Weekend wrap up, spending & otherwise

Wow, productive Sunday. I'm going to be in training most of next weekend, & leave for a business trip on Sunday, so the pressure is on to get organized & prep food before I leave.

Last night I put together two Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina casseroles before we left for a Halloween party. I was planning on heating one up for dinner when we got back, but we ended up eating at the party. So, I have two good-sized casseroles for the next few weeks.

Today I made:

• Blueberry muffins (I used this recipe, & swapped the blueberries for cranberries). I love this recipe with cranberries, but didn't have any in the house.
• Peanut butter banana bread (no glaze, no peanuts added) & it was totally knock-your-socks-off amazing. Yum. Yum. Yum. I made two loaves for the freezer.
• Red pepper hummus, to eat for lunches throughout the week. Haven't tasted it, but plan to have it tonight.
• Loaded potato soup, for lunches during the week. I'm in training, so I'll very limited with what I can prep during the week.

I also went to the gym this morning, & did a 40 minute cardio workout + weights. I'm absolutely bushed! :-)

In financial news, we did the normal grocery shopping, & the other updates are that it was time to sign both boys up for soccer lessons. They've been taking lessons (1/2 lessons, 1/2 scrimmage) on Saturdays for several years & they both love it. You sign up for a quarter, & it's $175/each, per quarter. So, $350 total. Gulp.

We also signed our oldest child up for ski lessons (they start in January, but fill up very quickly & we got one of the last spots), bought both boys helmets, new boots for our oldest, bought a lift ticket to go with the lessons, etc. Groan.

Teaching our kids to ski is very important to us, as we're big skiers & want to be able to do frequent ski vacations. But, it's definitely not a cheap sport. I'm guessing I spent around $1000 this weekend, but don't have the exact total.

None of the expenses were unplanned, but having them fall on one weekend was a bit of a budget buster. How about you? How did you do this weekend? Stay on budget? Go over?

10/30 - Fitness & nutrition update

No weigh in today.

Food:
Breakfast:

• coffee with milk - 20
• english muffin with egg & laughing cow - 230
• pineapple - 30

Snack:

• cashews - 80

Lunch:

• grilled cheese sandwich (fat free cheese) - 300
• 1/2 apple - 40
• 1 piece pumpkin bread - 150.

Dinner:

• wine - 120
• 2 pc candy - 80
• turkey meatballs with garlic bread & salad - 400

Total = 1450
Fruits/vegetables = 2/5

10/29 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

Weight = 158

Without going too far into the details, I'm having some serious stomach problems. I got all the way to the gym this morning, and had to go home - I was in so much pain that I laid on the couch for an hour & tried not to move. I'm not sure what's going on - I have a doctor's appointment on Monday. Although, that's clearly no excuse for my eating today. :-(

Food:
Breakfast:

• english muffin, egg & laughing cow - 230

snack/lunch:

• 2 cookies - 600

Dinner:

• turkey sandwich - 400
• roasted brussel sprouts & pomegranates - 200

Total calories = 1430
Fruits/vegetables = 2/3

No workouts.

10/28 Fitness & Nutrition Wrap Up

It's pretty clear that I need to shake things up & make changes - I've been hovering within the same 3-4 pounds since July. If I want to lose this weight for good, I need to eat better, exercise harder, & keep up my tracking. My calories have slowly crept up, & I've allowed myself to have more junk/snacky foods. That has to be greatly minimized. I'm trying to lose weight, & need to focus harder on making every calorie a worthwhile & healthy one.

 

Weight = 157.8

 

Food:
Breakfast:

• english muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + sausage (80) - 230
• Coffee with milk - 20

Snack:

• Granola with milk - 200

Lunch:

• Salad, grilled chicken & fruit - 500.

