Am I the only Mom who doesn’t want her kids to go back to school next week?!  I’m really digging the late mornings and pajamas as daily attire

My new attire is going to be running clothes!  Today was my second training run, so I donned the running tights and headed to my parents to use their treadmill.  Remember a while back when ours died? 

May she rest in peace.

Since I no longer belong to the gym and it was way too stinky hot to run outside, I banged on the parents’ door in the early morn and pounded it out on their treadmill. 

I trudged through 3 miles.  I am much slower on the treadmill than outdoors.  I’m not so concerned about pace, but it just takes longer to get done!  Oh well, gotta do what ya gotta do.

After the run, Mom invited me to have breakfast.  I fished around her fridge and decided on a fried egg, turkey sausage and strawberries…

Before leaving, I introduced Mom to Exercise TV!  We did a few minutes of Cardioke , Back2Bollywood and checked out some of the other offerings.  I think she might be hooked now, too!

Once home, I put on real clothes and caught up on house stuff.  My stomach let me know it was time for lunch.  Well really, it was a competition between my stomach and little daughter yelling that she was dying of starvation (hand on forehead) to let me know it was time for lunch.

Guess who was louder?

Lunch was Falafel Republic falafels in whole wheat pita with tzatziki, baby spinach and tomato…

Along with pieces of sun…

The afternoon was a bit rough in the food department.  I started munching on a few baked chips and it turned into more.  And more.  I definitely lost control and ate mindlessly.  I went into that auto-pilot mode of junk munching.  I finally snapped out of it and regrouped.  I made a conscious effort not to feel badly about it.  I have to move on from it.  Learn from it or even just forget about it.  I only mention it because I am real about my struggles with food along this journey. Although I strive on a daily basis to eat right and show the healthy foods I eat, there are days when it’s not so pretty.  But, I gave up feeling guilty so there will be no whining here.  Only trying and never quitting

Sooooo…. dinner….

Smoked Salmon and Parmesan Omelet Muffins (with spinach added) and grilled asparagus…

I definitely was not hungry for this dinner, but I ate anyway.  Not a very intuitive move in the true sense of the concept however, my thinking is if I skip dinner because I binged this afternoon then it would translate to my brain as “punishment”.  I used to do that all the time – eat too much, then don’t eat for a day to make up for it.   That was a bad cycle, so I didn’t want to skip dinner like the old days this time.

Out with the old thinking, in with the new

Have a great day, everyone!

Let’s talk fun stuff!  What are your weekend plans?

Who doesn’t love starting the day with a Breakfast Sundae? 

Not me.

Banana soft serve mixed with 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt and 2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa, topped with 1 tbsp. oats, a drizzle of almond butter and a fresh cherry…

Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Today was a pajama-wearing-until-afternoon-to-squeeze-out-every-bit-of-summer-laziness-before-school-starts kinda day  

The daughters had a friend over and I spent much of the day spraying them with the hose and setting up a makeshift waterslide in the yard.  They had a blast.  I was sweaty, sticky and hot.  My fault for wearing head to toe black pajamas in 97 degree weather.  Outside.  In the front yard for all to see.

Who does that?!

Yes, me.

I broke out of my sweaty Ninja outfit and made some lunch.  I had a hankerin’ for a hot dog…

A salty, lean Applegate Farms Organic Beef Hot Dog on an Ezekiel hot dog bun with a side of steamed broccoli.  Simple, but good.

And who says hankerin’?!

*raises hand* <—– needs to get out more.

More water fun took up the afternoon, so there was no time for a snack.  Good thing we had an early dinner planned!  My Mom invited us out for dinner at Olive Garden…

This restaurant is a minefield of disasterous eating waiting to happen.  Mozzarella fondue, fried lasagna and Never-Ending Pasta Bowls.  Kill me now.

But, I resist.  And order…

and indulge …

just a little…

And came home to sweat it up again with the daughters doing Cardioke and Give Me 10 Core on Exercise TV.  In head to toe black pajamas.  Again.

Who wears pajamas to work out?!

Me

Have a great day, everyone!

What have you been hankerin’ for craving lately?

Today marked the start of half marathon training!  I was both excited and nervous.  It’s been a month since my last run and I always worry that I might forget how for some reason!

