Snowy troubles

Happy New Years Eve all!
I had quite the eventful day!
Silly me didn't check the weather... turns out we were having major snow and I had no idea!!

I got up early before the snow started and got in a good workout at the gym- 206 calories burned on 35 minutes of the elliptical, 156 burned in 38 minutes of weight training on my arms.
I had 1/2 a clif bar before I left as usual, and afterwards I ate my breakfast on the way to the grocery store- A 0% chobani cup, a packet of bluberry/walnut/flax granola and a medium sized banana.
I did some quick grocery shopping, as well as met my mom to get some ingredients for the New Year's Day dinner I'm preparing for my parents, sister and grandparents!

The snow had started, A LOT by the time I left the store... in fact, it was so bad I had to leave my car there- my mom drove me in her van back to my house and my dad picked my car up for me! The Camry does not do well in the snow!
I had an apple when I got home and packed my stuff for the day.

I had plans to meet my best friend Danielle for lunch, but she ended up not being able to make it because of the snow. I enjoyed Pick Pockets myself instead- I had a grilled chicken wrap with lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, hummus and tahini. I devoured this, it took so long to get to the deli I was STARVING by the time I got lunch!

I totally forgot to photograph my snack and dinner, so sorry! I spent a couple lovely hours at Starbucks reading my new book (Women Who Eat; it's fabulous!) and drinking a grande nonfat latte for a snack.

For dinner at work (we had hardly anyone all night the snow was so bad!) I had a can of Amy's split pea soup and some carrots.
Since dinner was so low in calories, I didn't feel a problem with having a semi-heathy splurge for New Year's Eve with my mom- Chocolate Brownie Frozen yogurt! For 120 calories and 3 g fat per 1/2 cup, this is way worth it! I had about 3/4 a cup. Yum!

I'm still a little hungry, so I think I'm going to have some fruit before I settle in to watch some of the New Year's specials and ring in the new year!


Happy 2008, Have a wonderful, safe night, 'see' you all in 2009!!

*Pics up in the am!*

At least it wasn't fried!

I had a GREAT night with my friends! I missed all 3 of them, and haven't seen any of them regularly for over a year, so it was great fun to catch up and laugh over food at friendly's.

I spent the afternoon organizing my house, well, to some extent... I got a good amount done! I paused for some snacks; 3/4 cup 1% cottage cheese

and a juicy red anjou pear (my favorite!).


At dinner there really weren't very many (healthy) appealing choices, but I went with something that looked fairly healthy and was quite tasty- the grilled chicken deluxe sandwich. I definitely should have ordered the sauce on the side because I'm sure it added a whopping amount of calories... but it was yummy. I ate the whole sandwich, and yes- I ate a few fries... but just a few!

I desperately wanted to try the peppermint ice cream but knew I had to be good, so instead of ordering a full cup I had a bite of my friend Alessandra's!

It was good, but not amazing- I'm glad I didn't get a whole cup!

Afterwards got a little crazy...


Overall, it was a very fun time, I'm so glad it's break and I can catch up with everyone!
Tomorrow I'm planning on working out in the a.m., then I have lunch plans and work so I'll try and post before I head out for New Years. WOW, can you believe tomorrow's the last day of 2008?!?!

Spinning away

Good afternoon everyone!
Sorry I wasn't around for a breakfast post, I slept in a little (7:45, whoo!), made myself a delicious smoothie (I missed them so!)

1 cup nonfat soy, 1 medium banana, 1 cup frozen berries, 1 scoop jay robb protein.

I browsed online a bit and then got ready to head to the gym. I got there early and did 10 minutes on the treadmill to warm up, then managed 2 sets of 10 strength training my legs- lunges & standing splits with 12 lbs, leg press at 150 calves and thighs, and hip adductor machine because I COULD NOT DO ABS... they're still way too sore !
After I worked my legs I snacked on half of this bar (a present from my secret santa!):

Then I met up with my mom and did a 45-minute Spin Class! It was a hard one because I'm still achy, but I worked hard and burned 349 calories! Sometimes I hate spinning... but when I stick with it and make it through, the feeling afterwards is SO worth the struggle!

