Mediterranean Cleanse Day Three

Despite only getting about 6 hours of sleep, I had a very good workout this morning. We got up at 4:30, I took a green tea booster and out the door we went. I burnt about 400 calories doing varied intensity on the treadmill for 45 minutes…

And then I was a hungry RAVENOUS BEAST ALL DAY! Ahem.

Breakfast: Caprese Quiche

• Note, this is more dense than a quiche because I use more eggs and less milk. You will need:
  • 6 large eggs, preferably organic. 
  • 3/4 cup lowfat dairy milk (I haven’t tried a nut milk but it may work so long as it was unflavored)
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced into rounds
  • 1/2 cup part skim shredded mozzarella, divided
  • 6-8 large basil leaves, roughly chopped 
  • olive oil cooking spray
  • 1 T garlic powder
  • 1 t salt and pepper
    1. Preheat oven to 375
    2. Spray glass or aluminum pie pan with cooking spray
    3. Whisk together eggs, milk, and dry seasonings; set aside
    4. Sprinkle half of the cheese on the bottom of the greased dish
    5. Layer tomatoes over the cheese
    6. Add basil evenly 
    7. Add the rest of the cheese
    8. Pour egg mixture over and bake for 30 minutes or until firm, but slightly jiggly.

According to My Fitness Pal, 1/6 of this is 122 calories. The flavor is absolutely amazing, but it just wasn’t enough calories for a morning workout day. My suggestion is to pair it with fruit and Greek yogurt with nuts for added calories and protein. Or, you can add sausage to it…but this cleanse refrains from too much, if any, processed food. So again, overall a winner, just not enough food for breakfast by itself.

 

Lunch: Nothing special here, just my normal work day go to of spring mix, feta, tomatoes and 4oz of grilled chicken breast with the aforementioned Greek dressing. (Sometimes I add kalamata olives, cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers, or even cold beets)  I love a good salad. I had a banana for dessert.

 

Work snacks: Again, I was a starvin marvin today! I had mixed nuts, a zesty pickle, plain Greek yogurt with Swerve, vanilla extract and strawberries, and the last of my Skinny Girl dark chocolate almond truffles. Everything was portioned out!

 

Dinner: Leftovers from Monday plus 4 oz of Pinot Noir and sugar/dairy free chocolate pudding for dessert.

 

Today, I realized that having too small of a breakfast will fail you later on in the day. I will be having overnight oats tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Mediterranean Cleanse Day Two

Y’all, I don’t know what I was thinking saying that I will blog once a day. Clearly that isn’t going to happen! On Mondays and Tuesdays, Chris and I get our cardio by walking the beach with our dog, Turner. Wed and Thursday we hit the gym by 5am…which means we are up at 430. Yes, 430am. Last night, in an oversight by myself, I decided to cook dinner and let us eat before we went on our walk, which pushed us getting home at 845pm. I basically had to shower, drink some sleep tea and go to sleep for today’s early morning workout. So, that didn’t leave anytime for blogging.

 

So, here I am on my lunch break at work, typing this up on my phone and adding the recipes in once I get to the laptop.

Tuesday, May 2, 2018-Day 2

Breakfast: Overnight Oats, blackberry variation.

• RECIPE:  
  1. 1/3-1/2 cup dry oats 
  2. 1.2 cup low fat milk (Dairy on non…but on this cleanse, dairy is limited. PLUS Almond milk packs in a lot of extra protein)
  3. 1 T chia seeds (more protein)
  4. 1 T flax meal
  5. Optional: vanilla extract, diced fruit or berries or mashed banana (just be mindful of sugar), nuts, seeds, honey or other natural unprocessed sweetener
• Note- The 30 calorie unsweetened vanilla almond milk is NOT sweet enough and not enough creaminess to use just a half cup. I will be adding another 1/2 cup next time and probably some Swerve (if you don’t know what Swerve is, you’re seriously missing out!)

Snacks at work: 1 oz lightly salted mixed nuts (50% less peanut variety) and 1 zesty dill pickle (pickles are LIFE)

Lunch: Chris hasn’t grilled my chicken yet so I brought 1/3 cup rotisserie chicken salad I’d made over some spring mix with feta, tomatoes, and Herb Feta Greek dressing by Food Network Kitchen (YOU NEED IT- just stick to serving size!)

