Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Tis the Season!! + Sweet Potato Fries!

Ok.... I know! I'm a slacker!! lol It's been a few days since I've been on here. My weekend was pretty busy & I've been really lacking energy. But here are my meal pics anyways!

Saturday:





Sunday:





Monday:



Today...

Breakfast: Shakeology with mixed frozen fruit, banana & almond milk
Snack: luna bar
Lunch: Cashwise salad with romaine lettuce, eggs, chicken, feta cheese, sunflower seeds, cucumbers & italian dressing with some fruit
Snack: a bowl of dry kashi go lean cereal
Dinner: broiled chicken & a side spinach salad
Snack: banana




Exercise: I'll be honest... I haven't worked out since Friday. :( like I said earlier... I've been seriously lacking energy.

Ooookaayyy... where to start.. ok Saturday!! Saturday was a fun day!! We ran some errands in the morning & then had some lunch & chilled while Matthew took a nap. Then when he woke up we got ready & went to Space Aliens for dinner. We were also watched a friends' daughter & her & Matthew had a blast playing all the fun games & winning some cool prizes. Then we went to the Fargo Force hockey game! That too, was lots of fun! Here's a few pics!





After the game we were all pretty tired so we watched a little bit of Madagascar 3 and fell asleep!!


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Sunday was one of those lazy days...BUT (drumroll please.....) I put up the CHRISTMAS TREE!! :D We put a little Christmas music on in the background and got right to it! We had to get a different tree this year because we got a new couch & chair this summer & our tree won't fit in out living room with our new furniture. So we got a cute little 6 footer!! I do miss my big tree a little bit...but this is one's kinda cute too. Don't ya think so??




Plus I had a cute little helper!!



Then the rest of the evening was as lazy as ever. lol and I just had to sleep in the living room that night because I wanted to sleep by the tree with the lights on. Kinda like I did when I was a kid. :D


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Monday...Oh Monday....how I hate thee. lol

Monday was also uneventful... BUT I did make some amazing sweet potato fries! My favorite recipe as of today! Pure yumminess! Check out the recipe below! AND... I bought a pull up bar! YEP! Now I can work on my goal to be able to do more pull ups! As of today I can do 3. I'm gonna work towards 5! I even put it together & got it up all by myself! BE PROUD! :D



So.... now I need to quit my lazy tendencies & somehow gain some energy & get back to working out regularly!! 

Now... for that recipe!!


{ Sweet Potato Fries }



Ingredients:
2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, rinsed and dried
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. freshly-cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Carefully cut the potatoes into 1/4″ thin strips, or to your desired thickness and length. Then place in a large bowl, and toss with the remaining ingredients (oil and spices) until potatoes are evenly coated.
Then spread out the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. (Try not to overcrowd the sheet, or have multiple layers of fries — you want them to be roasted, not steamed.)
Place in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, turning the fries once or twice during that time to cook evenly. (May take more or less time, depending on the size and thickness you cut the fries.) Remove once the edges slightly begin to brown and fries begin to crisp.
Recipe from http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/oven-roasted-sweet-potato-fries/
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Tonight has been a great night! haha I was feeling very motivated & I put up some Christmas lights on the balcany!! Lets say my balcany looks like the Griswold's from Christmas Vacation. I used ALL of our lights! :D The pictures just don't do justice for what it looks like in real life. I feel like I'm lighting up the neighborhood. :D
 This is the view from the ground... crappy pic, sorry.


And this is the view from inside my apartment! :D and just for the record, I don't usually put up any Christmas decorations until the Saturday after Thanksgiving, BUT I'm not going to be in town so I figured it didn't hurt to get it done nice n early! :D
Also... just a heads up that the blogging might be a little late or behind this week because it's going to be busy with Thanksgiving & Black Friday & whatnot! Just warning you! :D
Tomorrow is Wednesday...which is my Friday this week! WAHOO!
Later Gators! 

Friday, November 16, 2012

Day 48 - Homemade Turkey Bites!