Dinner:

• Roasted sweet potatoes & onions + brussel sprouts + small steak - 500
• 1 small cosmopolitan - 100
• 4 pieces of halloween candy - 190

Total = 1740

Fruits/Vegetables = 3/5

10/27 - Fitness & Nutrition Wrap Up

Weight = 157.2. Getting closer to my goal of 153. Yeah!

Food:
Breakfast:

• English muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 230
• coffee with milk - 20
• banana - 110

Lunch:

• Taco salad - 600
• 4 jolly ranchers - 85.

Dinner:

• Fruit salad - 100
• 1/2 peanut butter & jelly sandwch - 220

Total calories = 1365

Fruit/Veggies = 3/3 Finally! :-)

Workout:
30 minutes on the treadmill - fast walk.
111/150 workouts for the year, with 82.1% of the year elapsed, I'm 74% of the way to my goal. Closing the gap every day!

Financial Update

I'm looking forward to my end of the month wrap-up, but just wanted to say that lately I've been very sucked into a consumeristic, spend, spend, spend thing. For every purchase I make, I enjoy myself so much that I want to buy more, more, more. I hate that. I'm putting a wrap on it, because it's totally ridiculous & unecessary.

Is this something you deal with as well? How do you overcome that desire?

I loved the way Consciously Frugal handles it - great tip. It's especially hard for me with the holidays, as I do actually need to pick up a few gifts here & there. We've whittled our list down quite drastically, but it's not like I'm going to not buy gifts for my 4 year old. :-) I'm not that hard core.

I'd love to hear from all of you on how you avoid unecessary spending, and the "spending high" you get. It feels like the more I purchase, the more I want. It's nuts.

10/26 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

Weight = 158.8. I'm a bit surprised that it's this high, as I had a good day yesterday. We'll see how things shake out the rest of the week. I'm pushing toward 153 by Thanksgiving.

 

Food:
Breakfast:

• english muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 230
• coffee with milk - 20

 

Snack:

• 2 cookies - 150

Lunch:

• Granola with milk - 200
• Potato Soup - 350
• Celery & crackers with hummus - 150.

Dinner:

• roasted potatoes with chicken florentine - 500
• 2 pc of chocolate halloween candy & 1 small box of dots - 180.

Total = 1780

Fruits/Vegetables = 0/3. Wow. I apparently used all of my extra calories on junk & not fruit. Something to work on tomorrow.

Exercise:
40 minute cardio/strength combo workout.
Workout 110/150 for the year, with 81.9% of the year is elapsed, & I'm 73.3% of the way to my goal. Closing the gap!

10/25 - Fitness & Nutrition Update

No weight. Having some serious stomach issues, which is interefering with my routine a bit.

Food:
Breakfast:

• granola with milk - 250
• Coffee with milk - 40
• Grapes - 40

Lunch:

• Chicken flatbread - 450
• edamame - 80
• 1 mini box of dots & 1 mini bag of sour patch kids - 100.

Dinner:

• spinach ravioli with fresh tomatoes - 300
• pear - 80

Total = 1340

Fruits/Vegetables = 2/2

Workout:
30 minutes on the bike, level 12

Workout 109/150 (I squeezed in a workout on Saturday, which is how I got to 109).
81.6% of the year is elapsed, & I'm 72.6% of the way to my goal. I'm going to map out my workouts between now and the end of the year & highlight any concerns (i.e. days when I'm traveling & can't workout, etc) & find alternatives so I can hit 150 workouts for the year. So close - not giving up!

Menu Plan Monday - 10/25 Edition

We got back from the beach late last night, so I'm once again scrambling to put this together. :-)

Lunches: leftovers from dinners and/or from the freezer as necessary + fruit/veggies & nuts

Dinners:

• Monday - Spinach ravioli with pesto, fresh tomatoes & parmesan
• Tuesday - Chicken dijon fricassee
• Wednesday - Diner meat loaf muffins (from the freezer) +  Roasted brussel sprouts
• Thursday - Crunchy parmesan chicken tenders + roasted sweet potatoes
• Friday - Chicken Florentine Style + Butternut squash risotto
• Saturday - Italian baked chicken & pastina recipe
• Sunday - Linguine with shrimp & pesto

10/21 - Fitness & Nutrition

Weight - 159. I ate more salt than normal yesterday (pretzels), which I think is why I'm up.