• Two notes about my chicken salad- this is a great way to utilize scraps. For example, I’m making stuffed peppers this week, so I diced up three of the tops I’d cut off for that (1/3 cup worth!!!) and it gave great crunch and extra vitamins to my chicken salad. I used some of my own herbs as well. You NEED an herb garden in your life.
• Mayo is NOT the enemy if you use it sparingly and swap the old school kind for one made with a good fat oil, like Olive. We use just enough to keep it together along with Dijon mustard. Greek yogurt, plain of course, also works very well but doesn’t give it quite the same kick. Sometimes, I use all three together- and always garlic powder, onion powder, minced onion, salt and pepper.

Dinner: Roast Pork. Asparagus and Tomato Bowl with Quinoa and salad. I had to improvise because we couldn’t find bulgur AND I wasn’t ever going to use it again. I love quinoa so it seemed a better choice. I used the lemon juice, zest and parsley in the quinoa (boiled in chicken broth) and added my go-to spices. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/251352/roast-pork-asparagus-cherry-tomato-bowl/

No dessert again because I was too tired from our walk and had to get to bed quickly. I just had some tea.

Wheat-Free Apple Cinnamon Zucchini Bread

I adapted this from one of my favorite Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipes. It is so good. You will want to eat the entire pan in one sitting. But, don’t do that! It makes 1 loaf…which should yield 8 servings. Each serving is 216 calories (according to MyFitnessPal). You can do smaller slices for less calories if you’d like.

Ingredients 

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini, packed tight (no skin)
• 1 medium Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp apple, grated (I did half on the large side and half on the small side so that I wouldn’t have too much watery puree)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a loaf pan well
3. Combine almond flour, cinnamon, and baking soda.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and then add the water, vanilla, agave, shredded zucchini, and apple. Mix well.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean in the center.

The longer you let it cool, the better your first slice will stay together. Or, you can be like me and cut into it right away….and just eat it with a fork because you’re impatient. Enjoy!

Meal Plan & Healthy Eating Week 3

Wow! I’ve “survived” two weeks! Just kidding… I am totally loving it. This week, I introduced some dessert back in (healthy alternatives of course). I am happy to report that I am back  to my pre- Christmas weight so that is very exciting! Chris and I have discussed buying an Aria scale from FitBit as well as the ChargeHR (for me) when we get to MS. I love Daily Burn, but I don’t trust what the screen says when it comes to calorie burn since I sometimes have to take more rest breaks, my weight, etc. I don’t want to overestimate my calorie burn and end up overeating for the day. Since we still aren’t sure where we are going to be moving and whether or not they’ll have a gym — I really need to be careful until we leave New Mexico. That being said, this coming weekend is going to be ROUGH. Ha! We are going to Adobe Rose for dinner on Friday night, then Saturday is our going away party at Mike & Monica’s, and Sunday I am having lunch with my sweet Candlewood ladies. Since I am NOT trying to calorie count my food those nights I will have to sweat it out instead. Chris and I wanted to hike Guadalupe Peak tomorrow but last night we both came to the realization that we were not in good shape to do it. Chris has been killing himself at work since the elevators are down. He is so tired and sore every night when he comes home. I’ve mostly been good, but the endurance mode on the treadmill is a little rough with the inclines on my knee. So, we’ve decided to hit up Cloudcroft and White Sands instead. (not sad!) Now, if only I could figure out how to get to those damn waterfalls near High Rolls…

This past week I made some really delicious new recipes that Chris and I agreed needed to be added to our roster. I made lamb chops for the first time! (Delish but pricy). I experimented with a new zucchini bread recipe and it paid off big time. I’ll post it after this. I really pushed my body this week on the treadmill too and can now achieve a mile in 16 minutes! I feel pretty damn good about that! 🙂 I did struggle keeping up with my strength schedule between working and keeping up this damn house, but I feel at this stage in the game that cardio is more the priority.

For this week, I am cleaning out the freezer and trying to make dinners out of stuff we already have. (I’m baking a bunch of “bad” stuff for the party Saturday to use up all my old nasty white sugars and flours). Also, I won’t have dinner plans for Friday and Saturday since we will be eating out.

