-Mart in my wet sweaty clothes in the wind.  I need to remember LAYERS next time it’s this cold!

Afternoon snack- I had one of Jessica’s No-Bake Energy Bites while I was cooking supper (recipe below).  These are delicious!

Supper- A normal-person sized portion of chicken casserole (as opposed to the size portion I usually get), some green beans from last summer’s garden, and a big green salad with mixed greens, bell pepper, and olive oil and vinegar dressing with a glass of water.

Body Mass Index…not my favorite health indicator…

I went to the Piedmont Mountainside Medical Ladies’ Morning Out at Chattahoochee Tech this morning and led an hour of Zumba and also did an ab track and a cooldown.  I really appreciate the Zumba gals who joined me!  I had my bone density checked and that was good.  I also had my BMI calculated.  This morning, I was at the very top level of the “healthy” range.  If the number had been just a fraction higher, I would have been considered overweight.  I’m not a real big fan of BMI because it does not take muscle mass into consideration when it’s being calculated.  If you are curious about yours though, here’s a BMI calculator.  Keep in mind that the muscle and fat have very different composition.  If you have a pound of muscle and a pound of fat beside each other, the muscle takes up less space, but still weighs the same.  BMI calculators don’t take that into account.

Breakfast- one biscuit with honey and one slice of bacon with two cups of coffee

Morning…snack?…or early lunch-  a fruit skewer with strawberry, melon, and blueberries, a sample of shrimp and grits and a thin slice of frittata from Madeline’s Cafe at the Ladies’ Morning Out.  I also had a bottle of water and another cup of coffee.  Then I tasted a small sample of a berry smoothie with vanilla yogurt and skim milk.  It was really good!

Lunch…I guess…Maybe a mid-afternoon snack-  a Chobani Greek yogurt, blueberry flavor with granola and walnuts and a cup of hot ginger tea

Late afternoon snack- four Ritz crackers with Sabra Roasted Red Pepper hummus and a glass of water. Later, Barry got a craving for some spiced nuts, so I found a recipe online and HAD to taste a few of them, of course.  They were ok.

Supper- I made a pot of dry yellow-eye beans with ham again today, so a big bowl of those is what I had for supper, along with a glass of skim milk.  I made cornbread and fried potatoes for the others too, but I didn’t eat any.

I’m getting ready now to go with Mama to the Tater Patch production of The Dixie Swim Club tonight.  I’ll probably be in a “snacky” mood when I get home, so I’ll try to stick to fruit or maybe a spoonful of peanut butter.

Can you say too much caffeine???

Had a day-long Strategic Planning Committee meeting today at the county office, so I was some-what out of sorts with my eating.  Here’s how it went:

Breakfast- a bowl of Multi-Grain Cheerios with a banana and some fresh blueberries and two cups of coffee

Morning snack- I ate a Fuji apple and drank a bottle of water while everyone around me either had donuts or biscuits.  Man, they smelled so good!  Later, I had a cup of coffee. (That made three cups today………so far.)

Lunch- a turkey sub on whole-wheat from Subway with cheese, lettuce, bell pepper, banana peppers, and mustard with TWO helpings of homemade pasta salad.  It was delicious!  I washed that down with a bottle of water.

Afternoon snack- while people were eating cake and cookies, I had a peanut butter FiberOne bar and ANOTHER cup of coffee…that made four cups today, and these were NOT SMALL cups.  Needless to say, I was awake (and a little jittery) for the afternoon!

Went to track practice and the only part of my body that really got any exercise was my right thumb.  That was from pressing the button on my stopwatch for timed trials.  I did run one warm-up lap around the track with them, but I watched their time trials.  We have some fast athletes!

Supper- Friday night fiesta again, this time at Pueblo Cantina, complete with two tacos de carne asada, chips with salsa, cheese dip, and guacamole.  I know, I know.  I’m naughty on Friday nights.  I’ll make up for it later!  (I really will!)

Those stadiums are so HARD…

…so I only did one and watched the track athletes do their ten.  Whew!  Exhausting!  However, I had already done my every-other-Thursday Zumba with the dance class and the girls’ weightlifting class during my planning period today.  After their stadiums, I ran one mile then walked another.  I feel like I got in some good cardio today.

Breakfast- a whole-wheat bagel thin with peanut butter, a drizzle of honey, a banana, and two cups of coffee

Morning snack- a breakfast cookie and a cup of hot jasmine green tea with a squirt of honey

Lunch- Chobani Raspberry Greek yogurt and a Cara Cara pink navel orange with a bottle of water

Afternoon snack- Multi-grain Cheerios and walnuts and a can of Ocean Spray Diet Cran-Energy drink.