Back home, I was very ready for lunch! I made myself a huge colorful veggie&protein filled salad to refuel- spinach, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, olives, 3 oz chunk light tuna, 1/4 c chick peas and 1 tbsp Annie's Gingerly Viniagrette. I also had some baby carrots and a big macintosh apple. Definitely got my fair share of nutrients, yum!!

This afternoon I'm working on getting my house organized, and then later on tonight I was invited to dinner at Friendly's with a few friends. This is NOT the most 'clean eating friendly' restaurant. However, I am very excited to see my friends and would not want to argue with their choice of restaurants, so I'm going to go and do the best I can to make a healthy dinner choice- it's all about balance, I think I've done well so far today and will continue to eat healthy until my bit of a 'splurge' this evening!

Have a great Tuesday!

Long day's work

Whew, what a day!
I am just about pooped after 8 hours at work, and an hour at the gym!

I woke up early again this morning and made myself breakfast- I'm back to eating clean and healthy from now on- the holidays were a bit much for me this year. I went a bit overboard and I'm looking forward to getting back on track and fitter than ever.
I made myself 1/2 cup 5 grains oats with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup low fat soy, with 1 tbsp all natural peanut butter and a big banana stirred in.

Food for the day included a garlic hummus/light laughing cow/spinach sammie on a whole wheat sandwich thin, carrots and an apple for lunch.

As well as snacks- a cheese stick I ate mid morning and a whole clif bar I ate for fuel for my workout after work.

Work was long, tiring and annoying as usual. I could not wait to blow off some steam at the gym afterwards! I headed to the Y where I did a sweaty 1 hour, 15 minutes of cardio- 35 minutes on the elliptical, and the rest of the time was spent working my arms as hard as I could with free weights and the assisted pullup/dip machine. Felt great, and burned 395 calories!!

Back home I was very ready for dinner! I snacked on a pickle while dinner was cooking:

And I pulled together an easy, but healthy and filling supper of a can of spicy vegetarian chili and some micro-steamed broccoli. Hit the spot after a hard workout!

Tonight I was planning on starting some organizing (I'm back at the beach house!) but I may save that for tomorrow morning... I am exhausted! Tonight will probably consist of me, my bed, a great book and a hot cup of tea. Just what I love!

Have a great night, everyone- hope your week got off to as good a start as mine did!

**P.S... The last installments of my '52 things' will be up this week!**

Sunday Treat

Happy Sunday everyone!
This Sunday was quite the treat for me, in many ways!

Last night before bed I settled in my room with a couple of leftover biscotti and a hot cup of tea.
In the morning, I woke up and had a fantastic yogurt/granola breakfast using 1/2 cup Nature's Path Pumpkin Granola, a container of 0% chobani, a big banana and a few dried cherries. Mmm!

After lounging & packing for a couple hours my mom and I headed to the gym, where we were planning on taking a yoga class, but it was canceled, so I decided to take my mom through my strength training routine (my first attempt at personal training!), because she's been looking for a good new routine to get strong in the new year! I did my leg routine- 2 sets of 10 reps with 12 lb weights doing standing splits and lunges, squats with a 30 lb barbell and 2 sets of 10 reps, shins and thighs on the leg press. I also did some ab work. It felt good!

After our workout, we headed to Markos where we started with spanakopita and kalamata olives... mmm, the best appetizer!

Then for my lunch I had my favorite baked falafel wrap, with lettuce, tomato, hummus, pickles and falafel.

We dropped off some stuff at my house, picked up some more movies at blockbuster and did a bit of grocery shopping. On the way home we stopped by my grandma's house, where she gave us her fantastic fruit cake she forgot to give us on Christmas! Of course I had to have a slice when I got home...
Actually, I went back for a second (this same size) and a juicy pear for my snack.


Dinner was the real treat of the day! I made Jenna's 'Second Mom' Betty's Fabulous Quiche for the fam, just making a couple simple changes using 1/2 broccoli, 1/2 spinach and using pancetta instead of canadian bacon for an italian twist. On the side I sliced us a huge cantelope to make the meal very french. I LOVED this quiche! The best I've had, for sure!

I couldn't stop at just one slice...I had a second sliver!

Still relaxing at the 'rents tonight, reading and movies. I know I sound boring, but really it's been very calming, and I'm very happy!