Monday:

• Breakfast: Leftover quiche (which I am making today since I didn’t have time yesterday)
• Lunch: Somewhere in Cloudcroft
• Dinner: Turkey Chili (This is my recipe and it changes everytime. I use 3 pounds of ground turkey, a whole red onion, 3 different kinds of hot peppers, 3 different kinds of beans, lime juice, spices…just whatever I am feeling. I don’t have measurements for anything. But, it will be cooking all day while we are in Cloudcroft)

Tuesday:

• Breakfast: leftover quiche
• Lunch: leftover chili
• Dinner: Ahi Tuna steaks marinated in ginger, Tamari, and sriracha; served with spicy cucumber salad and beets. http://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/asian-cucumber-salad/

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: 2 slice of turkey bacon & one egg
• Lunch: Salad green with tuna and sesame ginger dressing, fruit
• Dinner: Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta (yes, pasta- Barilla Protein Plus) http://www.skinnymom.com/bang-bang-shrimp-pasta/

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Chiles and Cheese
• Lunch: leftovers and fruit
• Dinner: Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken with Spicy Black Beans & Corn http://www.thehouseofhendrix.com/recipes/crockpot-cilantro-lime-chicken/

Friday:

• Breakfast: 2 slices of turkey bacon &  an egg
• Lunch: leftovers and fruit
• Dinner: Adobe Rose!!! (yum yum yummmmm!!! I am totally getting duck!)

Saturday:

• Breakfast: Fruit & Greek Gods Honey vanilla yogurt
• Lunch: leftovers or green salad & fruit
• Dinner: Going away party

Sunday:

• Breakfast: Turkey Bacon, Cheddar and Tomato crustless quiche
• Lunch: YellowBrix with Candlewood ladies!
• Dinner: Chorizo & Caramelized Brussels Sprouts served with Acorn Squash http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2012/01/caramelized-brussels-sprouts-chorizo-2.html

 

I am hoping to weigh myself next Saturday and see a number I haven’t seen before! I’ll being going hard as I can this week — walking with Jackson and then coming home and getting on the treadmill. I wanna make 12,000 steps everyday. It’s a big goal but I think I can do it M-F if I really push myself.

Have a fab week y’all!

 

What Moves Me

• Periodically, one of my favorite things  to do is look at the US and UK Top 40, look up the new UltraDance or what-have-you cds on iTunes or go through fitness playlists on Spotify & Google. I absolutely 100% cannot work out without a constant beat if I am walking or jogging. I need to feel that beat when my feet make contact with the floor. I’m just weird like that. And if I’m lifting or doing core & legs, I need empowering music that makes me feel like a sexy badass! Why not, right? So, I wanted to share some of my favorite workout songs….this is mainly for my gals Laura, Brittany, and Amanda who I know are trying to be active! Love you ladies. Here goes….

PS- You can thank my days as a total “Fag hag” at Club Pantheon for so many of these! And the fact that my brother is a total techno geek…

Workout Cardio:

• Walking In Memphis (Master Blaster Club Mix) Master Blaster
• Call On Me (Eric Prydz ) from Ultra Workout 01
• Alone – Kim Sozzi
• Pound The Alarm (UK Radio Edit) Nicki Minaj
• Restlessness (Radio Edit) Bastien Laval f. Layla
• Till The World Ends- Britney Spears
• Good Vibrations – Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch
• Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO
• Fire Burning – Sean Kingston
• Where Them Girls At – David Guetta f. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj
• Something Kinda Ooh – Girls Aloud
• The Show – Girls Aloud
• Satellites- September (Dancing DJs Remix)
• Telephone – Lady Gaga f. Beyoncé
• Run The World (Girls) – Beyoncé
• Love Sensation (2006 Hi Track Remix) – Loleatta Holloway
• Super Bass – Nicki Minaj
• Sofi Needs A Ladder – Deadmau5
• Bouncing Off The Ceiling – A*Teens
• They Live! (Rogerseventytwo Remix) – Evil Nine
• One More Time – Daft Punk
• Star To Fall- Cabin Crew (Club Mix) from Ultra Workout 01
• Sexy Bitch – David Guetta f. Akon
• Dynamite – Taio Cruz (Remix) The Workout Mix 2011
• Ghosts n Stuff – Deadmau5 f. Rob Swire
• Get Outta My Way – Kylie Minogue
• All At Once- The Fray
• Floorfiller – A*Teens
• Titanium -David Guetta f. Sia
• S&M – Rihanna
• Because The Night – Cascada
• Hot N Cold – My Fitness Music, Current Top 40, 2009
• Don’t Trust Me – 3Oh!3
• Tik Tok – Ke$ha (if you don’t have Ke$ha on your playlist…wtf)
• Morning After Dark – Timbaland f. SoShy & Nelly Furtado
• If You Could Read My Mind – Stars on 54
• I Touch Myself- Jan Wayne (Handz Up Club Mix) haha yeah I know.
• Boom Boom Boom Boom – Vengaboys
• We R Who We R – Ke$ha
• Give Me Everything – Pitbull f. NeYo & Naya
• Out Of Touch – Uniting Nations
• Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites – Skrillex (Also great for strength)
• Come And Get Your Love – Real McCoy
• Turn Me On – David Guetta f. Nicki Minaj
• Bad Boy – Cascada
• Davali – Steve Angello
• Born This Way – Lady GaGa
• Red Alert – Basement Jaxx
• You’re Fee (To Do What You Want To Do) – Yomanda
• Ooh Ahh, Just A Little Bit – Gina G
• Everytime We Touch – Cascada
• Total Eclipse Of The Heart – Nikki French
• Be My Lover -La Bouche
• Automatic – Elize
• Applause – Lady GaGa
• On The Floor – Jennifer Lopez f. Pitbull
• Bad Romance (Remix) – Skrillex
• Good Time – Owl City f. Carly Rae Jepsen
• We Didn’t Start The Fire – My Fitness Music
• Robot Rock – Daft Punk
• Break Your Heart – Taio Cruz f. Ludacris
• Ayo Technology (Remix) – Skyla
• Trippin On You – Cahill
• Big Girl Now – NKOTB f. Lady GaGa
• Break A Sweat – Becky G (this is the best ever)
• Take It Off – Ke$ha
• Sugar – Maroon 5
• Crash & Burn – Thomas Rhett
• Cool For The Summer- Demi Lovato
• Say You’re Just a Friend – Austin Mahone f. Flo Rida
• Zombie (Ray Knox Hands Up Techno Remix) -Andrew Spencer and the Vamprocks

