The good peeps at SUBWAY  are at it again with a great giveaway in honor of their FRESH FIT FRIDAYS, highlighting how to live a “Fresh and Fit 2012”.  Along with motivational health and fitness tips posted on their Facebook page every Friday, they are also launching a couple of new turkey options to the menu- the Turkey Melt and Turkey BLT !

Big daughter and I stopped by SUBWAY today to try out the Turkey Melt, loaded up with baby spinach (so excited to see this add-on!), lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers and a drizzle of honey mustard.  Mine had a bit of an “accident” coming out of the wrapper and doesn’t look quite as pretty as the one above.  Oops…

Still yummy just the same!

Since many of you are fans of SUBWAY,  they have offered to give TWO Loser for Life  readers a $10 gift card!

To enter:

• Leave a comment below in answer to this question – What is your favorite sandwich?

For an additional entry:

• “Like” Loser for Life on Facebook. Come back and leave a second comment letting me know you did so. (Edited to add:  It’s okay if you already “like” LFL on FB, just leave a second comment saying so. )

There you have it! Two ways to enter!The winner will be randomly drawn and announced on Wednesday, January 25th. (Giveaway open to US residents only. Sorry!) Good luck!!!

(Disclosure:  SUBWAY provided me with a gift card.  All opinions of SUBWAY and their food are my own.)

Have a great day, everyone!

It’s Day 3 of the Enjoy Your Food Challenge and I’m still going strong!  Even though it has only been three days, I can already see the benefits of this challenge.  Most notably, my satiety level is met at almost every meal.  I feel very excited about this!

I was excited about breakfast, too!  I brought back my old pal, Chobani for a mini yogurt bowl…

I usually steer away from the flavored variety due to the added sugar, but I had a taste for the strawberry banana flavor this morning.  One way to keep the added sugar to a minimum is to scoop out the top half of the yogurt (which is usually plain) and leave the fruit flavor on the bottom.  It’s hard to keep it completely separate, but it definitely reduces the amount.  Then, I added my own fresh kiwi to the mix.

It was mighty hard to make this last a good 20 minutes, however I did get to around 13 minutes.  Nothing but good…

I did a home workout (mix of cardio and The 100 Workout), then cleaned up for my lunch date with my friend, Rosemary and her toddler.

We decided to try a quaint little neighborhood restaurant, Fresh Thymes…

We both loved that the focus is on local, organic and seasonal food …

I started off with fresh brewed iced organic green tea infused with real lemongrass …

And decided on the day’s special which was Kale, Cheddar and Tomato Crustless Quiche …

Served with a small side salad …

Healthy and delicious! 

My “date” liked his, too  …

Lunch was easy to linger over.  Between chatting with Rosemary and playing trucks with my “date”,  the meal itself lasted a good 25 minutes.  I may have even left a few bites on the plate.  <—what???

The afternoon went by quickly and my stomach let me know it was time to get dinner prep on.  I had White Turkey Enchiladas on the menu, except subbing out the turkey for the original chicken.  This is fast becoming a family favorite!  Such a great use for leftover chicken or turkey!

Served with a dose of mixed veggies …

And I was the last woman sitting standing at the table again.  I was done in 16 minutes, but made myself sit for the remainder of the time to let everything settle.

For me, it’s not necessarily the 20 minute time challenge that is important.  It’s really just a tool to become more aware.  I’m not so much a stickler for the time;  it’s mainly a gauge to help me slow down overall and not eat on auto-pilot!  So far… it’s working

How about my challengers?  Are you still taking it slow?  Let us know how it’s going for you!

Have a great day, everyone!

What veggie always tastes better when someone else makes it?  I have made kale quite a few times with less than exciting results, but when someone else makes it, I love it!

Today marks the start of my Enjoy Your Food Challenge and what a challenge it was!  In putting together this challenge, I knew that the 20 minute timeframe would be the most difficult.  I wasn’t able to hit the 20 minute mark for any of the meals, hard as I tried!  Lunch came the closest, probably because it required the most “chew”.  In any event, I can honestly say that I was much more present and involved with my meals today.  It required a conscious effort to stay that way and not drift into doing other things.  Hmmm…conscious effort… that sounds familiar.

So, the morning started off with a quick jaunt on the treadmill.  I wasn’t up for running -my leg was a bit wonky- but, walking seemed to be okay.  I walked at a steady pace for 30 minutes, then did a few upper body moves.  The walking was a nice change!  I like running, but I forgot that I like walking, too!

After the treadmill, I headed to the kitchen for meal one of the challenge.  Breakfast is not usually a meal I savor.  I definitely just wolf it down.  Not today!  I whipped up scrambled eggs with 2 slices of center bacon and marveled at its beauty…

Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.   But, I did SIT, take a few moments to LOOK, and definitely tried to SAVOR each bite.  Total breakfast time was 13 minutes and 55 seconds.  A true record of endurance for me!  LOL!

Lunch was the closest I came to hitting the challenge time.  Again, most likely due to the chew factor.  Lots to chomp on in this big Chef’s Salad…

In the mix…

• two big handfuls of mixed greens
• shredded carrots
• slices of ham, turkey breast (about 2 oz. total) and cheese (1 0z.); rolled and sliced
• 1 hardboiled egg, quartered
• olive oil & red wine vinegar

I loved all the salty, savory bites of this salad.  And chomped away for a full 19 minutes.  I really took my time to enjoy the flavors. This is probably the first time I have ever eaten a salad and not looked for something else to nosh on afterward.  It was filling in volume, sight and taste.

Dinner was hardest of all.  I was fairly hungry when dinnertime rolled around which was tortellini along with a side salad…

I plated and served the husband and daughters their dishes, then plated my own, set the timer and sat down.  Can you believe by the time I sat down, they were half way done?!  It had only been 4 minutes!  That will just give you an idea of how quickly we eat.  It was an interesting experiment for all of us to have the timer on.  I found myself constantly looking to see how many minutes had gone by.  I was REALLY trying to make this pasta and salad last!  I made sure to place my fork back down after each bite which helped.  I ended up making it to 16 minutes.  I have to say, my plate of pasta has never gotten that much love and attention.

Regardless of not hitting the time requirement for each meal, I’m calling Day One of EYF Challenge a success!  I stayed mindful and engaged with each meal.  And overall, I felt satisfied! *Ding, ding, ding*  Let’s see if I can get this trend to continue!

Any challengers that decided to join me, let me know how you made out with Day One!

Have a great day, everyone!

Are you a fast or slow eater?