Not too happy that I have to work at 8am tomorrow morning... but oh well! I'll get a good night's rest and take the day on when it comes. Have a great Sunday evening!

*Pics up ASAP!*

Edited to add: Official last holiday treats- tomorrow starts my clean eating again! One chocolate covered oreo, and two little bliss chocolates. Gotta have my choco fix! 'Night!

Early up, early in

Last night I relaxed at home as planned, snacking on 1/2 cup of grapes and a couple biscotti with a cup of tea (Sweet Cinnamon Spice- my favorite by Tazo!)

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn (actually, it was still dark out!) to have a sweaty walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes before work.
After my workout, I had another bowl of Cranberry Sauce Oats made the same as the day before- 1/2 cup 5 grain cereal made with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup low fat soy, a banana, 1 tbsp PB and a big scoop of Dad's famous Cranberry Sauce.

Food for the day included leftovers (turkey with gravy, sausage stuffing, brussels sprouts with grapes)...

snacks were an apple and peanut butter puffins.

Mid afternoon I was starving at work, so I accepted two small christmas cookies:

I had a light cheese stick when I came home to hold me until dinner.

I made my dad, mom and I a delicious shrimp dish- Shrimp with sauteed zucchini, squash, baby bella mushrooms and rotini in a sundried tomato olive sauce. Deeelish!

I had this plus another small bite!

For dessert I had this Starbuck's peppermint mocha chocolate I got on Christmas.

Weaning off the treats, by Monday I'm back to normal eating!
Off to relax some more... may stay in, may go out... we'll see I guess!

"%^&$!"

Pretty close to the word I screamed when my arm slipped and the large glass bowl went flying to the floor and shattered while making a healthy alfredo sauce for dinner... whoops! Well, I saved dinner anyhow...
Whole wheat angel hair pasta with broccoli and roasted red peppers in a garlic parmesan sauce (make with broth, evoo, s&p, garlic and parm cheese)!

Seconds on veggies & protein:

Despite the drama, it was a good, flavorful meal!
Lets backtrack. Today was a great shopping day! We went to Borders where I picked up the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, a book by Pat Conroy (favorite author!), a new workout diary and Women who Eat, which I'm super excited to read! Giftcards, gone!

Then we went to Wholefoods where I had a big salad topped with some salad bar toppings- a couple of pasta salads,some tuna, tofu and tempeh, and a couple of couscous salads (the spicy maple was fantastic!).

I also had a bite of my mom's vegan chick'n nugget and a small sample of cheese:

I got a few stock up items with my gift card- soy milk, ezekiel cereal, as well as a couple of fun items- a new BBQ sauce to try (365 Chipotle Citrus!), Bison medallions, and almond butter!

We also stopped at the Gap, where I picked up a new purse on sale for only $12!! It's so cute!!

Back home I snacked on an apple and light cheese stick:


I also had a small truffle from my mom's Sweenor's home made chocolate stash:

I've spent my afternoon reading and lounging, I think I'll probably spend the evening the same way! I work tomorrow early, so my post won't come until dinner. Until then, have a great Friday Night and Saturday!!

Slowly coming back

I'm slowly but surely getting back on track!
Last night I had a small plate of leftovers for my 'dinner' and honestly didn't feel so great after. Maybe it was just a bit too much for one day!

This morning I woke up early as usual on Fridays and headed to the Y for a great workout- 35 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes of arm strength. I felt great, and it felt awesome to get in such a good workout after all my recent indulgences! The only disappoint was when I was on my way to the gym and realized I forgot my new HR monitor! Oh no! I can't wait until I can use it next week!

Back home I made myself a spectacular bowl of oats! I used 1/2 cup 5-grain cereal (officially my FAVORITE- way better than reg oats!) with 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup low fat soy milk. I stirred in 1 tbsp PB, a sliced banana and the BEST part of the bowl... a bit dollop of my dad's fabulous cinnamon cranberry sauce! Ohmigossshhhh was this fantastic! I can't wait to have another bowl tomorrow morning =)


Today my mom and I have plans to head to Border's to use a gift card and Whole Foods to use (some... hopefully!) of my gift card as well! Two of my favorite places to shop- food and books! We'll probably have lunch at W.F. because really... I can never resist! I'll do a recap later!