Food:
Breakfast:

• english muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + sausage (80) - 230
• Coffee with milk - 10

Snack:

• granola with milk - 200

Lunch:

• 1/2 chipotle burrito bowl - 300
• apple - 80
• M&Ms - 240

Dinner:

• Lubia polo (persian rice & meat dish) - 400

Total calories = 1460.

Fruits/vegetables = 1/3

Workout:
I worked out in the morning today, as I try to continue to find new ways to squeeze in my time at the gym.
30 minutes on the bike, level 13.
10 minutes of weights, mostly arms.

Workout = 107/150. 71% of the way to my goal, with 80% of the year elapsed. I need to start closing that gap quickly.

10/20 - Fitness & Nutrition

Weight = 157.2. I finally feel like I'm getting my groove back. I'm determined not to lose that groove when we go away this weekend for our anniversary. I'm only 4.2 pounds from my first big goal of 153 (the weight I was at when I got pregnant with my second child).

 

Food:
Breakfast:

• english muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 230
• coffee with milk - 20

 

Snack:

• pretzels - 130

Lunch:

• Balsamic chicken with tomato paella - 350
• apple - 60
• granola with milk - 150

 

Snack:

• 3 mini candies & 1 jolly rancher - 150. Subtotal = 1090
• Pretzels - 200

Dinner:

• Ravioli with tomatoes & cheese - 275
• wine - 120

Total calories = 1685

Fruits/Vegetables = 1/2

No workout.

10/19 Fitness & Nutrition

Weight - 158. Heading towards my goal of 157 by this weekend!

 

Food:
Breakfast:

• Egg (80) + english muffin (130) + strawberries (20) - 230
• coffee with milk - 20

Snack:

• 1/2 scone - 150

 

Lunch:

• 1 piece chicken - 120
• butternut squash soup - 200
• salad with beets, beans, nuts, chicken & smidge of dressing - 250
• cheese - 90
• Apple - 60 .

Dinner:

• small cosmopolitan - 150
• balsamic chicken - 150
• hummus with celery - 75
• pretzels - 100

Total = 1595

Fruits/Vegetables = 2/4. Better on the fruit! :-)

Workout = 30 minutes on the treadmill, speed 3.7 mph.

Garden Party - The Seasonal Recipe Edition

My garden has finally wound down, which makes me feel a little sad. It was a very strange summer, temperature-wise, so things didn't grow exactly as expected. I'm working on modifying my list of what I want to grow next year (you know that I'll forget if I wait until next spring), & devising a plan to use all of the luscious items that I froze for later consumption.

Here's are my plans for my harvest:

• Chocolate chip pumpkin bread with my wonderful garden pumpkins. Best pumpkin bread ever, if you're a sweet lover. This is definitely a dessert-like bread. :-)
• Incorporate my pesto into a variety of recipes. I'm thinking of trying this pesto lasagna, Tuscan Chicken Simmer, Pesto Chicken Florentine, Pesto Chicken Paninis, Spinach & Feta Pita Bake, to name just a few. If you have a great recipe to use up pesto, please share!
• I will also be using my fresh tomato sauce tossed with pasta & grated parmesan cheese as a side dish to lighter fish recipes. I made a few batches of a bolognese sauce that I've stashed away in the freezer for future use.
• Although I use most of my frozen blackberries for smoothies (my kids adore smoothies), I'm thinking of trying this Blackberry-Lemon Pudding Cake, that looks delicious.  

And, from my Garden spreadsheet, here are my plans for next spring!

4x the amount of cucumbers

Smaller tomato varieties (grape or cherry?)