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with peppers & spinach
Snack: strawberries
Lunch: grilled turkey sandwich on Ezekiel bread with spinach, tomatoes, hummus & low fat cheese with some carrots
Snack: apple protein snack
Dinner: homemade turkey bites (see recipe below) with leftover mixed veggies
Snack: a peach
Calories Consumed: 1256



Exercise: Insanity plyometric cardio circuit

Today was great!! I got to sleep in until 8.... not go to work....spend the day with Matthew!!  Could it get any better!?? Oh yea..and it was pay day! BONUS! :D

haha anyhow... we woke up and I made some scrambled eggs for breakfast & I thought I'd add a little spinach for something new. Couldn't taste much a difference to be honest. Then we played some hide & go seek & watched Mickey Mouse. Then we ran some errands around town. :)

The postman came to my apartment today & left me a nice note to go pick up my package at the post office. --YAY!! My shakeology came. :D So when I was running my errands & went to the post office. As always, they were super busy & I had to wait in line for like a a half hour! Then they told me that the postman still had the package out on his deliveries. BUMMER! I was so disappointed. So I guess I gotta go back & get it in the morning. I was planning on having the Shakeology for dinner so when I didn't get it... I had no idea what to make. I didn't feel like having chicken or salmon or shrimp or cod...but I had ground turkey. I didnt really want a turkey burger because I didn't want to eat more bread today. So I thought I'd be little Betty Crocker & whip up something! :D

Soo... I made some Turkey Balls!! Lets just call them turkey bites because that sounds more appetizing!

{ Homemade Turkey Bites }


Ingredients:
1 lb of lean ground turkey
1/2 of a yellow onion
1/2 c spinach leaves
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp lawry's seasoning salt
pepper to taste

Directions:
mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with your hands.


 then roll them into small balls & put on a baking sheet. 



Cook at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cooked through!


I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did!! YUMMAY!

Adios Amigos!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Day 47 - Time for a Potluck!!

Breakfast: quaker oats with some kashi go lean, cinnamon, blackberries & raspberries
Snack: peach
Lunch: romaine strawberry salad with slivered almonds, onions, & poppyseed dressing, some chicken wild rice soup, a pickle & some dip
Snack: luna bar, grapes & mixed nuts
Dinner: 2 chicken tenders & some steamed mixed veggies
Snack: 2 pickle halves
Calories Consumed: 1285



Exercise: Insanity Cardio Abs

Today was fantastic!! We had a potluck at work & so many people brought so many super delicious looking soups, chili's, salads & desserts! It all looked sooo good! It was VERY hard for me not to indulge in alot of it! BUT...since I'm doing this clean eating challenge, I figured I'd better just pick a  couple of the healthier & cleaner options!! I had some of the chicken wild rice soup (I'm not sure if that's considered clean but it tasted healthy with the chicken & veggies!) & then some of my strawberry poppyseed salad that I showed you yesterday. IT WAS GOOOOD!


Here's a sneak peek at the potluck! lots & lots of goodies


And here are my lunch choices!!


It was good, but honestly not filling enough. I was definitely ready for a snack when I got home. I had a snack & watch a little FRIENDS! Then I went & picked up Matthew from daycare & realized that our daycare lady took the day off tomorrow.  LUCKY ME!! :D I get to stay home with Matthew tomorrow. Yippee Skippy! It's like a sneak peak at being a SAHM (stay at home mom)! --someday...someday... 

We had a grand old time messing around with photobooth on my computer. :)



MUAHAHA!! We get a little goofy when we're together! --WATCH OUT! ;)
Then we ate dinner & I even got him to eat his veggies!! Gosh, I'm good! :) Then we watched Toy Story!! I LOVE that movie! :D

Woody: All right, that's enough! Look, we're all very impressed with Andy's new toy.
Buzz: Toy?
Woody: T-O-Y, Toy!
Buzz: Excuse me, I think the word you're searching for is "Space Ranger".
Woody: The word I'm searching for I can't say because there's preschool toys present. 


----------

Buzz: How dare you open a space man's helmet on an uncharted planet? My eyeballs could have been sucked from their sockets!
[closes his helmet]


HAHA I just love it! Then we had our snacks & I thought I'd be a little creative & entertaining. Snack time entertainment right there!! :D



Then he brushed his teeth, we read a book & he went to bed!! And I did my Insanity workout! woop woop! annndd... now I'm ready for bed! YEP! -- this girl is tired.. 

nighty night folks!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Day 46 - 3 miles & over a bridge!!

