Today, I had to go to the doctor again to have blood taken. My doctor is extremely thorough, especially since my surgery, so a visit to him always means having blood taken to run a million tests. I hate having blood taken. I have a huge fear of needles, and the experience is always terrible. My veins roll, the nurse can't find a vein at all, or when they finally get the needle in, the blood won't flow...it's always an issue and it's always painful. It wasn't a very great way to start off my day, especially because it meant I had to skip breakfast! After having my blood drawn I stopped and got a Sprite and a protein bar in hopes that I wouldn't get too dizzy and lightheaded.

For lunch, I made myself a turkey club sandwich at work. I heated up some all natural organic turkey lunch meat and some turkey bacon in the microwave and put it on a toasted Sandwich Thin with mustard and provolone cheese. It was excellent! I also ate some baby pickles and an apple with it. A couple hours later I had some yogurt covered raisins as a snack. I have recently rediscovered these delicious little treats. They're great for when I'm craving something sweet, and it only takes a small amount to get my fill.
For dinner I tried out a new recipe from Weight Watchers: Spanish Chicken and Rice. I found some of the cooking methods a little strange, so I just used the recipe as a guide and cooked it the way I thought it should be done. It turned out really well.

I started with a hot skillet and a little oil. I browned a couple cloves of garlic then added one diced onion and two diced uncooked chicken breasts.

In another pot, I cooked some long grain brown and wild rice for about 30 minutes.


After the chicken browned and the onion cooked through, I added diced tomatoes, chicken stock, ground turmeric, chili powder and the rice into the skillet and let it simmer and cook down. After about 10 minutes I added red and green bell pepper. I let that cook for 10 more minutes then added frozen peas and carrots. It took about 5 more minutes for those to heat through and that was it!


Finished product!

It turned out really well, and I loved the flavor. It was really colorful and all the veggies worked together really well. I actually ate them all instead of picking through and just eating the chicken and rice. Next time I make it, I'll make a few changes. I think it would be really great cooked int he crock pot so the flavors have time to meld together. I'll also add a jalapeno for some extra heat next time.

While I was cooking, the boys were playing video games, and honestly, I didn't want to listen to the Mario Bros theme song over and over again, so I put on my iPod Shuffle and jammed out. It made cooking dinner a lot more fun! I plan on listening to music every time I cook from now on. There's nothing like dancing around the kitchen to lift a person's spirits!

I am really looking forward to this weekend. I have Saturday off for the first time in a few weeks, and I can't wait to sleep in! We don't have anything planned. Joel's son is with us this weekend, so we are just going to take it easy and hang out. Hopefully we'll spend some time outside. The weather has been beautiful and I'm sure Christian will want to ride his scooter around. Other than that, I plan on doing a lot of resting and cooking. I hope you all have weekends as relaxing as mine is going to be!

Small Victories

YESTERDAY

The last couple days have been busy and wonderful! To be honest, I don't even remember what I had for breakfast and lunch yesterday. It seems like such a long time ago. Early in the morning I got a text from my brother who lives in Austin saying that he and his wife were in town. I don't think they've ever come to the Houston area for anything other than holidays at my parents' house, so it was a really wonderful surprise. They invited us to dinner at Maggiano's Little Italy in the Galleria area. I immediately looked up the restaurant to see what I could find on the menu that might be the slightest bit healthy. Of course it was extremely difficult...it's an Italian place, so everything is covered in sauce and cheese and wonderful, yummy, bad-for-you things. I decided not to worry about it too much. It's not often that I get to see my brother, so I just told myself that I would eat as healthy as I could without obsessing about it and ruining the time with my family.

My other brother and his girlfriend came to dinner as well. It was really wonderful to have both of my brothers and our significant others all together...Its never happened before. Its rare that I see both of my brothers at the same time, so I really enjoyed the time I got with them.