Carrots

Green onions

Broccoli

Leeks

Greens

Onions

Snap beans

Snap peas

Basil

Strawberries

Blueberries

Radishes

Mint

For more posts on gardening & fall harvests, check out the Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage!

10/18 - Fitness & Nutrition

159.2 - trending down. My goal for today was 159, so very close. I'm pushing toward my next goal, which is 157 by next week. My wedding anniversary is this Friday, & we're heading to the beach, so I definitely need to keep my eating in check to hit this goal. But, I'm committed!

Food:
Breakfast:

• 2 strawberries (15) + coffee with milk (20) - 35
• English muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 230

Snack:

• homemade granola with milk - 200

Lunch:

• turkey sandwich on wheat bread with lettuce, mustard & provolone - 300
• butternut soup - 150
• Apple - 60

Snack:

• Cashews/almonds -80
• cheese -90.

Dinner (partner event - restaurant)

• 2 bites of steak, little bit of macaroni & cheese, tomato salad, 3 bites dessert - 300
• 2 small rolls - 150

Total calories = 1595
Fruits/Vegetables. 1/3
I actually had to research what constitutes a serving of fruits & vegetables, & it turns out that 1/2 a cup of sliced fruit or vegetables is one serving. Good to know. :-)

Workout:
30 minutes on the bike - level 13.

105/150 workouts for the year.

Menu Plan Monday - 10/17 Edition

Lunches this week will be leftovers from meals we prepare during the week, leftovers from the feezer (as necessary), vegetables & hummus, fruit & nuts.

I made a peanut butter granola & blueberry muffins for breakfast this week. Yum!

Dinner:

• Monday - I'll be out to dinner for work, but I made extra balsamic chicken & tomato paella for M. Balsamic chicken recipe to come this week - it's one of our favorites.
• Tuesday - Tacos.
• Wednesday - Sauteed tilapia with honey scallion dressing and pasta with fresh tomato sauce & parmesan (freezer).
• Thursday - Lubia Polo.
• Friday - Cashew crusted chicken with basil pineapple rice.
• Saturday - Barbecued salmon & rice
• Sunday - Various leftovers from the fridge, as we'll be getting home late in the evening.

Spending report - 10/11-10/17

Monday - No spend day.
Tuesday - $6.00 for a book at the library. In my decades of library use, I've never once lost a library book. . . until now. Spending $6 for a book I didn't even read (no, no, no clue what happened to it) smarts a bit. $5.37 at the grocery store for bread & cooking oil. $16 for lunch with a friend. She treated last time, so I bought lunch today. And, now I'm reminded why I don't bring my wallet to the office. On the way back from lunch, we stopped into Anthropolgie. It was my first time inside, so I checked out the sales rack & found an absolutely gorgeous skirt for $9.95 -with tax, $10.90. The price was right, but it was definitely an impulse buy. Spendy day!
Wedensday - No spend day.
Thursday - $80.91 - groceries at Costco.
Friday - No spend day.
Saturday - $13.47 at Trader Joes for breaded chicken, an amazing hummus (impulse buy) with cilantro & jalapeno. A-Mazing. They had it as a sample & it was fabulous. $39.95 at the liquor store for Cointreau (cosmo-fixings). $24.15 at Cash & Carry for a few other groceries.
Sunday - About $100 on clothes for my oldest son. I was desperate. He's extremely, extremely hard to fit because he's reasonably tall & very thin, & most pants that are long enough for him don't fit in the waist. I ended up finding pants that fit at the Gap (their Slim line) & bought 3 pair of pants, a few pair of Slim shorts for next summer that were clearanced to $5 each, and a few shirts, as he doesn't have much in the size he just moved up to. The Gap does not exactly have cheap kids jeans ($34 regular price!), but they were having a sale today, so it wasn't totally a loss.

Total for the week = $296.75 - a few impulse purchases in their, but overall, not to bad.