Ok and now for….

Workout Strength:

• Heartless – Kanye West (I hate him but he’s got some good music)
• Live Your Life- T.I. f. Rihanna
• Love Lockdown – Kayne West
• Elevator – Flo Rida f. Timbaland
• Remember The Name – Fort Minor (this is like…the ultimate song)
• More Human Than Human (Covenant Remix) – White Zombie
• Paper Planes – M.I.A.
• Pour Some Sugar On Me- Def Leppard
• Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
• Disturbia – The Cab (Punk Goes Pop 2)
• Down- Breathe Carolina (Punk Goes Pop 3)
• Free Fallin – The Almost (Punk Goes Classic Rock)
• Independent Woman Part 1 – Destiny’s Child
• Satisfaction – Britney Spears
• Ring The Alarm- Beyoncé
• Feel Good Inc – Gorillaz
• Obsessed – Mariah Carey
• Rockstar 101 – Rihanna
• Punkbitch- 3Oh!3
• Carry Out – Justin Timberlake f. Timbaland
• Startrukk- 3OH!3 f. Katy Perry
• Touch The Sky – Kayne West f. Lupe Fiasco
• Break The Ice (Remix) -Britney Spears f. Fabolous
• Lose Yourself – Eminem
• Can’t Hold Us Down – Christina Aguilera f. Lil Kim
• Feedback (Remix) – Janet Jackson f. Ciara (OMG THE BEST)
• The Next Episode – Dr. Dre f. Snoop Dogg
• Push It To The Limit – Corbin Bleu
• Paradise – Coldplay
• Break A Sweat – Becky G (told you I loved this song…)
• Promiscuous Girl – Nelly Furtado f. Timbaland
• The Tide Is High – Atomic Kitten
• Bo$$ – Fifth Harmony
• Worth It- Fifth Harmony
• Focus On Me- Ariana Grande
• Back In Black – AC/DC
• Bang Bang – Ariana Grande, Jesse J & Nicki Minaj
• Come With Me Now – KONGOS
• Fancy – Iggy Azalea f. Charli XCX
• Radioactive – Imagine Dragons
• Problem- Ariana Grande f. Iggy Azalea
• Talk Dirty – Jason Derulo f. 2 Chainz

 

There ya have it. Get sweatin!

Healthy Meals & Exercise Week 2

First, a glamour shot of my look for the opening of  the Mead Room at  the Carlsbad Art Museum. (Roderick F Mead was my boss, Elaine’s (at Candlewood) father. Apparently,  He was part of the  avant-garde movement in Spain and France in the 30s and studied under Picasso. I learned so much about him. What a life she and her family have lead!

 

Week One was a success! I lost 3 pounds from holiday weight so that is very encouraging. I had a few slip ups here and there…and had to learn how to control my hunger again. As always, my wonderful husband was my cheerleader. He really is my everything!

