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?

Waffle fun continues!  Who doesn’t love a Waffle Sundae for breakfast?

A Clean Eating Brownie Waffle topped with banana “ice cream” (or soft serve as it’s known around the blogosphere) and sliced almonds…

I added a 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt while processing the frozen banana to up the protein content.  It came out great! 

I enjoyed my Waffle Sundae with a cuppa press…

I’m sure having a good time with breakfast lately

Lunch was not so fun.  I spent a good 20 minutes staring in the fridge and freezer trying to decide what to eat.  It was taking so long, I started to get to that overly hungry point where I knew I would start grabbing anything that wasn’t nailed down!  I hate that indecisiveness!

I finally settled on another Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burger.  I made it “wrap-style” (well, really “bundle style”) using a La Tortilla Factory tortilla .  Toppings included baby spinach, Laughing Cow Queso Fresco Chipotle cheese wedge and salsa…

I bundled it all up and devoured it along with a side of carrots…

In the afternoon, I had a small encounter with some Pita Chips…

I put them back before things got way out of hand.  Feeling good about that.  In older days, the bag would have been MIA

The remainder of the afternoon was spent shopping for back-to-school supplies.  I like to call this The Apocalypse trip.  It is generally an epic disaster filled with screaming (me), incessant talking, begging, shenanigans and time-outs in the middle of the store (little daughter) and indifference coupled with offering to be adopted into another family (big daughter).  After going to 87 stores (why is rubber cement so hard to find and who the heck still uses that stinky stuff?), we came home with the loot…

Actually, that is only little daughter’s loot.  Big daughter had already put hers away as soon as we got home.  Obviously, she did not inherit my procrastination gene.

It was a spectacular afternoon…

Needless to say, I was in no mood to cook dinner.  After more rifling through the freezer, I decided to eat this…

Potatoes and veggies for dinner don’t sound too fabulous, but these are fancy!  The bag even says so…

I cooked them along with a big handful of baby spinach and served it with a fried egg on top  …

The end. 

Have a great day, everyone!

Do you think it’s wrong to drink alcohol while shopping with children?  It would sure make it more fun, don’t ya think?

Okay, I know that’s not a legitimate question.  Tomorrow’s will be better!

I love starting the day off with an amazing breakfast!  I branched out into a different sort of breakfast sandwich…

Clean Eating Brownie Waffles, PB2 and sliced banana…

Can you stand it?!  It was just as wonderful as it sounds!  Complete with iced cold press coffee…

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This breakfast got me thinking about my food choices.  You guys know I haven’t been counting POINTS or calories for quite some time as I’m working on changing my love/hate relationship with food.  However, I am still conscious of calories because it’s been burned into my brain like a branded cow.  I don’t count overall calories anymore, but sometimes, if I’m in the mood for something that might seem over the top, I will check into the calories to make sure it’s not too ridiculous.  I do still get these doubtful moments. <—- working on….

When I first had the idea to make this sandwich, I was concerned it might fall into that “ridiculous” category.  So, I decided to run the numbers (after I ate it –oops!)…

•  Clean Eating Brownie Waffles (2) -  252 calories
• 2 tbsp. PB2 – 45 calories
• 1/3 large banana – 35 calories

*Total – 332 calories, 5.5 grams fat, 11 grams fiber, 15 grams protein. 

See, not so bad after all?! 

I’ve been leaning toward larger breakfasts anyway because they seem to hold me better and prevent that late afternoon snacking that I’ve struggled with for years.  This breakfast definitely did the job in fulfilling both those goals.

Interestingly, if I was currently following the WW plan, I would never have eaten this.  It would just be “too POINTY” for breakfast.  (Not the fault of WW which I believe is one of the best plans out there – more so the user of the plan *points finger at self*).  But, in essence, it is only about a quarter of what my calorie intake for the day should be.  Plus, it was much more filling than something I would have chosen previously.  I got to eat something that I WANTED  rather than something I thought I “should have” been eating.

It occurred to me that if we really listen, I mean REALLY listen to our bodies, it will send the right signals.  We will eat what we want and what we need.  We will be satisfied and not looking for more.  We will enjoy and not feel deprived.  And we will, eventually, level out to the weight we are designed to be. 

It will not happen overnight.  That’s where we get into trouble.  Frustration takes over the natural order of things.  If we relax about it, it will happen.  It will.  I tell myself this every day.  I am starting to listen, starting to believe. I realize that I am in no hurry.  It’s already taken me 42 years to get to this point.  Lots of turmoil, self-deprecation and brutalizing my body with the latest and greatest of fad diets.  Past is past.  I can’t get those years back with the new knowledge that I have.  I can only move forward, continuing the change and the awareness.  I’m relaxing and trusting more and more.  It’s happening …very slowly and little by little.  No matter… I’ve got all the time in the world

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Okay, wanna see what else I ate today? 

I tried to squeeze in more veggies today.  I was seriously lacking yesterday!  Lunch was an egg white fritatta…

• 2/3 cup liquid egg whites
• leftover Oven Fries, diced
• 1/3 cup roasted red peppers
• big handful baby spinach
• Laughing Cow Light Cheese wedge

So filling!

I needed a little crunch with it, so I opened these bad boys…

I was careful to dole out a small serving instead of munching out of the bag because these guys are crackilicious…

Dinner was yet another turkey burger concoction.  A hot one – Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burgers!  This was the star…

I placed 4-5 chipotle peppers in a small food processor with a few tbsp. water and blended until mostly smooth…

and added the puree to 20 oz. ground turkey breast along with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. ground cumin.  Mixed well and formed into 4 burgers.

Ready for grillin’…

I topped my burger with guacamole and fresh salsa…

together with a simple salad…

Such fresh flavors and the burger came out juicy with just the right amount of kick!  Ole!

By the way, unpacking FAIL …

On a fun note, Kathleen at Journey to Becoming Healthier Inside and Out is having her First Giveaway!!!   Click HERE to check it out!

Have a great day, everyone!

How do you feel about counting calories?  Do you find that you need to count to stay on track or do you trust yourself to eat the right amounts for your body?