10/17 - Fitness & Nutrition

Weight = 159.6. Up a bit - not surprising after my big dinner last night. :-)

Food:
Breakfast:

• English muffin (130) + egg (80) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) - 230
• coffee with milk - 20

Snack:

• 10 cashews - 80

Lunch:

• 2 pcs wheat bread (220) + hummus (60) + cheese (75) + vegetables (30) - 385
• apple - 60
• blueberry muffin - 275? Not sure. Tasted rich. :-)

Dinner:

• cosmopolitan - 200
• butternut squash soup - 200
• balsamic chicken - 250

Total = 1700

Fruits/vegetables = 1/3. Again with the fruit. Seriously, I'll give it my best shot tomorrow. :-) I'm going to try & eat 1 serving of fruit at breakfast, and 2 with lunch, because we generally don't have fruit with dinner.

Workout:
30 minutes of elliptical, level 12
15 minutes of arms/legs weight machines. 

104 out of 150 workouts (goal for the year). 69% of the way to my goal.

10/16 Fitness & Nutrition

159.4 - Same as the past couple of days

 

Food:
Breakfast:

• coffee with milk - 20
• English muffin (130) + egg (80) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) - 230

No snack

 

Lunch:

• Leftover tomato paella - 300
• apple - 60
• 1/4 grilled cheese sandwich - 60
• 2 pcs cheese - 50. Subtotal = 720.

Dinner:

• 1 beer - 150
• 3 pc pizza - 650
• 2 mini cupcakes - 200

Total calories = 1720

Fruits/Vegetables = 1/2

No workout.

Favorite fall dinner

Although the recipes aren't particularly frugal, this meal is one of our favorites. I buy the goat cheese, bread, & squash at Costco, where I can generally find the best prices on those items. If you grow butternut squash & make your own bread, the cost of the meal would be more reasonable.

One our favorite fall meals is butternut curry soup with goat cheese crostinis and cosmopolitans. We sip the cosmopolitans while we eat the crostini, & then eat the soup with some of the extra crostini, dipping it. YUM. Fabulous meal with a salad. The crostini is one of my favorite simple & easy appetizer recipes. Love it. I tried to get M to give up his famous cosmopolitan recipe, but he guards it pretty closely. :-)

Here's the butternut squash recipe. Also, if you buy your squash at Costco, it comes in 2 lb containers & you will likely have some leftover. Use the remaining squash for butternut risotto. Another fabulous fall meal.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onions
• 2 celery stalks, chopped (I sometimes boost this to 3 or 4)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 - 2lb butternut squash, cubed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 tbsp sour cream
• 4 tsp chives

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion & celery and cook 4 minutes, or until soft. Add curry powder & cook 1 minute. Add broth, squash, bay leaves, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover & simmer 15 minutes - until squash is tender.

Remove bay leaves & puree soup in a food processor. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with 1 tbsp sour cream and 1 tsp chives.

Makes 4 servings - 195 calories & 3 grams of fat each.

Enjoy!

10/15 Fitness & Nutrition

159.4 - Same as yesterday.

Food:
Breakfast:

• Pineapple - 30
• Egg (80) + english muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) - 230

Snack:

• Cashews - 120

Lunch (out):

• Chips & Salsa, grilled chicken sandwich, fries - 800

Dinner:

• Butternut squash soup with goat cheese crostinis - 400
• Cosmopolitans - 200

Total = 1780

fruit/Vegetables = 1/3. What's up with my lack of fruit? Glad that I'm tracking it, because I tend to overestimate my consumption of fruit.

Workout:
45 minute on the elliptical machine, level 12
15 minute weight training

103/150 for the year. :-)

10/14 Fitness & Nutrition

Weight = 159.4. Down just a smidge from yesterday.

