YBBC - Day 6

Let's get straight to biz. Here's what the plan called for:


And here's what went down:


BREAKFAST
A loaded veggie scramble of sorts with a piece of whole wheat toast.

Made with 1 egg, 2 egg whites, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, bell pepper and a sprinkle of goat cheese.


MORNING SNACK

None.


LUNCH
A wrap made with leftover falafel burger, schmear of hummus, baby spinach, sliced tomato & a drizzle of leftover tzatziki sauce. All wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla.

Plus I split this apple with Hubs.


AFTERNOON SNACK

None because we were having an early dinner.


DINNER

For dinner we went to nearby town Bisbee for dinner and a ghost tour with our friends. We ate dinner at Santiago's Mexican Restaurant.
I ordered a combo platter that had two fish tacos, one pork carnitas taco, black beans and roasted corn. I ate all the tacos and left the majority of the corn & black beans.

Plus I should mention that I ate a good amount of chips & salsa and drank two glasses of (really yummy) sangria!


DESSERT

For dessert I ate one chocolate truffle from a chocolate shop that we visited earlier in the day, plus half a gingersnap cookie that I split with Hubs.


FITNESS

Jogged roughly 3.3 miles and then did Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown DVD.

YBBC - Day 5

Friday was partially spent out of town too so I definitely deviated from the plan a lot. I tried to still make smart decisions though!

Here's what the plan called for (I don't know why I'm even posting this since I basically didn't follow it at all):
And here's how things went down...

BREAKFAST
I ate breakfast at the free continental breakfast at the hotel. I toasted a piece of multigrain bread and topped it with 1 Tbsp peanut butter, sliced banana and a drizzle of honey.


MORNING SNACK:

None.


LUNCH
I stopped at a place called Pita Jungle in Tucson and got the Veggie Garden Wrap.
It was delicious, packed full of veggies and the size of my arm! I ate half of it for lunch and the other half later for a snack.


AFTERNOON SNACK

Like I said above, I ate the rest of my pita lunch for a snack.


DINNER
Steamed Fish with Pesto & Veggies and brown rice on the side.
I pretty much followed the recipe linked above exactly, except that I used mahi-mahi instead of snapper and I added cherry tomatoes to the foil packets.

Unfortunately I just wasn't feeling fish that night (Alex liked it though!), so I actually only took a few bites of this dinner and then abandoned it in favor of this:

Special K cereal with sliced banana and almond milk....yum! Totally hit the spot. Sometimes you just gotta go with what sounds good!


FITNESS

Rest day....again. Ooops!

YBBC - Day 4

Well I think it's safe to say I've been slacking on my YBBC recap posts! Oopsie! Time to start catching up with a Day 4 recap.

Like I mentioned in my last post, Thursday we spent the night out of town in Tucson so I got a little thrown off of my normal schedule. Here is what the plan called for:


But here's what actually happened:

BREAKFAST
Frozen waffle topped with vanilla greek yogurt, berry "syrup", and coconut flakes. Plus I ate the remainder of the container of greek yogurt with the remainder of the berry "syrup" on top. This breakfast was SO YUMMY!! Best one of the week fo 'sho!
I made the berry "syrup" by tossing about 1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries in a small saucepan and turning the heat on medium. Then I added a splash of orange juice and a drizzle of maple syrup. I let that mixture cook down a little until the berries released their juices. Then I stirred in a tablespoon or two of flour to the mix to thicken the sauce. That's it! It was so easy and SO GOOD. It would be great on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and much more.

MORNING SNACK

Wasn't needed.

LUNCH
A turkey, avocado, spinach & dijon sandwich on whole wheat....eaten on the road (don't worry - I was safe)!


AFTERNOON SNACK
I had a little time to kill before I could check into our hotel so I went to a nearby Starbucks and drank an iced coffee. I always order my iced coffee with a pump of some sort of flavored syrup (this time I went with cinnamon) and then I add my own half and half to my liking.

After we checked in we realized that part of being a Hilton Rewards member meant that we got free access to a happy hour at the hotel. I'm never one to pass up free food or drinks, so of course we had to check it out.

I had two glasses of white wine plus a small plate of chips & salsa, raw carrots, some sort of ham & cheese thing served on a slice of baguette (it was good!) and a potato skin. I went back for seconds and got another potato skin and a little more chips & salsa. It was a yummy snack!

DINNER

For dinner we headed to one of our favorite chain restaurants, BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse.
I ordered the Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps, which were good, but I was pretty full from the happy hour food so I only ate half. (Though I did also eat quite a few of Hubs' potato wedges....he didn't want them and I couldn't let them go to waste!!)