I joined Daily Burn and use it on my Xbox (and once on my Samsung Note 3). I’m really loving it. My favorite trainer is Keaira LeShae – she does Cardio Sculpt kick boxing and the MOVE! series which features different types of dancing. It’s INTENSE! I do miss running on the treadmill though so I may do that today just to spice it up a little. Also, they have a calorie burn listed on the end of each DB workout but I don’t know if I should be counting that so I always lowball myself. I really just need to get a FitBit that tracks a heart rate.

Looking for new recipes, I stumbled across an article I’d saved on Facebook from Cooking Light. All of the recipes are 300 calories or less. I’m really trying hard to shift the bulk of my calorie intake to the beginning and middle of the day. I’ll also do my best to post the links for recipes this time!

Mon, Jan 11th:

• Breakfast: Turkey Bacon, 1 Egg Over Medium and a slice of cantaloupe
• Lunch: Leftovers from Sunday or salad green with a 70 cal Tuna pkt
• Dinner: Pan Fried Cuban Black Bean Cakes with sautéed Spinach & Red Onions and a side Spicy Cucumber Salad (http://ourbestbites.com/2010/08/sweet-and-spicy-cucumber-slices/)

***Notes – I used to be very fruit oriented in the morning, but I learned something important from a friend who had gestational diabetes. Your body will metabolize fruit better in the afternoon.

Tues, Jan 12th:

• Breakfast: Breakfast Deviled Eggs (http://www.diabeticconnect.com/diabetic-recipes/general/965-breakfast-deviled-eggs)
• Lunch: Leftovers or green salad with 70 cal tuna & fruit
• BBQ Salmon with Snap Pea Slaw (http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/barbecue-salmon)

Wed, Jan 13th:

• Breakfast:  Eggs with Pinto Beans, Cheese and Salsa
• Lunch: Leftovers
• Dinner: Pork Chops stuffed with Spinach & Feta with Mashed Cauliflower & Roasted Green Beans ( http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/pork-chops-stuffed-with-feta-spinach

Thursday, Jan 14th:

• Breakfast: 1 serving of Turkey Sausage Links and 1 Egg over medium with
• Lunch: Leftovers
• Dinner: Lamb Chops with Roasted Asparagus and Arugula & Spinach salad with a Dijon Vinaigrette (http://www.myrecipes.com/m/recipe/marinated-lamb-chops)

***Also, for roasted asparagus – I always use a little olive oil, lemon juice and fresh minced garlic. Roast at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes depending on how thick the stalks are!

Friday, Jan 15th:

• Breakfast: 2 slices Turkey Bacon and Scrambled Egg
• Lunch: Leftovers
• Dinner: Eat out, leftovers or chef’s choice

Saturday, Jan 16th:

• Breakfast: Goat Cheese, Tomato and Spinach Crustless Quiche
• Lunch: Tuna with Salad greens & Fruit
• Dinner: Skillet Chicken with Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce with a Black Bean, Corn, Avocado and Tomato salad (http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2015/07/08/skillet-chicken-with-creamy-cilantro-lime-sauce/)

***The salad is really easy. I just toss everything in lime juice, garlic, a little olive oil, chili powder and salt. It really depends on what you like! Use grape tomatoes for a better flavor.

Sunday, Jan 17th:

• Leftover quiche
• Leftovers or Salad
• Sweet Potato and Ground Turkey Skillet with side salad and roasted brussel sprouts (http://www.primaverakitchen.com/ground-turkey-sweet-potato-skillet/)

Well, there it is. We did well this week, but skipped Friday because of an event that came up. So, we have extra tuna steaks for another night. Also, this is NOT all that I eat. I snack…because I would starve to death if I didn’t. Some of my favorites are bell peppers & celery because they satisfy you without adding to your calorie count. Also, baby carrots, apples, pink grapefruit and the occasional Greek yogurt. I will also be making a fruit salad this week for Chris & I. The main thing with fruit (and even some veggies) is to remember that it’s not a freebie. Fruit has sugar and you CAN have too much. And, at night, Chris has Little Pops from See’s Candies. They are Butterscotch, Café Latte, Vanilla and Chocolate flavored. 4 pieces are 60 calories and they really take the edge off. The flavor is divine. (http://www.sees.com/lollipops/little-pops/)

Have a lovely & healthy week everyone! It’s time for me to clean and get on the that treadmill!