Food:
Breakfast:

• 1/2 wheat pita (120) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 220
• coffee with milk - 20

Snack:

• granola bar - 180

Lunch:

• tomato paella - 300
• Apple - 60

Snack:

• Cashews/almonds - 160. Dinner:
• Cosmopolitan - 200
• parmesan bread - 175
• Spaghetti bolognese - 300

Total calories = 1615

Fruits/Vegetables = 1/3.
No workout.

10/13 - Fitness Update

Weight = 159.6. Woo! Heading back in the right direction.

Food:
Breakfast:

• 1 piece wheat toast (110) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 210
• Coffee with milk - 20

Snack:

• Granola bar - 180
• 10 cashews/almonds - 80

Lunch:

• 1/2 serving of penne with bolognese (this didn't hit the spot today), so I only ate 1/2 & got a salad - 200
• Salad with chicken, blue cheese, beets, etc - 300
• chex mix - 210

*I wasn't feeling well, & worked out before lunch. I'm trying to shake some sort of flu bug, & the working out made me feel light headed & queasy. I threw in the chex mix to settle my stomach.

Snack:

• Apple - 60.

Dinner:

• Fresh tomato paella - 400

Total calories = 1660

Fruits/Vegetables = 1/4. I need to work on eating more fruits, again.

Workout:
30 minutes on the bike, level 11. I did not feel well after my workout, and originally planned to do 45-60 minutes. After 20 minutes, I was feeling very weak & shaky, so I pushed it for 10 more minutes, which was probably a mistake.

Total number of workouts for the year:
102. (I'm going to start tracking this daily, as my goal is 150 for the year, and we're quickly approaching the end of 2010!)

Final harvest?

Each week, I am convinced that I've harvested as much of the garden as I possibly can, but I've been surprised. This week I picked more tomatoes & have been making Greek salad every night, to use up tomatoes & basil. Tonight I made a Simple Bolognese recipe to use up more tomatoes & basil, & it was fabulous. Because I was using fresh tomatoes, I made a few modifications - I added tomato paste, & wine, & used 1.5 lbs of fresh tomatoes. I cooked it a bit longer than the original recipe called for, in order to get the right texture, but it was wonderful.

I still have quite a few tomatoes that I'm hoping will ripen, & tons of jalapenos & peppers. I'm thinking of making salsa this week.

If I am feeling adventurous, I might try this green tomato cake. :-)

Here's a picture of the basil I picked today. This stuff is taking over my garden, so I should make more pesto this weekend.

For lots of great garden posts, check out An Oregon Cottage.

10/12/10 - Fitness Update

Weight - 161.2. Not great, but my first day back from vacation. My next big goal is to hit 153 by Thanksgiving. I'm going to create mini goals as well.

My goals for today are to get back to healthier eating & to work out. I did bring my workout gear on vacation, & didn't end up using it. However, I walked a ton. A ton. A ton, on the trip. :-) We ate extremely well, and had a blast. I feel okay about the eating - it was certainly more than I normally eat, but I didn't go crazy. I also shopped & enjoyed myself, but didn't spend more than planned. Also, I want $340 or something, which is always nice. I spent about $100 on last minute stuff - meals at the airport, book for the plane, etc & will be adding $200 toward my snowball. Yeah!

Food:
Breakfast:

• 1/2 a wheat pita (110) + egg (80) + tomato (20) = 210
• coffee with milk - 20

snack:

• Cashews & almonds - 100

Lunch:

• Turkey sandwich on homemade bread (no cheese, but with mayo) - 500

Dinner:

• Apple - 60
• Penne with bolognese sauce - 500

Total = 1390

No workout today. Work has been nuts since coming back from vacation. I need to find a new way to squeeze in workouts - likely getting up earlier & getitng it done before work. Otherwise, things inevitably come up during the day & I end up having to skip my workout.

Weight Loss Goals

I'm feeling like I've been stuck in the same 5 pound gain/loss cycle for a while now, & it's time to break free!