The Plan…

I decided to follow Hal Hidgon’s Half Marathon schedule.  I like my run days being Tuesday, Thursday and a long run on Sunday.  I also plan to stick with the Galloway Method of intervals  throughout training.  It has worked well for me in the last year and so far, I have been able to remain injury-free and keep my hip/IT Band issues from flaring up.  I am going to be diligent about stretching and using my foam roller during training to keep issues at bay, too.

On the alternate days, I am going to make good use of Exercise TV and all the videos that it has to offer!  I’m really enjoying working out at home and I’ll never get bored with the variety of workouts available!

~~~~~~

The schedule called for a 3 mile run, so I woke up super early, got on  my clothes and chomped on half of  a banana to fuel up…

I arrived at the trail, powered up my tunes and set off.  Well, I kind of took off!  I started running faster than I normally do ( which is still a snail’s pace!) and had a hard time getting into a rhythm.  At first, I didn’t realize it was because I was running faster.  I thought it was due to being out of practice.  At a mile and a half in, it dawned on me that I needed to slow down a bit.  Once I did, I found my natural groove.  It’s slow, but I’m more steady that way and able to git ‘er done…

Just noticed my GYMBOSS is taking a beating!

I came home to a quick breakfast of Orange Date Baked Oatmeal Bar from the freezer stash…

I got hungry for lunch fairly early.  Mainly because I wanted to dig into these…

I thought about making these the only the main attraction, but decided on this instead…

Hummus, mashed avocado and cucumber slices on toasted Ezekiel bread. YUM!

Along with hummus chips and carrots…

Hummus chips can be added to the crackilicious list

Dinner was defrosted Salisbury Steaks with Rich Brown Gravy …

with leftover roasted sweet potato wedges and broccoli…

I’ve been missing broccoli!  Sure ate my fill tonight.  Reunited and it feels so good…

Have a great day, everyone!

Are you a hummus fan?

A day to relax, eat leftovers, enjoy the family, the garden and the great outdoors…

Can you tell I had fun with my camera today?  

And there’s gonna be lots of pesto in my future.

Have a great day, everyone!

What type of camera do you use?  Mine is a Canon Powershot SD780.  I’m saving all the pennies I find in the street for a DSLR!  One day…

I have been wanting to go canoeing all summer long and here, it is almost over!  The husband and I decided today would be the perfect day, so we got up early and packed up the daughters for a day at the lake.

First, I filled up with a big bowl of AB&B (almond butter and banana) Oat Bran…

• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 1/4 cup water
• dash salt
• dash cinnamon
• 4 drops liquid Vanilla NuStevia
• banana
• 1/2 tbsp. almond butter
• sprinkle of sliced almonds

Oat bran is so filling.  Following the serving size on the box makes a ton!  Although I love volume, it was a little too much for me and I couldn’t finish it.  I’ll have to scale back on it next time.  I’d rather skimp on the oat bran than the almond butter

After breakfast, we were off to Marsh Creek Lake.  I’m not sure why we never thought to visit the lake before today.  It is a beautiful place!

The lake covers over 500 acres and draws many boaters to the area.  Sailboats, rowboats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboats were all available for rental.  Because of the vast lake area, the husband thought it best we rent the motorized rowboat so we could explore for a couple hours.  Good thing since about 4 seconds into our scenic ride, little daughter was already asking when we were leaving

I smile and row…

We explored the lake for close to 2 hours, then returned the boat and found the nearest picnic table to eat lunch.  I packed the traditional sandwich and chip fare.

Almond butter and fruit-only raspberry preserves on white whole wheat for me…

along with reduced-fat Kettle chips and a gala…

Then, we headed home and crashed!  All that fresh air knocked us out!

I got moving after a quick 10 minutes of shut-eye and started preparing dinner.  We invited my parents and Gram over for a falafel party.  Yes, FALAFEL!!  I know, I’m still yelling in happiness about these

The falafel party spread included…

• Falafel Republic falafel balls
• whole wheat pitas
• Trader Joe’s Tzatziki sauce
• Hummus
• shredded lettuce
• sliced cucumbers
• sliced tomatoes
• sliced onion
• roasted sweet potato wedges with chipotle guacamole dip
• salad

The chipotle guacamole dip was a big hit with the parents.  In a small food processor, I combined 1 chipotle pepper (in adobo) with 1/2 cup greek nonfat yogurt and 1/4 cup guacamole and blended until smooth.  The heat was a nice compliment to the sweetness of the potato.