FITNESS

Didn't manage to fit in a workout today. Oh well!

YBBC - Day 3

Ahlo govnahs! (I'm a nerd) Time for another Your Best Body Challenge (YBBC) recap post!

Catching up? Check these out: Intro Post - Day 1 Post - Day 2

Per the usual, here's what was on le schedule:

But here's what actually went down my gullet! :)

BREAKFAST

I wasn't in the mood for a savory eggs & ham breakfast so I subbed in:
Whipped banana oatmeal made with 1/2 banana, 1/3 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 tsp chia seeds and 1/3 cup rolled oats (though I wished I had used my fave oat bran instead). Topped with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a sprinkle of coconut (can you tell I'm obsessed with sprinkling coconut on top of things?!?)

I didn't end up finishing this (probably ate about 2/3rds) because my tummy was full.


MORNING SNACK

Skipped because I wasn't hungry (I am basically never hungry between breakfast and lunch....later in the day is a different story)!


LUNCH
Stuck with the plan on this one. Bean & cheese burrito made with 1/2 cup semi-mashed black beans, sprinkle of shredded cheese, salsa, cilantro, & baby spinach all wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla.

Plus half a grapefruit that I was supposed to eat with breakfast.


AFTERNOON SNACK
Una manzana (a.k.a. an apple)

y queso! a.k.a. that disgusting-looking blob which is microwaved string cheese. (I've come to the conclusion that string cheese is 5 bajillion times better when it's melted.)

Annnnnd...
...a Nature Valley Granola Thin. Apparently I was in a very snacky mood this afternoon!


DINNER
We had the veggie burgers last night so I made Sunday's dinner instead: Penne (in our case Rigatoni) with Chicken Marengo

Served alongside some roasted brocc (our fave veggie side dish of all time).
The dish was just okay. It was a little weird because it was sweet and very orangey from the orange juice and zest. If we made it again, we both agreed that we could do without the orange elements. At the last minute I added some baby spinach to the dish as a way to add some more greens to the meal, and we really liked that addition!

Penne with Chicken Marengo
Source: adapted from Women's Health Magazine
Serves: 4 Prep: 10min |Cook: 20min |Total: 30min

8 ounces penne
1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree (we used diced tomatoes instead)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 big handfuls of baby spinach

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander and transfer to a warmed serving bowl.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water and soak for 5 minutes. When softened, drain and chop coarsely. Set aside.

3. Toss the chicken with the flour, thyme, and pepper. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the mushrooms and 2 tablespoons of the broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mushrooms are barely softened and have begun to release their juices.

4. Add the crushed tomatoes (with puree), orange juice, orange zest, sugar, salt, the sun-dried tomatoes, and the remaining broth. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release the browned bits. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the flavors are blended. In the last 2 minutes of cooking toss in the baby spinach and cook until wilted slightly.

5. Pour the mixture over the pasta and toss to coat well.

Nutritional Facts per serving
CALORIES 389.9 CAL
FAT 5.8 G
SATURATED FAT 1 G
CHOLESTEROL 32.9 MG
SODIUM 513.8 MG
CARBOHYDRATES 61.6 G
TOTAL SUGARS 9.5 G
DIETARY FIBER 5.4 G
PROTEIN 25.7 G


DESSERT

I ate a small handful of Junior Mints (the last of the box...sad face).


FITNESS

I did the Best Workout for a Pear-Shaped Body again, only this time I did it "circuit style" by completing all the exercises back to back with no rest between. I did the circuit 3 times.

I finished up my workout with a quick and easy 10 minutes jogging on the treadmill.


That's all she wrote for today, folks! Have a lovely night!

Your Best Body Challenge - Day 2

On to Day 2 of the challenge! If you're catching up, here are the links to the previous posts: Intro Post, Day 1 Post

Here is what was on the plan for today:

And here's how things actually went down!

BREAKFAST
2 slices of whole wheat toast (50 calories each) topped with 2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 banana (sliced), 1 tsp chia seeds & a sprinkle of coconut. Plus coffee!

I deviated from the plan by having two pieces of toast and adding the chia seeds/coconut but I'm okay with it.


MORNING SNACK

Skipped because I wasn't hungry (and I don't like raisins anyway).


LUNCH
Turkey Taco Salad

The plan called for leftover spicy chicken pasta from last night, but my husband took the leftovers for his lunch, so I was left to improvise. I made the turkey taco salad with (leftover from Sunday's dinner) turkey taco meat & black beans, salsa, a dollop of greek yogurt and about 4 tortilla chips crumbled.


AFTERNOON SNACK
Strawberry greek yogurt


DINNER
Homemade falafel burger on a whole wheat bun with sweet potato fries.

