Working in a Workout

I have to figure out a way to get up and moving in the morning to do my workouts. When I get home from work the last thing I want to do is be worrying about still having my workout to do. So, Friday night I begged my trainer to let me do it in the morning.

Then Saturday morning happened.

A quick trip to the farmers' market to get more asparagus. I had enough of the quiche ingredients to make another one like the one I made last weekend. I also bought some kale. I actually thought I bought some last week, but it wasn't in my bag when I got home. The greens in the bag are what the seller was calling "goosefoot". When I was a kid my mom called it "lamb's quarters".  So pretty much weeds. My mom would cook them like any other greens. For nostalgia's sake I thought I'd give them a go. I haven't decided yet how I am going to eat them.

After the market we had to run a few other errands.  My husband, who doesn't know his own strength, accidentally broke off our door handle. Guess I need to clean up that outline of the previous handle. We also stopped at a restaurant we had been to a few times, but is now closed. Terrible location and inconsistent food. The first time we went there they had the most incredible wings. Turns out once the chef they brought in to get the place up and running returned home they were never the same :(  The restaurant is now a Saturday only resale shop. I know that restaurant was the failure of someone's dream and that makes me sad. The whole resale shop thing just magnified that feeling.

When we got home from errands I got the quiche in the oven. It was so good. Fortunately, I split it between my mother-in-law and my sister before I started eating it, otherwise, I might have gone completely crazy!!

Still no workout....

Then Saturday afternoon happened....

Our local volunteer fire department had their annual fish fry.

 I wonder how many pounds of fish they "caught".

Since it was written right on the wall I am assuming this is not a secret recipe :)  Feel free to give it a try if you have who knows how many pounds of fish to fry.

The Filet-o-Fish has nothing on this sandwich.

My niece invited us to a paddle fest. For $5 you could use the kayaks, canoes or paddleboards they supplied as much as you wanted during that afternoon. I was tempted to take something out for a spin, but that was quashed the minute I saw a snake on the beach. Someone tried to shoo it with an oar and it reared up, jumped in and out of one of the kayaks, then swam off into the water....nope! Swimming snakes give me the heebie jeebies like nothing else. And yes, I know they are always out there, but if I don't see them...

After the paddlefest we headed out to the farm to visit with my in-laws for a bit.  As soon as it is time to leave the farm, Millie runs straight to my mother-in-law....every time.  She works grandma like no one else and manages to get her invitation extended. I think she is coming home Monday...or Tuesday.

That brings us to Saturday evening...
.
...and still worrying about having my workout to do. More begging and promising to do it Sunday morning...no excuses.

6 a.m. my husband comes in to tell me that he is bringing me breakfast in bed. (I am not sure what time he got up, but I thought I was going to get to sleep in.) Don't be fooled this is NOT a bowl of Fruit Loops my love brings me.

It is a big bowl of his pumpkin oatmeal.  He adds a half a cup of canned pumpkin and half of an apple (chopped) to the oatmeal as it is cooking. Then at the end, he sprinkles in walnuts and cinnamon. Most of the time he actually puts ground flax seed in it instead of the walnuts. However, he thought I would like the walnut texture better. It isn't the most attractive dish, but I definitely felt healthy eating it :)

You know he is not going to bring me a power breakfast in bed and then let me put off the workout again. So, Sunday morning I finally did my Friday workout. I am not sure, but I think my trainer pushed me a bit extra...call it retribution?  Maybe. This definitely felt like the most challenging workout so far.

Instead of a set number of reps, he has me go to failure. The idea is to keep pushing myself. If I do a crazy number of reps he will increase the weight. If I can only do a couple the weight is lowered. Ideally, he wants me to fail in the 10-15 reps range. Some exercises were closer to that than others. He kept a close eye on me during the "skull crushers" (named for what happens if you drop the weight)...nice.

With the workout FINALLY out of the way, I turned my attention to celebrating my nephew's high school graduation. Life goes from this....

 to this in the blink of an eye.

Proud of that kid. He starts a two-year school/work program this summer, that will end up with him certified in a variety of auto systems. I am excited for him to have a career he loves and affords him the opportunity to have a happy and fulfilling life. Congratulations!

Week two of Double Light is mapped out and ready for execution. I am determined to also get in a couple of walks this week.

What's for Breakfast?