My plate of falafely goodness…

We ended the night with a family game of Sequence…

My parents whipped our butts again.

Twice.  

I smile and go.

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you like boating?  Have you tried canoeing or kayaking?  I ogled the kayaks;  I really want to try that next time!

I got a call this morning…

*phone rings*

Me:  Hello.
Gram: *insert Italian accent and broken English*  Maaadeeesa, it Grahma.

Me:  Oh, hi Gram!
Gram:  You wanna come fa lunch?

Me: *mind swirls with excuses knowing nothing good can come of this, but I cannot lie*  Uh, okay Gram.
Gram:  Yeah, I gotta tuna fish sahlad an chick sahlad from the place (restaurant in her complex).  You share wit me.

Me:  That’s okay, Gram, I’ll just bring my lunch.
Gram:  Noooo, we share it.

Me:  Gram, I don’t really want to eat the tuna or chicken salad.  It has a lot of mayonnaise and I’m trying not to eat that kind of stuff.
Gram:  Noooo, it don’t have too much.  They give you extra on the side.  It’s good.  I have it before.  You like it.

Me:  Really, I can just bring my lunch Gram, it’s no big deal.
Gram:  NOOOO, we share.

Me:  Gram, you eat it, really, I’ll just bring my own.  I have tons of stuff here.
Gram:  Ooookaaaay, whateva you want. *translation:  You are dead to me*

Me:  Okay, Gram  I’ll share with you.   Sounds good.  See you for lunch.  Bye.

If this was Moot Food Court, Gram won hands down.

I was so frustrated when I got off the phone.  And a little mad.  Why do I have to eat something that doesn’t make me feel good?  Why do I have to eat this heavy-duty lunch that I don’t really want?  Why can’t I just say no?  I had a million why’s going through my head and found myself getting more and more upset.

Then, it hit me.  The reason why I was getting upset was fear.  I was afraid of all the calories in tuna and chicken salad with mayo.  I was afraid that eating it would blow my healthy eating aspirations out of the water.  I was afraid that I would gain weight if I ate it.  I was afraid that I might like it and want more.

I wanted to blame my Gram for these feelings.  I wanted to lament that I live with food pushers who are always trying to make me eat things that I don’t want.   But, I can’t.

To my family, food is love.  It may be strange to some, but that is often how we show our love for each other and it symbolizes togetherness as a family.  We make food.  We eat food.  And we want others to eat our food and share in the love.  Gram is big on showing her love through food.  Although I feel it’s overboard sometimes, that’s her way.  It’s all she’s got. 

Fear does strange things to us.  It holds us back and keeps us from experiencing joy in life.  I was allowing fear to do just that.  Instead of concentrating on enjoying time with my Gram, I was worried about tuna salad.  One lunch of tuna salad was not going to break me.  I would not gain 5 lbs. from eating it and I would not continue to slop a vat of mayo on everything I ate for the rest of my life.  It’s just one lunch.

I started to calm down.  The more I thought about the situation, the more I realized it was silly.  And about much more than tuna salad.  It’s about relaxing and trusting.  Relaxing about not having control over everything I put in my mouth at every moment.  Sometimes, other people are going to make food and I am going to have to eat it.  I am going to eat at barbeques, dinner parties, weddings and restaurants.  I won’t have control over what is served and how it’s prepared.  And it’s OKAY because it’s just one meal.  That’s it.  No need for fear that my hips will immediately inflate if I ingest a dish with a little extra oil, butter or whatnot.

Then there’s trusting.  Trusting that I am strong enough to have these meals without going overboard.  Trusting that I will continue to stay the healthy eating course for a lifetime.  I have already talked about crossing over and never going back.  I need to trust that it’s the truth.  I need to trust myself.

Today was a good lesson.  Another opportunity for growth in this whole crazy journey.  All part of the fun, I guess! 

*insert Gram voice*  I know I like it

We shared, we ate, we loved…

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you fear food that you haven’t prepared yourself?  Are you able to relax and eat without guilt or fear?

I am hurting.  This body may not be meant for dancing.  The Bollywood video did me in.  I think Masala Bhangra means mess up your backa alotta. 

My lower back is really stiff and strained.  I haven’t had this issue in a long time.  It’s not horrible, just uncomfortable and reminiscent of pain I used to feel often. 