Breakfast: oatmeal with kashi go lean, blackberries & raspberries
Snack: Kashi trail mix granola bar & grapes
Lunch: whole wheat wrap with turkey, low fat colby jack cheese, spinach, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hummus & carrots
Snack: honey greek yogurt with chia seeds, slivered almonds, & multigrain cheerios
Dinner: garlic shrimp with olive oil, quinoa with peppers & grapes
Snack: strawberries & mixed nuts
Calories Consumed: 1359



Exercise: run 3 miles

Today was a gorgeous day outside!! I stopped at Cashwise on my way home to pick up a few things for a salad that I had to make for a potluck tomorrow and then headed straight home!! I was so excited to go for a run!! It was like 47 degrees outside! WOO HOO! -- this girl was a little excited! :D

I had a quick afternoon snack because I was starving, then I got Josie on her leash & I hit the pavement! It was perfect!

I was just chugging along at a pretty good pace when out of nowhere this HUGE german shepherd starts running at us! I was like... OOH CRAPPP!! OOH GOD!!! I'm gonna die!! He was soo scary looking & running so fast. Just charging at us! Luckily... he was a nice doggy & just wanted to play with Josie. WHEWWW! --Huge relief. I was terrified. So we continued on our nice little joggy jog... It was such a nice day I felt like running over to the super nice houses. I don't usually go over there unless I'm on a longer run because it's kind of out of the way. But I enjoyed it! You get to look at nice houses like this!


And i LOOVVVEE running over this bridge!! I was running at sunset so it was soo pretty!! It was like the perfect running evening!! --minus the dog scare!! I swear Josie is a dog magnet!! It must be cuz she so good lookin' ;)


 I just love running on this bride over the river. I guess because it's a little change of scenery. And who doesn't love running over a bride instead of the boring sidewalk!?? Josie loves it too! There were puddles on it from the snow melting so she just HAD to run through it. But I did get her to sit & smile for the camera!


It was soo nice!!

When I got home, I made dinner & did some cleaning. I did quite a bit actually.. except now that I think about it, I forgot to clean the toilets! oops! But I did dust, mop, vacuum, & lots of laundry...and I did it well I might add. I even moved some furniture! :D Then I made my salad for the potluck at work tomorrow. I made a strawberry poppyseed salad with romaine lettuce, red onions, strawberries, slivered almonds & poppyseed dressing.



I'll let you know how it turned out tomorrow. I'm not going to put the dressing or almonds in it yet. Nobody likes a soggy salad!! :D Time for bed... this girl is tired!!

Peace out brussel sprouts!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Day 45 - Lazy Day...

Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean Crunch and a banana
Snack: raspberries, blackberries & grapes
Lunch: Spinach salad with a chicken tender, hard boiled egg, peppers, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, & balsamic vinaigrette.
Snack: carrots
Dinner: broiled blackened salmon & chopped cauliflower with peppers
Snack: apple protein snack
Calories Consumed: 1249



Exercise: nada... (lazy day)

Today was a pretty relaxing day! I got home from work and took a nice relaxing bath. I'm not sure what didn't agree with me... but after I ate lunch, I was suuuper bloated and felt awful!! so a bath sounded like a great idea. After my bath, I read a little bit of Fifty Shades Darker & made some dinner. After dinner, I sat and contemplated going for a run or doing Insanity but I was just feeling completely wiped out and still super bloated. BOO!! So I decided to sit this one out. ;) DWTS is on soon and I'm gonna chill & watch that!! Then I'm going to try my best to get to bed nice and early!!! Thats my plan, friends!

Catch ya later!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Day 44 - A Clean Eating Challenge!

Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs & a banana
Snack: grapefruit
Lunch: turkey & low fat cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with hummus, apple & cucumbers
Dinner: 2 chicken tenders & sweet potato hash
Snack: grapes & a pickle
Calories Consumed: 1038



Exercise: run 1 freezing mile

Today I started a 30 day clean eating challenge!!! So you'll be seeing a photo of everything I ate that day with a day # on it rather than random pics of some stuff that I ate. :D I'm hoping that this really keeps me accountable thorough the holidays! I'm posting everything into a Facebook group with a few other people looking to get healthier!! This is going to be a challenge for me because I'm used to snacking on stuff that isn't exactly clean!! But this will be good because it will force me to eat more fruits & veggies!! I will definitely keep you posted on how this is going!! Today went really well. However... once I logged my calories on Livestrong.com... I realized i did not consume many calories. :/ I need to eat more! That's my goal for tomorrow. 1200-1400 calories!!

I didn't have an afternoon snack today which is rare! I worked a LONG day today & then stopped at the grocery store for a few more CLEAN items! :D So by the time I got home I figured I'd better go for a run quick before it got dark & when I got back it was dinner time!