The food was wonderful! Unfortunately, I was so excited to see everyone that I forgot to take any pictures. There was bread on the table when we got there, and I had some, but I didn't eat a whole loaf like I may have in the past. Joel ordered bruschetta as an appetizer, and I limited myself to just one piece, even though it was excellent. For dinner, I ordered Chicken Saltimbocca, which is chicken topped with proscuitto and provolone cheese in what I think was a white wine, onion, and sage sauce. It was wonderful! The serving was huge though. THREE chicken breasts! I just ate one, and I ate it slowly so I would get full and not be tempted to continue eating. I brought the rest home and Joel had my leftovers for lunch today. We didn't order dessert....although I did take a few bites of everyone else's. I only drank one cocktail and had one glass of wine instead of downing drinks all night and wasting calories. It really was a lot of food, but I feel like I made much better choices and didn't stuff myself like I would have in the past. I left the restaurant feeling full, but not like I was about to pop. The dinner was wonderful and it was so great to see my family.

My sister-in-law mentioned that she has been reading my blog, and was very positive and motivational. She and my brother are very health conscious and have found a good balance between indulging in what they love and keeping things healthy. A while back, they were on a vegan diet for many months(I think it was almost a year) so she had a lot of tips and ideas about healthy eating and vegetarian meals. I am going to try a vegetarian diet again and see how long I can do it. Maybe just a couple days at a time every now and then, but I still want to attempt to make vegetarian meals a part of my life. Just in two days, I felt the positive effects of that diet, and I want to incorporate it into my life. It was great to have some positive feedback, and I can tell that she's routing for me, which is a wonderful feeling.


TODAY

This morning, I had a doctor appointment, so I got to sleep in until 8:00 (which was much needed after being out late last night). I made a big breakfast for me and Joel because I knew I wouldn't be able to eat again until lunch, and I anticipated that it would be a late one. Joel actually had the day off, which was wonderful timing! He went to my appointment with me. It was nice to have the time together...even if it was spent at a doctor's office.

For breakfast I made my very favorite egg sandwich. I made it on a Bagel Thin this time instead of bread. The Bagel Thin toasted nicely and gave a little bit of a different flavor and a crunch to the sandwich. We also had yogurt with banana slices on the side.

My favorite bowl!

After my appointment (which lasted until after lunch time, like I knew it would) I had to go back to work. The girls at the office wanted me to bring Panera Bread back with me. I LOVE Panera, but I normally get the Broccoli Cheddar soup and a Chicken Salad sandwich...both very fattening choices, so I was a little worried about finding something healthy. I ended up getting a half of a Cuban Chicken Panini, which had grilled chicken, lean ham, swiss cheese, and sundried tomato aole, and a cup of the Vegetarian Black Bean soup. Black Bean soup is something I would never get normally, but I decided to try it, and I'm glad I did! It was delicious, and much better for me than my normal Broccoli Cheddar. The whole meal was really great, and a much healthier option than I ever would have tried before. I also had an apple and some unsweetened tea instead of my normal side of baguette and sweet tea. It's these little changes that I am incredibly proud of. It's easy to eat healthy at home and only keep fresh food in my pantry instead of junk, but it's when I am put into situations like this that I can really blow it. I am set in my fast food ways, and to get a healthier option at a place like that feels like a huge victory for me. I feel like these little victories will be what leads to my being able to completely make over my lifestyle. I am finding that the healthier options are often just as satisfying (if not more) than the more fattening, high-calorie choices I would have had before. It kind of amazes me that I never realized this before, but I'm glad that I'm getting it now.

It's easy to get down on myself about not losing weight fast enough or making a slip here or there with my diet, but when I am put in such tempting situations (like an Italian restaurant or a cafe with high-fat options everywhere) and I still manage to make healthier choices than I would have before, it makes me feel like I can really do this. It may take a long time (and it will), but it's something that doesn't seem impossible anymore. A hundred small victories will certainly lead to one huge victory. Before I know it, this will all be behind me. I just have to keep trying and never give up.

Spring Eating!

Today was a much better day than yesterday, food wise. :) However, I really need to buy a real alarm clock. I use my cell phone, and too many times it has failed on me. I set my alarm an hour early this morning so I could go work out, but it didn't go off. I'm lucky I woke up on my own around 6:00 and checked the time or I would have been late for work.


For breakfast I had my yogurt with fruit and green tea. Today I changed it up a bit and had Banana Cream Pie yogurt instead of Vanilla. I love Yoplait Light. They have so many awesome flavors!