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it on the blog, but back in 2001, I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease.  I used to suffer greatly from it, however since I lost the weight, the pain I used to feel is pretty much non-existent.  Exercise hasn’t bothered it;  even running has been okay.  But this dancing, jumping and gyrating has unleashed the beast!  I decided to be smart and take a break from the groovin’ today.

I kinda missed it though.

I gimped down to breakfast which was waiting in the fridge.  Another try at Overnight Oats.  It was icky.  I need to stick with hot oats;  cold doesn’t do it for me!

I warmed it up and it was much better…

• 1/3 cup oats
• 1/3 cup lite coconut milk
• 1/3 cup water
• dash salt
• banana
• almond butter
• unsweetened shredded coconut

I spruced up breakfast with frothy coffee…

I broke out this guy hanging out in my cabinet…

The tool…

In action…

Coffee saves the day

I met up with my SILs, MIL and niece for lunch at America Bar & Grill…

I decided on the Fish Tacos -pan fried salmon, pico de gallo, lettuce, sriracha and avocado …

served with a mixed greens salad…

Very delicious! 

When dinner time rolled around, I wasn’t extremely hungry.  I opted for leftover Harvest Grains Salad with the addition of chickpeas …

and a side of carrots for some veg…

Me and my achy breaky butt are off to relax and, hopefully, repair! 

Blogworld Biz:

Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Created by Lindsey of Sound Eats, HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. I love being able to search by area!  Great for blogger meet-ups.  Sadly, not as many in my area Helllllloooooo, Philly peeps…get bloggin’!

Also, my friend, Jenn at Watch My Butt Shrink made the jump over to Wordpress and got lost in the Google Reader shuffle!  If you’re missing Jenn’s posts hop on over and re-subscribe.  You don’t want to miss her baby bump

Have a great day, everyone!

I’m having a little too much fun with Exercise TV !  This morning’s workout was the Bollywood Dance video again , along with another Bolly-style video and Cardioke.  Yes, Cardioke!!! LOL!  Thanks to Diane for suggesting it.  It is the brainchild of Billy Blanks, Jr., son of Billy Blanks of the infamous Tae Bo.  This video is no kickboxing, though.  It’s all about dance moves and sing-alongs!  I KNOW!  I can’t stop laughing every time I think about it.  His idea is that singing while doing the dance moves helps to build endurance and burn more calories.  Although, it’s a bit gimmicky ( I would liken it to a modern day Richard Simmons-type video), it is loads of fun!  I did not feel like it was a workout in the sense that I wasn’t constantly wishing that it was over soon.  All total, I got in an hour of sweaty fun and believe it or not, I already feel muscle soreness!  I guess I’m working some different muscles with the dance moves.

I’m likin’ it

After I got my groove on, I got my breakfast on…

Clean Eating Brownie Waffles with PB2 and banana…

This is such a filling AND amazing breakfast!

As promised, I got to work in the kitchen today.  First up was another creation from  The Gracious Pantry – Garam Masala Red Lentil Stew…

I halved the recipe and it still made a ton!  I didn’t have any Garam Masala, so I just used a little extra curry powder.  It looked a little different than the original recipe but was still delicious! 

Served with some pita chips for scooping…

A munched on a few extra pita chips later in the afternoon, but thankfully the bag remains intact.  I have been known to annihilate a bag of those suckers!

I left India for a taste of Greece at dinner – grilled Greek shrimp with tzatziki sauce…

along with Harvest Grains Salad with Roasted Peppers and Feta…

I’ve been wanting to use this bag of Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe’s but wasn’t quite sure how… until I came up with this salad tonight!

Harvest Grains Salad with Roasted Peppers and Feta

• 3 cups cooked Harvest Grains Blend
• 1 cup roasted peppers, diced
• 2 oz. lite feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped red onion
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
• 6 large pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp. evoo
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Combine ingredients and serve! 

A simple side salad rounded out this tasty meal…

Not bad for a day’s work

Have a great day, everyone!

How many times a week do you try a new recipe?

Hey, Everyone!!  I took some time to unplug this weekend after coming back from the shore.  I’ve been playing catch-up on house stuff and finally got a chance to make the blog rounds.  Seems like many of you are unplugged, too!  Hope you all are enjoying life!

