The Cinch!

About four weeks ago I started the Cinch! Diet by Cynthia Sass. So far I've lost 8 pounds and many inches. The diet is based on a puzzle with five pieces for each meal/snack: Whole grains Plant fats Produce Lean protein Sass (seasonings) I did not blog about this earlier because I wanted to make sure this was not a quick fix diet. After three weeks I've been able to keep the weight off, eat fresh healthy food, and still be able to go out and eat! I've started to develop my own recipes and snacks by putting the puzzle pieces together and this has been a great experience. I hope to continue to blog about recipes and ways to eat out while incorporating what I've learned from The Cinch! and I hope you all will follow me on this! If you are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and lose weight at the same time, I think you all should look into buying Cynthia Sass, The Cinch! Any questions?

Lunch Today...

Lunch today was a repeat of my delicious veggie stuffed pita:  http://ask-kanwal.blogspot.com/2011/02/delicious-dinner.html

Another great way to get your veggies in!

What did you guys have?

Getting my workout on!

In an effort to undo what I did last night, I managed to get to the gym first thing this morning and do 30 minutes of cardio! Yes!!! Go me!!! Make sure you all get your cardio on today. The weather is suppose to be super nice. Take advantage of this and go on a brisk 30 minute walk outside.

A Berry Breakfast....

Since I had too much of the bad stuff last night, I was craving some good stuff this morning!  This morning's breakfast was non fat Greek yogurt topped with delicious blackberries, cinnamon and almonds!  Just what I need to get my system going again!

Last Night's Dinner...uh-oh

Last night my friend Nina and I checked out the hilarious act of comedian Ahmed Ahmed. Before that, we decided to have a small pizza dinner and cucumber salad. This was not the uh-oh moment. The uh-oh moment came during the dessert. Not only did I buy the wonderful mud pie and oreo cookie desserts but I also had quite a bit! This is the first time I've strayed from the Cinch! Diet. I think if I had just a little bit of the dessert then I would be fine, but I had a lot...and you know what? Since I over did it, this really didn't agree with me! The dull ache and bloat that I feel made me think that I just had too much. Now, this one setback will not undo all the hard work I've done.  Next time, I will tell myself to stop when I'm done!  Now, I still had a WONDERFUL night with Nina! I would do it all again, with a little less dessert :-p

Mmmm... Chipotle lunch!

Lunch today was at Chipotle :-) Here's what was on the menu:
Vegetarian Fajita Bowl with black beans, veggies, corn salsa, salad, tomato salsa and a little bit of guacamole.
When you break it down I got my whole grains from the corn, veggies from all the veggies, healthy fats from the guac and protein from the beans!
A nice filling lunch! What did you guys have?

Delicious Dinner!

Last night's dinner was so delicious, fresh and filling! Not only was this meal quick but it was also very nutritious! The deets are below:

Ingredients:
One whole wheat pita
2 cups of baby spinach
1/4c of reduced fat feta cheese
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2TB of chopped walnuts
Balsamic Vinegar, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine spinach, tomatoes,walnuts. Toss with black pepper and vinegar. Place the pita in the microwave for 10 seconds, slice in half and stuff.
Enjoy!!

PS:  Sorry, I know the picture is a little dark!

Breakfast time: Cinnamon Ricotta Toast

So, as some of you may know, I'm doing the Cinch! Diet. I just finished the five day fast forward and now I'm continuing to eat healthy meals that contain one whole grain, one plant fat, one produce and one protein, all in correct portions. So, following these guidelines I had a DELISH Cinnamon Ricotta Toast for breakfast. Here are the deets:

Ingredients:
One slice of Ezekiel's bread toasted
1/4c of non fat ricotta cheese
1tsp of cinnamon
2TB of sliced almonds
1 banana, sliced

Preparation:
Mix the ricotta and cinnamon. Spread on toast. Top with almonds and banana.
Delish! This will keep me full for a few hours!

Today's Workout

Today I was able to conquer this funny elliptical-looking-but-not-really-thingamajig. Yes, as much as I did not feel like working out today, I managed to do for 30 minutes and burn 260 calories (according to the thingamajig).

I am glad that I was able to get my workout in. The goal is 5 days a week! One day down! Did you guys get your exercise on today?

Ginger Lemon Tea

Every week I make a pot of Ginger Lemon Tea. I love drinking this tea hot or iced. So delectably warm and spicy from the Ginger, yet very refreshing thanks to the lemon. Recipe below! Ingredients: Two quarts of water Two inches of fresh Ginger, freshly sliced 1/4c of fresh lemon juice Preparation: Place the water and Ginger in a heavy pot and place on the stove on high heat. Allow this to come to a boil. Boil for about 15 minutes or until the water has turned a gold color. Add the lemon juice. Allow to come to a boil then turn heat off. Enjoy a steaming cup on a cold night or throw over ice on a hot day! Optional: add honey to sweeten or try replacing lemon juice with lime juice.