The plan called for us to have Miso Salmon for dinner tonight but we're not big salmon fans in this family so I subbed tomorrow night's dinner instead. The dinner said a "veggie burger" which I assume meant a frozen pre-made veggie burger, but I decided to take it a step further and make my own homemade meatless burger.

I used a falafel burger recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Can You Stay For Dinner?. She has one of the best food blogs EVER, an amazing weight loss story and a killer personality...check her out if you haven't already!

Anyway, these falafel burgers didn't disappoint! They were delish...even my meat-loving husband agreed.
Falafel Burgers
Source: Can You Stay For Dinner?
Yield: 4 Burgers

Ingredients

For the burgers:
2 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, chopped
2 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 large handful parsley, chopped (I used cilantro instead)
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon chili powder (we were out so I used smoked paprika)
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup vegetable oil

For the Tahini Sauce:
½ cup tahini paste
3 tablespoons water
Zest and juice of 2 lemons

Preparation
Step 1
Combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, flour, spices, and salt in a food processor, and pulse until the mixture is well combined. Form the mixture into 4 large patties.
Step 2
Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook burgers for about 3 minutes per side.
Step 3
Make the tahini sauce: Whisk the tahini paste with the water, lemon juice and zest, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a mixing bowl.
Step 4
Serve the burgers in pita pockets or on a bun. Top them with tahini sauce, lettuce, and tomato.




DESSERT

I haven't gotten the urge for a sweet yet, but if I do I'm planning on grabbing a small handful of Junior Mints for dessert (my favorite candy ever)!


FITNESS

The plan didn't call for any exercise today but I did a 3.35 mile jog/walk. It was supposed to be strictly a jog but I had to stop about 2.25 miles in because my legs are so sore from yesterday's workout and they just weren't wanting to keep going. So I walked the rest and called it a day.


CONCLUSION

I feel a little guilty that I strayed from the plan so much today, but I think I still managed to make good swaps and healthy decisions. You gotta do what you gotta do!

P.S. This whole blogging everything you eat throughout the day thing is EXHAUSTING and takes me forever! I'm so glad I'm only doing this for one week! I have no idea how the healthy living bloggers do it with 3 posts a day, everyday.

Your Best Body Challenge - Day 1

So today was day numero uno of the Best Body Challenge Week! I'd say it was a good first day, although I did find myself with a few obstacles and making a few minor tweaks to the plan to keep me happy. :)

Here is what the plan called for:

And here is how things actually went down:

BREAKFAST

2 scrambled eggs + 1 egg white + whole wheat toast (I can't eat eggs without toast) + coffee

plus half a grapefruit


MORNING SNACK

I skipped snack #1 because I wasn't hungry between breakfast and lunch.


LUNCH
Turkey wrap made with 4 slices of deli-style turkey, a sprinkle of shredded mozarella cheese, dijon mustard & some spring greens all rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla.

On the side I had a sliced apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter (which I justified was okay since I skipped the morning snack).


AFTERNOON SNACK

Sargento Light String Cheese. After I finished the snack I was still hungry and knew I wouldn't make it til dinner without a little more, so I actually ate a 2nd string cheese. This particular brand is only 50 calories per piece so my snack was still only 100 calories.


DINNER

Spicy Chicken Pasta + a side salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette


I adapted the recipe a bit to increase a lot of the amounts so we would have enough to satisfy my husband's hungry tummy. I also added a few things that I thought would make the flavor better (chili powder in marinara sauce just didn't appeal to me).

Spicy Chicken Pasta
adapted from Women's Health Magazine

serves 3-4

6.5 oz thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta (about half a box)
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks (about 2 breasts)
1 tsp flour
2 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1.5 cups spaghetti sauce
salt & pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain.

As pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic until the onion starts to get tender.

Add the chicken, red pepper flakes, cayenne, paprika & Italian seasoning to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is almost completely cooked through.

Mix the flour and the water in a small bowl. Pour the spaghetti sauce and flour mixture into the skillet. Add a little water to the pan if you need to thin out the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Pour the cooked pasta into the pan with the sauce and mix well. Add salt & pepper to taste and sprinkle fresh basil on top.


DESSERT

Okay so according to the plan there is no dessert option for tonight, but I have to at least have something sweet at night so I am planning on eating one small square of Lindt Dark Chocolate (unpictured because I haven't eaten it yet).


FITNESS

I did two back-to-back sets of all the strength training exercises in the "best workout for a pear-shaped body".

Then I followed it up with the "Smart Cardio Intervals":
I did my "maximum effort" intervals at 7.0mph on the treadmill and my "recover" intervals walking at 3.6mph. The whole thing took about 30 minutes and I think I burned around 300 calories. I was a schweaty mess when it was all over!