So, I’ve been at a bit of a crossroads as to what to do about the gym.  My membership expired in July and I didn’t immediately renew because I was waiting to see if I could get the same deal as before which was $99 for the year!  However, that deal isn’t back and the newest offer is for $199.  Overall, it’s not a bad value, but I’m thinking that I can do without the gym.  When I began my weight loss journey and started exercising, I did it from home.  I would walk, do DVDs or use my dingy basement equipment.  It worked, so I know I can do it again.

And now, I have even more options!  Heather turned me on to Exercise TV!!!  The other day she tried a Bollywood Dance video and it looked like so much fun.  I checked out my On Demand and it was there;  free for the taking!  I turned it on and got moving…

It was a blast!  The moves were not complicated, so my klutzy self was able to follow along.  It was only 20 minutes, but I was seriously sweaty and my arms were burning.  That move pictured above is pretty much how your arms are the entire 20 minutes.  Burn, baby, burn!

I flipped through the other videos offered and was surprised at the variety- dance fitness, strength training, yoga, personal trainers, timed workouts, specific area toning (butt, abs, arms).  There really is something for everyone.   And for FREE!  I can mix and match different videos to do equal a full workout.  This will give me plenty of  choices on the days that I’m not running.  Half marathon training starts September 1st!  Wheeeeeee!

Who needs a gym?!

After my Bollywood dancing, I dug into my breakfast of Overnight Oats…

• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup nonfat milk
• dash cinnamon
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp. almond butter

I don’t like overnight oats as well as cooked.  The consistency is a bit chalky for me.  Maybe it will grow on me like the cooked kind finally did?!

Lunch and dinner were pretty non-descript.  I’ve been struggling with cooking inspiration lately…

Boring old sandwich of leftover chicken, guacamole and spinach on Ezekiel bread…

with carrots…

oh, and some lite havarti cheese was in there, too…

Snore.

Dinner was a Black Bean Chipotle Cheddar Burger on the last of Trader Joe’s Country Potatoes with Mushrooms and Haricot Verts…

Could that be a weirder combo?

I think not.

Okay, I’m off to rifle through my ginormous “Recipes To Try” file so that I can find some inspiration!  Exciting times in the kitchen await

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you belong to a gym or workout at home?  What’s your favorite home workout?

Unfortunately the weather at the beach isn’t cooperating (along with the WiFi), but we’re having a great time anyway!  I hoped to get in a bike ride this morning, however the weather had other ideas…

Boo to pouring down rain

Plan B – breakfast…

Egg Beaters and cheese on an Ezekiel english muffin along with a handful of grapes…

Then, on to Plan C – walking the boardwalk in the rain! 

Possibly the dumbest idea ever.  We were pretty soaked and an umbrella, well…..

We decided to pop into a restaurant to dry off and have lunch.  It was Moms’ Choice today!  We picked a fun, Hawaiian-inspired place called The Hula Grill…

When on a boardwalk with so many tempting treats, we were happy to see quite an offering of healthy choices on the menu! 

I sipped on an unsweetened iced tea while deciding…

I opted for one of the daily specials – Island Mahi-Mahi Burger.  It was a grilled piece of Mahi fish served with mango salsa on a seeded bun with lettuce, sweet onion and tomato…

and a mixed green salad with their Tropical Vinaigrette…

Best boardwalk eats yet!

So, what else do you do when you can’t go to the beach?  Why, spend a million dollars in the boardwalk arcade, of course!

The daughters had a blast playing all the games. 

But, they can’t have all the fun

My friend, C and I threw down in a Dance Dance Revolution dance-off…

It was hilarious and a great workout!  And embarrassing for our children who promptly ran away.

Moms Gone Wild

I found this mirror attached to the photo booth.  I love this mirror!!!!  It took about 30 lbs. off of me!

I marveled at my teeny tiny hiney…

In the dark of night, I am going back to steal this mirror. 

We left the boardwalk before having to take out a second mortgage on the house and drove around the town.  We ended up coming across a seafood place that we never tried before, so we ordered dinner for take-out…

Lobster Bake!

and a little indulgence – Fried Crab Balls…

Moms dined al fresco, while daughters dined on pasta al kitchen table.  My plate of goodness…

I couldn’t finish it all, but what I did eat was terrific!

Now, it’s feet up and PJs on.

Have a great day, everyone!

What was your favorite arcade game when you were a kid?  Mine was the squirt gun balloon race!