Have a great day-after-christmas, and happy holidays if you're still celebrating!

Joyful Noel

Merry Christmas again!
I had a lovely afternoon with the family!
I spent the morning hanging around the house, I also tried out my new heart rate monitor by walking/running on the treadmill... 152 calories burned in 30 minutes!
During the day I snacked on grapes while I made my brussels sprouts dip, as well as a couple small pieces of brownie from my sister's baking adventures!
I got hungry around noon and knew 'dinner' wasn't until 3 or so, so I had a small 'lunch' of leftovers from last night and some carrots, as well as some small monterey jack cheese slices (not pictured).

At my grandparents house we all gathered and I helped set up the tables... I snacked on a few olives and mini pickles as well as 2 deviled egg halves and 2 cheese/wheat crackers.

I was still hungry when dinner came! Here's my huge spread:

I had seconds of my favorites- spicy stuffing and broccoli bake!

I felt super full after this, luckily we had a while opening presents (I got a couple new cook books!) before dessert! I tried a bit of everything for dessert- my dark chocolate cheesecake (Delicious, but SUPER rich! My cousin Meg commented it was 'as good as cheesecake factory cheesecake'! I guess thats a compliment!), a slice of my cousin's pumpkin pie with fat free cool whip and a small m&m brownie my sister made.

(Like my alligator plate? hehe)

I did eat a lot today, but it was Christmas, I had a wonderful day and I look forward to starting to get back into heathier eating and smaller portions in the next few days, and then into 'healthy detox' mode starting when I'm back cooking for myself on Monday! I'm a bit hungry now since dinner was a few hours ago, so I might have a small snack or a treat before bed. I'm going to bed early though, and waking up bright and early to have a nice work out!!

Have a wonderful night, all!

Christmas Magic

Merry Christmas!

I'm a bit tired this morning... but my tiredness is masked by my excitement of this beautiful day! Last night I sipped on a christmas treat before church:

Midnight mass was nice, my favorite father was doing mass, so it made it extra special.
This morning we woke up bright and early to open gifts!

My parents and sister are so generous, I got some super lovely gifts like a new yoga mat bag and giftcard for classes from my sister, and my fave two 'healthy presents'....

A Polar F4 heart rate monitor (!!) and a Whole Foods gift card!!! So going tomorrow ;)


After opening presents I had a candy treat from my mom's truffle box:


And made myself a delicious breakfast- 1 cup 0% chobani with 1/2 cup Nature's Path Pumpkin Granola, a banana and some sweet dried cherries from my lovely blogger secret santa! I just recieved your present, thank you so much FitBird!!

Tis the season...

For friends, family and good food! I spent the afternoon baking... and had a few of these while making the crust for my dark chocolate cheesecake:

I also stole a malted milk ball off the sister's gingerbread house and had this cookie my mom brought home from work (she's a preschool teacher)...

I snacked on an apple and 1/2 cup 1% whipped cottage cheese to hold me until dinner.


Dinner was fantastic as it always is at Seven Moons! There were 11 of us celebrating, so we all ordered something yummy and shared!
For appetizers I had one spicy chicken wing, two dumplings, a piece of spicy scallop roll and a couple bites of a rib.


For dinner we all shared some delicious entrees- pad thai, seven moons rice (with shrimp and ham, general tso's and pork with vegetables.

I ordered lemon chicken strips, which I had two of:

Soo delicious! I felt good with my portions, I was full but not stuffed at all- I had room to share this sundae with my sister and twin cousins!

We only ate 3/4 though, it was HUGE!

I'm back home now, hanging out for a while... we just opened our first couple of presents and I got j crew pajamas and table topics... a fun game of questions I've been playing with my family! I also just finished making some deviled eggs for the family appetizer- my grandpa loves them and the woman who normally brings them won't be at dinner tomorrow so the chef-to-be had to take the slack! ;)
We're going to midnight mass this evening, then I'm getting a few hours of sleep before waking up on Christmas morning and seeing what Santa brought me!

Have a very Merry Christmas Eve everyone!!

Sorry if the pics are out of order, its my fam's crazy computer- sorry!