Today I'm at 161.2, after my vacation. My goal is to hit 153 pounds by Thanksgiving. As background, 153 was how much I weighed when I got pregnant with my second child, so it's definitely a milestone for me.

Current 10/12 - 161.2
Goal by 10/18 - 159
Goal by 10/25 - 157
Goal by 11/1 - 156
Goal by 11/8 - 154.5
Goal by 11/15 - 153.5
Goal by 11/25 - 153!

My reward for hitting this goal will be getting a massage during my time off over Thanksgiving. Also, you'll note that I've stacked more of the weight loss in the first few weeks, as my weight is hopefully a little out of whack from my trip. I'm expecting to be able to lose the first couple of pounds more quickly than the last few pounds.

Menu Plan Monday - 10/11/10 Edition

I'm going to have to wing-it this week, as we got home late last night from our vacation. We have more fresh tomatoes to use up before they go bad, so you'll notice more tomato recipes. :-)

Lunches:
This week will be a combination of leftovers from the freezer, leftovers from the dinners during the week, & our standard variety of supplements: carrots with hummus, fruit, nuts, granola bars.

Dinner:

• Monday: Meatloaf muffins & tomato paella (freezer)
• Tuesday: Pasta with bolognese sauce - I'm going to try a modified version of this recipe.
• Wednesday: Greek style shrimp scampi.
• Thursday: Spinach & feta pasta
• Friday: Fresh tomato paella with balsamic chicken cutlets.
• Saturday: Quick summer tomato soup with goat cheese crostini .
• Sunday: Butternut squash soup with Broiled tomatoes with feta. I'll post the butternut squash soup recipe after I make it- I can't find it online at the moment.

I'm back

I'm back from a wonderful anniversary trip with M. We had a great time, despite a few snafus. Back to my regularly scheduled posts tomorrow.

Fitness Wrap Up - 10/5

Weight - 157.8.

I was STARVING today, for whatever reason.

Food:
Breakfast:

• Coffee with milk - 20
• Morningstar sausage with 1/2 laughing cow & wheat muffin - 230

Snack:

• piece of cheese - 90

Lunch:

• Leftover tomato paella - 275
• Apple - 80
• hummus & roll - 200

Snack:

• pretzels, walnuts, & craisins - 200

Dinner:

• 1 piece cheese - 25
• Lubia polo - 300
• wine - 60
• Cashews - 50

Total = 1530

Fruits/Vegetables = 2/3

No workout today.

Garden Round Up 10/5

Every week I think that I'm not going to have much of a garden update, but we've been having a little bit of sun this fall, which has helped to ripen our tomatoes.

I picked about 7 pounds of fresh tomatoes & made more of the fresh tomato sauce for the freezer, as well as a fresh tomato paella for dinner. I also finally tracked down pine nuts, so I made 6 batches of pesto for the freezer.

I still have a ton of peppers that I need to deal with, but no more cucumbers. My kids are sad about the lack of fresh cucumbers in the garden - picking them after school was a highlight this summer. :-)

I forgot to upload the pictures of the tomatoes & basil, so I'll leave you with a look back of my kids in the garden earlier in the summer, with my father-in-law.

For more garden update posts, check out An Oregon Cottage.

Menu Plan - 10/4-10/10

We're taking a trip this week, so I have an abbreviated menu. Also, wanted to add my thoughts on a couple of recipes I made last week. I tried this Lubia polo recipe & it was fabulous. I made a few tweaks to make it more traditional (like my Persian mother-in-law makes), so I did not add the jalapeno, & swapped tumeric & saffron for the curry. This dish makes a ton!

