Thursday, April 26, 2012

I'm glorious!

I saw this on facebook and decided to post it here. As much as I want to be a 10, I need to make sure that I am still beautiful on the inside and happy no matter what. I'm going to hit walls and get frustrated. Sometimes I get to focused on the details of losing weight. I told Paul the other day "I'm doing so good. I just ran my personal best and I actually felt like I looked better in my jeans, but I actually gained weight from last week" He told me to quit with the negative and stay positive! Also, he always reminds me that he fell in love with me for me as is and it doesn't matter to him if I'm a 10 or a 20!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

A woman's quest for the perfect pair of jeans


White House Black Market is an EVIL store!!!! Everything in there is gorgeous and looks amazing on me. The dress I'm wearing to Ring Dance (Texas A&M University's version of college prom) is from WHBM and it is beautiful. Anyway, I've had my eye on these jeans for a while, but there is no way that I'm going to spend $80 for a single pair of jeans. However, I got an e-mail today saying that they were on clearance, so I checked and they have one size down from my current size. Sooooo...... I am being optimistic and I ordered them! Yay!!!!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Vegetarian Spring Rolls



My friend invited me over for dinner tonight. We had vegetarian spring rolls. They were amazing. The best part of this recipe is that it is not set in stone. You can put whatever you want inside based on what you like. We had vegetarian spring rolls, but I think if I was making them myself, I would have put some shrimp in them. The other ingredients we added were noodles, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, pineapple, mint leaves, bean sprouts, and sweet and sour sauce. We ran out of peanut sauce, but I imagine that that would be pretty good to dip them in.

I'm hanging in there!

This is hard! I wish that losing weight was easier. I'm very slowing making it though. My pants were loose today.

The good news is that I'm getting a lot better at jogging. I can go over a mile now without stopping. Then I'll walk a little and jog some more. I think my butt is firming up some. Muscle does weigh more than fat, so perhaps this is what is going on.

With that being said, I just ate a salad and I'm getting back to homework.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Homemade Egg McMuffin

I loved the idea of Brandi's Stacked Breakfast Sliders, so I bought the single omlette maker. It wasn't expensive. I put together this homemade egg mcmuffin for 215 calories in about 5 minutes. I couldn't find the sliders at Kroger, so I just used english muffins.



Oroweat Sour Dough English Muffin - 110 cal
Kroger Egg Whites - 50 cal
Kroger Canadian Bacon - 30 cal
Kraft Fat Free Sharp Cheddar Single - 25 cal

Eat This, Not That


Eat This, Not That is a new book I got from Amazon. (I have Amazon Prime. Love it!) Anyway, this book helps you to order healthier when you go out to eat. It also helps you make healthier choices when you are at the grocery store. Only $11.

With an angry food industry hot on their heels and a ravenous fan base clamoring for more, Zinczenko
and Goulding once again redefine the American food landscape.

Featuring up-to-the-minute information on the ever-changing array of supermarket and restaurant
offerings, Eat This, Not That! 2012 reveals the shocking calorie counts, mind-bending sugar and fat
loads, and deceptive advertising and marketing techniques that are making America fat—and gives
readers the information they need to fight back.

Packed with cool tips, industry secrets, and essential nutrition knowledge, Eat This, Not That! 2012
is a must-have for anyone who cares about what they eat—and how they look.

One small gem that I found in it is that Papa John's "The Works" pizza is only 460 calories for 2 slices. This is one of my favorite pizzas, so on a day when I'm sick of eating grilled chicken or pork chops, I won't feel guilty about ordering pizza with Paul. (Paul and I always ditch the onions and add pineapple. Paul hates onions, so they are banned from everything!)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Dinner Salad

Spring Mix with Herbs
Half a cucumber
Half a tomato
A few kalamata olives
Half a bag of pre-cooked chicken fajita strips
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

p.s. So... I fell off the healthy wagon last weekend when I was a bridesmaid in a wedding. And by fell off, I mean fell off and got run over by the wagon! The rehearsal dinner was at Benihana (yum!), Italian food was brought in for lunch, the wedding was catered by Freebirds, I at wedding cake, had donuts at Shipley's, and then I at two Cadburry eggs..... At least I didn't gain any weight. I'm back to my healthy self this week though :)