About that run...
I wore my shades because it was really sunny outside. (as you can probably tell) I've actually never ran in sunglasses before because they usually bounce, but my headband helped to keep them in place & these ones are new and fit quite well!!


Anyhow... the run was nice & pretty while the sun was setting!



However.... it was insanely cold!! I'm NOT used to it. I've never ran in the winter before. I usually hit the treadmill when it dips below 40 but I cancelled my gym membership this spring so I'm trying to suck it up!! --not so sure how its going to go....

SOO.... I cut my run short & only went like 1 mile! It was only like 18 degrees outside & windy!! I was somewhat thankful for my sunglasses blocking some of my face from the wind...but the rest of it felt like it was gonna get frostbite! 


So I went upstairs & started making dinner!! TADA! it was delicious!! And then it was DWTS time!!! So now I'm going to watch that & enjoy myself!!

Later Gators!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Day 43 - My First Trail Run!

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with peppers on whole wheat toast & pineapple
Snack: 1 piece of ice cream cake
Lunch: a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup with a slice of whole wheat bread
Snack: shockers
Dinner: turkey & cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with hummus, carrots
Snack: banana 





Exercise: 3-4ish mile run

I woke up this morning and had a yummy breakfast & then I convinced my sister to go on a trail run with me in my hometown. I've wanted to go on the trails for a while now but I never want to go alone.

It was kind of cold today so we got some warm clothes on and hit the road! We drove into town & started at the cemetery & ran down the trail by the river. It was so much more scenic than my regular run through town & in the park. 

And it definitely beat by route that I take down the gravel road & back when I'm at my parents. I took quite a few pics to document the moment. Here's Jess just running along!


She said to me... you're taking so many pictures, its like you're on vacation & you've never done this. lol so I said "I haven't ever done this, I need to document!"  It was funny.


We tried our best to follow the river so that we wouldn't get lost. We went by my Grandma & Grandpa's house & I waved across the river and yelled "Hi Grandma!!" as we ran past. Then shortly after that, the trail took us away from the river and Jess asked if we should maybe turn around & head back. I wasn't ready to head back yet and I thought that the trail should turn back and go in a big loop. 

Well.... pretty soon we were goin in all kinds of loops and got a little confused as to which direction was which & we cut across to another trail. Pretty soon we found the lagoon!!


So we kind of knew where we were. We just weren't sure which side of the lagoon that we needed to to go to get back to the cemetery. So we ran a little further on the trail.

Did I mention that I rolled my ankle & thought that I pulled a muscle!?? YEA! I did... I'm not used to that rough terrain. There were roots & rocks & mud and all kinds of stuff that are not on the Fargo sidewalks. But I ended up running it out and then felt fine!

Anyhow... we ran a little further & figured we better get on the trail that goes around the lagoon so we don't run further in the wrong direction. Funny thing was... the lagoon has a barbed wire fence around it. SOOOO... we were a couple of rebels and jumped the fence. I threw Josie over. (don't worry, I threw her lightly) :D  Unfortunately, I did manage to put a little hole in my new pants!! :( Thankfully, the hole is at the bottom & hardly noticeable.


We got onto the lagoon trail & Josie loved chasing the geese off. And I find it funny when hundreds of them take off as you're running up to them! 

Then we figured we better take a little walking bread & Jess texted Levi (The Raptor) to try to figure out which side of the lagoon we needed to go to get to the cemetery. So we figured we better take a pic of us nice and cold!!! VERY cold! It was super windy out in the open by the lagoon.



We finally figured out where we had to go when Levi text Jess back & we had to go through another fence! (on the other side of the lagoon I might add). Then we ran about a quarter of a mile down a gravel road & found the cemetery!!! Jess did a victory dance!!



Then we went back over to the other side of the river & ran for the car!!!


When we got home we had quite the story & adventure to tell!! And a nice fire waiting to warm us up!!! --I was messing with photo booth! :D



 Then we chilled & watched the Vikings and after a bit we had some homemade chicken noodle soup!! YUMMMAAAYYYY in my TUMMMAYYY! --yep, I just said that! Be Proud! :D

Then I had a super long drive home where Josie slept like a baby & I jammed out to some country music! Now Im totally beat & ready for bed. Oh wait!!! The special edition to The Notebook is on tv. I better watch that!! :D

That's all for now. Stay tuned! :D