I love to read about what other people are eating and get new ideas to incorporate into my diet. I thought I would share what I am eating. Here is the breakfast edition.

I am such a creature of habit!   I am currently rotating between two different breakfasts - smoothie or cereal with fruit. I will also reveal my obsession with blueberries.

A few months ago a co-worker got me thinking about smoothies. Of course, I'd heard of them before, but they never really appealed to me. I wasn't feeling all the "crazy" ingredients people put in them.  I like to keep things pretty simple. My co-worker was always talking about the yummy fruit blends he was having. When mentioned that he bought this blender at Walmart for less than $20 - I decided to give it a try.  This model is Faberware. It came with 5 cups and two blades. It works great.

After trying several different combinations, I have settled on a favorite - banana/blueberry.  I break up a small banana, 1/2 cup spinach leaves and 3/4 cup each of frozen blueberries and almond milk. Aldi recently had blueberries for 99 cents a pint. I bought 5 pints and froze them.  If I'd had more freezer space I would have bought more. I really like using frozen fruit because it gives the smoothie a nice consistency. Okay, I confess - I like the consistency because it is like a shake.

Here it is - a big glass of purple yumminess. I know the spinach idea freaks some people out but you really don't taste it. And with the blueberries' vibrant color you don't even see the spinach. Now I know a 1/2 cup of spinach leaves isn't going to make a huge difference, but I believe every little bit helps get to the greater goal. Spinach is high in vitamin A - good for the eyes and immune system - which both of mine could use all the help they can get :)  I usually eat my smoothie with a hard boiled egg or a piece of string cheese (240-270 calories). At first I was concerned that it wouldn't keep my satisfied until lunch, but I have found that it does.

My second go-to breakfast is cereal. I have a weird little cereal thing. I love me some Fruit Loops or Reese Peanut Butter Crunch (and many more), but I don't like them for breakfast. Bottom line is I like the unsweetened cereals for breakfast. Then I like to add fruit - blueberries for example :)

My real cereal weirdness...I like mixing several cereals together. I think it comes from when I was a kid and my mom would mix the ends of cereal boxes together to clear the clutter. For as long as I can remember as an adult I have bought several kinds of cereal and dump them all in together. I make a big batch of my mixed cereal, store it in freezer bags and toss the boxes.

This is the current blend I am working on - cheerios, rice/corn chex, puffed wheat, rice krispies, corn/bran flakes. I like the different textures and shapes of the cereal. 

I usually eat a cup of my blend. It is a little tricky to calculate the calories for all the different cereals. Instead of trying to do that I just took the higher end of the cereals I used and call it 120 calories per cup.  None of the cereals are more than that per cup. For the time being my issue is portion control, not whether or not I am eating 20 calories plus or minus for breakfast.

I told you...I am obsessed with blueberries (and bananas) lately. This bowl is 1 cup cereal, 3/4 cup 1% milk, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 banana (280 calories).

I have been reading recipes for the egg muffins. I think I am ready to take the plunge. I've been a little anti-egg in the morning lately - from a taste standpoint.  However, the egg muffins have caught my interest. It also looks like a good way to get a few more veggies in. See exploding garden.

I whipped up a batch this morning using Skinnytaste's recipe.  I had some leftover grilled asparagus and peppers that I chopped up and added to some broccoli.  I ended up using 2 eggs, 6 egg whites, 2 cups veggies, 1 oz shredded Parmesan and 2 Tbsp reduced fat Mexican blend cheese  to make 9 muffins. I am a little confused on how hers came out to so many more calories. I figured them at 44 calories per muffin and double checked it on a recipe calculator which gave me 47 per muffin. I made a half batch according to her recipe, but it looks like we both got 9 muffins. Maybe her muffin pan makes bigger muffins.

I ate one when they came out of the oven - delicious!! I took two to work for my afternoon snack. They were still good in the afternoon, but I did like them a little better fresh from the oven. Maybe I needed to have something with them at snack...a few grapes or something.

What are some of your favorite breakfast options?  Please, please don't say waffles and bacon or breakfast pizza :( 

Side note:  I wore a top to work today that I wore for some our engagement pictures three years ago. After gaining about 20 pounds of "happy to be married weight" the top got stuck in a box in the closet.  Happy to be wearing it again :)

August 2011

July 2014

Look how skinny that husband is!!  Now that I am back where I started I am looking forward to the next side by side when my loss shows up too :)