Mid-morning snack: Apple and cheese stick. I like to cut my apple into slices instead of eat it whole. It looks like more food that way and it takes longer to eat, so I feel like I've had more.

For lunch I had Smart Ones Mini Pizzas and a pear. The pizzas were delicious, but I didn't stay full for very long. The pear was also great!

Some reading material. I like to read while I'm eating lunch. It makes me focus on something other than the food in front of me, which makes me eat slower. I also like eating my food on a real plate instead of a paper plate or in the microwavable container. Somehow, it makes my meal feel more substantial. (Yes, it's all in my head...but it works.)

I had a positive performance review at work today, and as a surprise my hubby bought me flowers on his way home to congratulate me! They're beautiful and very springy! He's so sweet.

For dinner, I tried another new recipe out of my new cookbook. Tonight we had "Sirloin Steak with Grainy Mustard Sauce and Parmesan Steak 'Fries'" and some fresh green beans. It was amazing! This recipe was definitely a winner, and it didn't feel like "diet food" at all. I love my steak and potatoes, so I was very excited to try this recipe. The potatoes are baked and seasoned with a little salt and pepper and parmesan cheese, so they're much better for you than real fries or mashed potatoes made with tons of cream and butter, but I still got that potato flavor I love. We'll be using this recipe often! The green beans were amazing as well. The produce at the grocery store this week was exceptionally fresh. It's definitely spring time!

Mmmmmmm...

I definitely need to eat more protein. I was hungry almost all day, and I'm sure it was because I didn't have much protein until dinner. I'll work on that tomorrow.

Now its time to watch the Rockets with my hubby!

Climbing Back Onto The Wagon

I'm feeling pretty frustrated with myself today. I fell off the wagon with diet and exercise over the last few days. I was so good about working out at the beginning of last week. I went to the gym Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Even if I didn't get in a full workout, I still managed to at least get in some time on the treadmill. Thursday, I was so sore from my intense workout on Tuesday night that I could barely stand up straight let alone go to the gym. Once I lost my momentum, there was a reason to not work out for the rest of the week and through the weekend. I could have made time, but I didn't. Instead, I let myself make excuses and be lazy.

As far as food goes, some meals were very healthy, but I over did it on others. I got carried away with our leisurely weekend and snacked on too much junk food. I ate way too much fatty food. Now, it's still a far cry from the weekends when we'd devour a whole Digiorno Stuffed Crust Pizza and a gallon of ice cream. I've made some healthy changes, so over indulging is a little different to me now than it used to be. Even so, I'm upset that I allowed myself to give into temptation. My body wasn't too pleased either. This morning when I woke up, I was sluggish and groggy, and my stomach was upset for most of the day. My body was definitely telling me that it wasn't happy with what I put in it over the weekend. I guess that's a good sign. I've gotten used to healthy food, so when I eat junk my body rejects it. Next time I want to stop and get fast food on after a long day at work, I'll probably think twice because I know my body won't be happy about it. Hopefully I didn't do too much damage over the weekend. I'm a little worried about weigh-in this week.

Today, I was better with my food. For breakfast, I had strawberry yogurt with some banana and strawberries sliced in and a cup of coffee.

My boss took me and a coworker of mine out to lunch. They wanted Mexican food, so I did my best to find something healthy on the menu. I shot a quick email to my email support group for ideas, and a friend told me to get the chicken fajitas with no tortillas, so that's what I ended up getting. It was pretty good, but still a little too heavy.

For dinner, I was craving nothing but vegetables, so I steamed some broccoli and carrots.

For dessert, I'll have some berries. I have such a sweet tooth, I have to have some kind of dessert at the end of the day. I've found some really great diet desserts. Smart Ones and Skinny Cow both have a good selection of delicious, chocolatey goodies. Tonight, though, I think I'll stick with the fruit.

Quality Time With My Hubby

Today was a wonderful day spent with my husband. I had to work this morning, so I ate breakfast at the office. I had a double fiber english muffin, and attempted to eat some Greek Yogurt (because I've heard so much about it lately.) I was NOT impressed. It tasted like sour milk. Maybe it was just the brand, but it was terrible. I was only able to eat the English muffin. I have a couple other brands on Greek Yogurt at home to try...I'm hoping they're better than this one. I'd like to be able to eat it, and I have seen a lot of recipes using it as an ingredient and I'd like to be able to try them out.