Taco Seasoning (not from a packet)

I was craving taco salad something fierce!  Taco Bell wasn't an option, so I decided to make one at home.  Being that I like to eat clean, I wanted an alternative to picking up a taco seasoning packet that may be full of added ingredients I can't pronounce.  So here is the taco seasoning I tweaked from a recipe I found:

~1 Tbsp. chili powder
~3/4 Tbsp. cumin
~1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
~1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
~1 tsp. oregano
~Dash of paprika
~ 1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

This is enough seasoning for 1 lb. of your ground meat of choice.  I think my favorite is organic, grass-fed beef.  Using ground (white) turkey is tasty, too!  Let the meat brown, mix in the seasoning, add a small amount of water to help mix things together (a couple of Tbsp.), and let it all get happy for a few minutes.

I enjoy shredded lettuce, organic black beans, a good serving of meat, diced cherry tomatoes, guacamole, and caramelized onions in my salad.  Aside from the beans it fits my paleo/primal plan.  No cheese or sour cream needed, I promise it's that good!  If you want to be adventurous, eat the meat and guacamole on fresh jicama slices instead of tortilla chips.  Yummy!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Coconut Nested Eggs

What?!  Eggs with coconut?!  Sounds crazy, right?  Well, it is delicious!  I found this recipe in my "Make It Paleo" cookbook.  I was having an issue eating my eggs in the morning.  After a little while, the flavor makes me feel ill.  I don't really like eating veggies in the morning in an omelet, and I can't use cheese to spice things up.  I needed a way to get my protein without having to eat a quarter pound of beef at 6 am (which I have done a lot).  This recipe saved me!

~2 eggs, separated
~1/4 c. shredded, un-sweetened coconut (I buy in the bulk commodities section of HEB)
~Salt (if desired)
Preheat oven to 350.  Whip whites until peaks form.  Stir in the shredded coconut.  Drop in mounds onto parchment paper.  Create a divot in the top of the mounds and place yolks in the little hole.  Bake for 10-12 minutes (until starting to get golden on top).  Sprinkle with salt if desired.

Super easy, doesn't take long.  I eat mine without the yolks or the salt.  That's my preference.  It's like eating a puffy little coconut cloud and the egg flavor won't punch you in the face!  I just peel them off of the parchment and eat with my hands... no fork required!





Stacked Breakfast Sliders


I love breakfast sandwiches. Easy for busy mornings, grab and go and I can eat them on the way to take kids to school or while folding laundry or whatever other multi-tasking I have to do that day! Breakfast is definintely the most important meal of the day and kick starting mine with a good balance of protein, carbs & fat keeps me full and going until lunch. I have two awesome products that help me to get my breakfast in everyday.




Large sandwiches can contain a monstrosity of calories (even a McDonald's Egg McMuffin is 300 calories!) and they're messy and hard to carry. So the first weapon in my morning arsenal are these Flat Out  Fold-It Sliders. Each slider fold out is only 47 calories and fits in the palm of your hand

The second item in my morning arsenal is this egg-cellent pan. HAHA. It's called an "Omelet Ease" and my husband bought it several years ago because I LOVE kitchen gadgets. Little did he know how much it would actually get used. This makes perfect sized little round, fluffy egg omelets that fit great on a bagel or english muffin if you DO want a larger sandwich, but for today's recipe I cut it in 4ths. A great little investment to make breakfast easier and fun.