Supper- a fish filet seasoned with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and chipotle chili pepper sauteed in a little olive oil and served with a small tossed green salad with tomato and avocado and a little Ken’s Steakhouse lite olive oil and vinegar dressing washed down with a cold glass of skim milk

If I get hungry later, I’ll have an apple or some Ritz crackers and hummus.  Maybe next time, I’ll do TWO stadiums!  Hmmm…

 

I never met a potato I didn’t like…

…and these are no exception.  I recently discovered Jaxn’s Twice-Baked Potato Stix, made right here in Jasper.  They come in three different flavors:  Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper, Sour Cream and Chive, and Sweet Potato.  Of course, they are not quite the same as a deep-fried Lay’s potato chip, but they fill that salty, crunchy snack craving without all the fat and calories.

Breakfast- one bowl multi-grain bran flakes with milled flax seed and a banana and a handful of blueberries and a splash of skim milk with two cups of coffee

Morning snack- one breakfast cookie and a carton of skim milk

Lunch- Chobani Pineapple Greek yogurt, a Fuji apple, a mozzarella cheese stick, and a handful of Jaxn’s Twice-Baked Potato Stix, Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper flavor washed down with a diet citrus green tea and half a bottle of water.

Afternoon snack- Cheerios and walnuts and a can of Ocean Spray Cran-Energy Diet drink and just before school was out drank a bottle of water.

Taught an hour of Zumba this afternoon and got all sweaty, then had to pump gas out in the cold wind.  NOT fun!

Supper- A two-egg omelet with a little bit of cheddar cheese and some onions and mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil with a salad of mixed greens and tomatoes with some Ken’s Light Options Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing and a glass of water.  I’ll probably have one of the Cara Cara pink navel oranges I bought this afternoon before I go to bed tonight.

We steamed up the windows tonight!

Zumba was SO MUCH FUN tonight!  Thirty-five women in class and we really did steam the windows from bottom to top!  What a blast!

Breakfast- one whole wheat bagel thin with a scrambled egg and two pieces of bacon and one cup of coffee

Morning snack- a big handful of baked sweet potato stix and a bottle of diet citrus green tea

Lunch- Chobani Peach Greek yogurt and an apple with a bottle of water

Afternoon snack- a Fiber One peanut butter bar and a can of Cran-Energy by Ocean Spray.

PRE-Zumba snack- four Ritz crackers with Sabra Roasted Red Pepper hummus

Taught Zumba at 6:30 and then didn’t eat supper until after 8:00

Supper- a plate FULL of mixed greens with some taco seasoned ground beef, half an avocado, a diced tomato, a TBLS sour cream and a bunch of salsa with a glass of water

I know that eating so late is not good for me.  I just cannot eat before I teach class.  My stomach can’t handle it.  At least the weight doesn’t seem to be going back up for now!

The protein powder is SUPPOSED to make me feel full, right?

Mondays seem to come more quickly than they used to!  This was a REALLY busy one too!

Breakfast- 1/4 cup Hodgson Mill Hot Multi-grain cereal with a banana, walnuts, and honey with one cup coffee

Morning snack- two breakfast cookies and a carton of skim milk

Lunch- one carton of Chobani Greek yogurt Blood Orange flavor,  a Jonagold apple, a mozzarella cheese stick, and a handful of baked sweet potato stix washed down with a diet citrus green tea

Afternoon snack- a FiberOne bar and a bottle of water

Taught an hour of Zumba and drank another bottle of water before I had to go back to the school for a parent night.  Therefore, of course, it was late when I got supper AGAIN.  That’s a recurring problem!

Supper- a smoothie made of one carton of Chobani Strawberry Greek yogurt, a banana, a TBLS of protein powder, a squirt of honey, and about half a cup of skim milk.  I didn’t want to eat anything heavy after 7:30.  Of course, if I’m starving here in a little while, I’ll eat a cup of bran flakes or something to take the edge off. We’ll see if the protein powder really curbs my appetite.

If fish is brain food, will I be smarter tomorrow morning?

Trying to be a little less naughty today as far as my diet is concerned.

Breakfast- one sausage biscuit and two cups coffee

No morning snack

Lunch- one carton Chobani Greek Yogurt Raspberry flavor with walnuts and granola on top with a can of Ocean Spray Cran-Energy. That stuff is actually pretty good!

No afternoon snack

Got in a little cardio at the gym- Ran nonstop 3.2 miles, walked 1/4, ran 1/2, walked another 1/4 for a total of 4.2 very sweaty miles.  Drank a big bottle of water.

Supper- I did TASTE, one forkful, of the homemade lasagna I made for Barry and Tyler, but I had a big salad of mixed greens, bell pepper, avocado, tomato, dried cranberries, and walnuts dressed with Ken’s Light Options Olive and Vinegar dressing and a pan-seared fish filet.  I had a FUZE diet fruit drink with supper, raspberry/blueberry flavor.  If I get hungry later, I’ll have an apple and maybe a glass of skim milk.

I like the frozen, individually wrapped Hake fish filets in the freezer at Walmart.  They’re quick to defrost in the microwave and very easy and fast to cook.  They have a mild fish flavor, so they’re easy to season and serve different ways.  Tonight, I sprinkled mine with sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a dash or two of Chipotle chili pepper and then seared the filet in a screaming hot pan with a tiny bit of olive oil.  They say fish is “brain food,” so I’ll see if I feel a little smarter in the morning!