I got home from work around 1:00 and fixed myself a quick lunch. I had a turkey hot dog, cheese stick, and chocolate soy milk. I'm loving turkey hot dogs right now. They're much healthier than regular hot dogs, but when you dress them up with relish and mustard, you can hardly taste the difference. I feel like I'm spluring on something bad for me without actually eating junk food! I ate it with a Nature's Own whole wheat hot dog bun. :)

After lunch, Joel and I decided to go to Half Price Books to browse and see what we can find. We could spend hours in that store looking at all the CD's, movies and books they have. We got a few things there, and had some time to spare so we went to Barnes and Noble to see what else we could find.

I got an Ellie Krieger cookbook! It has a ton of delicious looking recipes. I really like her show on the food network, and this book also has a lot of health tips and even a section on what to keep stocked in your pantry so you'll always have ingredients to prepare healthy, delicious meals.

I tried one of the recipes out when we got home! Pork medalions in lemon-taragon pan sauce on top of couscous with asparagus and broccoli! It was delicious. I can't wait to try more recipes from my new book!
It's been great to have a day alone with my husband. Tomorrow, I am really looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing all day!

Happy Easter Weekend, Everyone! I only had to work half a day yesterday, which was wonderful. It was such a beautiful day to be off work.

For breakfast I fixed scrambled eggs with turkey bacon, whole wheat toast, and a half a banana for myself and Joel. I had a cup of chocolate soy milk as well. I think he's really loving the fact that I'm waking up to make breakfast and cooking dinner almost every night now.

I got off work at noon and went home to get some chores done. I fixed myself lunch before I got started. I had a sandwich made with chicken breast and a Laughing Cow French Onion cheese spread. I love to use Laughing Cow on sandwiches instead of regular cheese. It gives the sandwich a great flavor and is a healthier substitute. I also had some baby pickles, a Babybel cheese, and some fresh cut pineapple (we ate the whole pineapple before the end of the night...it was SO good!)
After lunch, I turned on the radio, opened up the patio door to let some fresh air in, and cleaned the apartment while I waited for Joel to get home. Last week, we decided that we needed a full weekend together without kids or friends, so last night we stayed in, watched movies, and took it easy. I used my Weight Watchers splurge points and snacked on some junk food...my body was starting to really crave it. I always start to crave tons of junk food around the two week mark. Normally, I ignore it, don't give in, and then a few days later, when I can't take it anymore, I've fallen completely off the wagon and can't make myself get back on. So last night I gave in and splurged a little knowing that today I'd get back to eating healthy.

I'm at work until noon (I have to work the occasional Saturday), and I brought myself some Greek Yogurt for breakfast. I've heard about it a lot lately, so I'm giving it a try. After work, Joel and I are going to go enjoy this beautiful day and do some shopping and play some basketball. :)

Crazy Busy

Yesterday was a crazy day. I was incredibly busy at work all day, ended up staying almost an hour late, and then on my way home, I got stuck in traffic because of a wreck. I barely had time to eat, let alone take pictures of my food (sorry, guys.) By the time I walked in the door last night, all I could do was curl up in my favorite chair.

Throughout all the craziness, I did still managed to have a pretty healthy day. I had my oatmeal with blueberries and bananas for breakfast again. For lunch I had a veggie patty topped with a little cheese, carrots with hummus, and an apple. I didn't have time to even think about snacks during the day. When I got home, there was no way I was setting foot in the kitchen, and I was really craving a big cheeseburger from Whataburger with large fries, and a chocolate shake. But I didn't get it! Joel drove me to Chick Fil A (because I was too tired to drive myself) and I got a chicken sandwich and a fruit cup.

Not the healthiest day, but I still managed to make good choices instead of giving into my unhealthy cravings. I crawled into bed way earlier than usual and slept like a baby! Hopefully all the sleep I got last night will give me the energy I need for another busy day at work. At least it's only a half day. Happy Good Friday, Everyone!