Stacked Breakfast Sliders = 220 calories for 2 sliders, 25.5 protein, 6.2 fat, 18.2 carbs
Recipe:
2 pieces Flat Out Fold-it Sliders
2 egg whites
2 slices canadian bacon
1 slice low fat swiss cheese
2 slices tomato
Salt & pepper to taste

Turn oven to broil and toast sliders under just slightly golden.
Whip egg whites together in bowl with salt & pepper then pour into omelet pan.
Top egg with 1 slice canadian bacon (it will sink to the bottom) Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes then flip pan.
Open pan and add 2nd piece of bacon to top of half cooked egg. Close pan and continue cooking about another minute.
Open pan and top Omelet with cheese. Close pan again and allow cheese to melt for 30-45 seconds.
Slide omelet out of pan and slice into 4 pieces
Top each slider bottom with two slices of omelet and a slice of tomato
Add slider top & enjoy!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Stepping with Sarah Palin..er, I mean... Cathe Friedrich



It is raining again, so I pulled out the step. I really like Cathe Friedrich (although I think she looks a lot like Sarah Palin, so I keep waiting for a "You Betcha" during the work-out). This isn't the exact same DVD that I have, but I don't think mine is offered anymore and this was the closest I could find on Amazon.

BTW, I'm down 6 pounds from two weeks ago. Yay for me!!!

My turn! (Kind of long)

My name is Lauren.  I'm a 27 year old, non-mom.  I feel as though my weight struggles began long ago.  To start, I'm only around 4'9".  Some doctors would say I'm "height deficient".  Having the stature of a child but being a full grown woman poses its challenges when it comes to your weight.

When I started college I lost 15 lbs. in my first semester, but I gained it back shortly after.  Years later I became sick of my 140 lb. image and wanted to change it.  I put myself on a very restricted low-carb diet and spent every day on an elliptical trainer.  In no time at all I dropped to 115 lbs!  It felt amazing!  But then, slowly but surely, I started eating like most of us do and put all the weight back on.  As the years passed my weight continued to rise.  At that point it didn't matter how well I ate or how much I exercised, the weight wouldn't come off.  I was eventually diagnosed with a thyroid condition (which I take medication for daily), but the medication didn't do much for the weight.  Then I had my breakthrough.

My weight made it up to 164 lbs!  164!  That is a lot for someone as small as me!  My mother practically begged me to see a doctor.  She was upset seeing me at that size; she said it didn't look like me.  She was convinced there was a medical reason for my weight.  So, I went to see Dr. Ginsberg.  After speaking with me she decided that with my life experiences and medical history, I was under too much stress and estrogen dominant.  These are things that help contribute to my weight issues.  We did some bloodwork.  A micronutrient test.  They broke down the cells of my blood and were able to determine which vitamins/minerals/nutrients in which my body was deficient.  With the results in hand, she gave me a list of supplements to take daily and set me up with a nutritionist.  I wrote down everything that passed my lips for an entire month.  It was decided that I ate too many crappy carbs (low-cal pretzels, special k bars, etc) and I wasn't eating enough fat.  She started me on a modified paleo/primal diet.  This meant gluten-free, grain-free, grass-fed meats, healthy fats, organic veggies, seeds and nuts, and small amounts of dairy (organic butter and whole milk- no yogurt or cheese!)  My weight began to drop, my energy increased, and my joint pain was greatly decreased.  I kept this up for several months, but a change in my financial situation lead to me eating crappy food again.  I put on 10 lbs.

I've recently gotten back on the wagon.  I have been following my plan again now for three weeks and doing a good deal of work on a treadmill.  7 of my 10 lbs are gone!  I love eating whole foods.  It feels so much cleaner.  I realize that this approach to eating is a definite lifestyle change, not something that can be turned off and on.  I also know it isn't for everyone.  It can be boring and repetitive, but I always feel satisfied.  Knowing how good I felt for those months makes me want to make the change for the rest of my life!  I think about how much healthier I will be and how it can affect the lives of the children I will have someday.

That's my story!  Sorry it is so long!     

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Apple Chops with Steamed Squash


4 pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick)
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp butter
1/2 onion
1 cup apple juice

1) Season flour with a little salt and pepper; lightly flour pork chops and brown on one side in butter in non-stick skillet over medium heat
2) Turn chops; stir in onion and apple juice; bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes until fully cooked.