CONCLUSION

I think I did pretty darn good today! Other than the time in the afternoon when I was hungry, I felt satiated most of the day.

I'm already thinking though that this won't last more than a week because I didn't really like being confined to a set plan. I tend to just go with my cravings, so it's hard when I want something but "can't" have it. For example, for breakfast I really wanted my usual peanut butter & banana oatmeal, but the plan called for eggs. I decided to stick to the plan as closely as possible for just a week as an experiment of sorts, but I don't see myself continuing with it after the week is up.

We shall see!

Your Best Body Challenge

Today on Twitter I saw a link to the Women's Health magazine "Your Best Body" workout and diet plan. I clicked on it and immediately thought, "I should do this! This looks totally doable!" I've been lacking in my ability to plan our meals in advance lately, so I thought this would be a great way to get myself back into a routine.

Also, I am looking at this as kind of an experiment of sorts. I generally eat very healthy throughout the week; lots of fruit & veggies, whole grains only, lean meats, etc. but I am curious to see if following a set plan will jump start weight loss. (My weight has been kind of stagnant lately, despite my healthy eating & fitness habits. I'm not looking to lose a lot more weight (I've already lost about 12 pounds), but I wouldn't mind another 5 or so pounds coming off!)

The "Your Best Body" plan seems very easy to follow and self-explanatory. They have recipes, eating out tips, shopping lists, and more all for FREE on the website! The recipes are simple and not too complicated if you're new to cooking.

Anyway, the reason I'm going on and on about this is because I am going to do the "Your Best Body" plan for one week and I'm going to try to post daily about how it's going for the next week. I know only a week may seem kind of silly, but I am hesitant to commit to longer than that for now. Maybe I will continue after a week, maybe I won't. We shall see.

Today I downloaded the Week 1 shopping list, went to the grocery store and stocked up on all the items I didn't have in my pantry or fridge already. I was expecting it to be a super-expensive grocery bill, but it was actually LESS than I normal spend at the grocery store for a week! Bonus!

I'm also planning on loosely following the "Your Best Body" workout plan for a pear-shaped body type. They have workout plans designed specifically for all the different body types! Cool, right? (I'm not going to follow the fitness plan exactly though because I do still want to keep up with my running 3x per week and yoga 1x per week.)

So that's it! I'm starting officially on Monday, but I wanted to post about it today just in case any of you guys want to follow along and participate with me! You should still have plenty of time to run to the grocery store and stock up on supplies.

So, any takers? :)

A Day in the Life of Ashley's Stomach

I subscribe to a lot of Healthy Living blogs in which the author documents every food that they eat every single day. While it may sound a bit over the top, I actually love reading these blogs because it gives me ideas of what to eat and make and it helps me compare my healthy habits with others.

While I could never keep up with the stress and time it takes to document everything I eat, I figured I could handle doing it for just one day. So without further adieu, I present you with A Day in the Life of Ashley's Stomach:

Breakfast:
Chocolate Raspberry Oat Bran (made with frozen raspberries and half a banana....and a spoonful of Nutella on top). And my always-necessary cup of coffee.
I love oat bran instead of oatmeal because it's smoother...more like the consistency of grits. And I love my Chocolate Raspberry version because it seems decadent, but it's really not!

Lunch:
Lefovers: a link of Italian chicken sausage, spaghetti squash & peas. I love leftovers for lunches!

Snack:
A Ruby Red Grapefruit!
I am LOVING grapefruit these days. It is so sweet and juicy and amazing. I eat them just like an orange (only I remove all the membrane parts too because they're bitter). It's a time consuming and messy snack but it's so worth it!

Dinner:
Italian Wedding Soup (recipe coming soon)

And a whole wheat biscuit with honey & margarine on the side. Actually I had two of these.

Dessert:
Two Gingersnaps. I almost always have to have something sweet after dinner, but I try to keep it small. These two gingersnaps were only 60 calories total.


So that's it for that day in my stomach!

Now, keep in mind that I almost never eat the same thing two days in a row since I'm easily bored with food (except for grapefruits...I eat one of those every day lately). Also, I really try to base my eating off the concept of "intuitive eating"....which means really paying attention to what my body is telling me. If I'm hungry for two snacks in the afternoon then I let myself have two snacks. And vice versa as well, if I'm not hungry then I wait until I am before eating.

The point I'm trying to get across is just that seeing one day of my eats is not really an accurate representation of how I eat all the time. But it's still fun!! :)

What do you think about my eats? Weird? Good? How does this compare to a day or your eating?