I also tried this baked ziti recipe & thought it had potential, but it definitely needed more seasoning than the recipe called for. I'll likely make it again & try to spice it up a bit. This dish also made a huge amount.
Lunches:

• Monday - Lubia polo with fruit.
• Tuesday - Leftover tomato paella with carrots & hummus
• Wednesday - Lentil Soup (from the freezer) + fruit & carrots
• Thursday - Out of town
• Friday - Out of town
• Saturday - Out of town
• Sunday - Out of town

Dinners:

• Monday - Going to try I'm Losing It's fresh tomato paella . M asked for something to go with it, so I'll be making Sauteed tilapia with honey scallion dressing for him.
• Tuesday - Leftover lubia polo
• Wednesday - Leftovers - whatever is left in the fridge/freezer
• Thursday - Out of town
• Friday - Out of town
• Saturday - Out of town
• Sunday - Out of town

10/4 Fitness - the I'm frustrated edition

I was going to post this morning & talk about how I don't understand why my weight is trending up, & I'm frustrated, blah, blah, blah. But, I started thinking about my eating & trying to be very honest with myself on the drive to work this morning, and. . . I don't think my body is playing tricks on me. I think that I legitimately am not eating as well as I should be, and it's reflected in the scale. Bummer - I was hoping for an easier solution. :-)

 

I'm posting my weight now, & will update later in the day with my eating:

 

Weight - 159. :-(

Food:
Breakfast:

• Banana - 110
• Coffee with milk - 20
• Starbucks breakfast sandwich - 350

Snack:

• nonfat latte - 80

Lunch:

• Leftover lubia polo - 300
• Salad - 200

Snack:

• Mini lara bar - 120

Dinner:

• 1/2 apple - 40
• Tomato paella - 380
• 1/3 pc tilapia - 70

Total calories = 1670

Although I'd like to bring my calories down a bit, I was pretty happy with my food choices today.

Fruits/Vegetables = 2/4

Workout:
35 minute "combo" workout - jumping jacks, running, squats, etc.

10/3 Fitness Wrap Up

Weight - 158. Not surprising, as I both ate late yesterday & had a saltier than normal meal. (Restaurant).

Food:
Breakfast:

• 1/2 wheat pita (110) + feta cheese (50) + tomatoes (20) + egg (80) - 260
• Coffee with milk - 20

Lunch:

• Veggie/hummus sandwich - 318
• 1/2 nectarine - 40
• Granola bars - 300

Dinner:

• 2 cosmopolitans - 300
• Loobia polo - 400

Total = 1638
Fruits/vegetables = 1/3

Workout = 60 minutes elliptical machine, level 12. 20 minutes of weight training.

10/2 Fitness wrap up

Calories - 157.4

 

Food:
Breakfast:

• coffee with milk - 20
• homemade waffles with strawberries - 340

Lunch:

• 2 pieces of bread with hummus, cheese, & veggies - 318
• Granola bar - 150

 

Snack:

• Almonds - 80

Dinner:

• 2 cosmopolitans - 300
• chicken salad - 300
• 1/2 cup shrimp curry - 200
• Granola bars - 200

Total calories = 1908

No workout.

10/1 Fitness Wrap Up

158.4. Not too surprised to see that my weight is higher than yesterday - too much snacky/salty foods are not great for the weight. I'm focused on eating well & working out today!

Food:
Breakfast:

• Milk with coffee - 20
• English muffin (130) + 1/2 laughing cow (20) + morningstar sausage (80) - 230

Lunch:

• 2 pcs of wheat bread (180) + 1/3 mini hummus (33) + veggies (30) + cheese (75) - 318
• 1 1/2 playgroup granola bars - 200.

Snack:

• Nectarine - 60

Dinner:

• Baked ziti with fresh tomatoes- 300
• Cosmopolitan - 150
• Edamame - 120

Total calories = 1398

Fruits/Vegetables = 1/4. *Still* need to work on the fruit intake.

Workout: I went out for a run today, & ended up taking a major spill on a tree trunk that was growing up through the trail. I had to walk the rest of the way home, which was painful. My knee is cut & sore, but other than that, I'm all good. But, my run wasn't as long as I'd hoped & was mostly a walk, as I limped home.
30 minutes run/walk, mostly walk.