Hello Stranger...

Hi Guys,

Long time no talk! I know I know...it's me, not you.  I'm hoping to blog more regularly now.  You have to start from somewhere. So, here I am...starting!  Let's just get over this awkwardness and straight into this post!

So, after a year and a half, I finally made it to the gym.  Why, after a year and a half?  Let's just say mom life has kept me pretty busy. I'm now into a solid routine and ready to get back at it!  As far as baby weight goes, I still have 12 pounds to shave off. More importantly though, I want to gain my strength back.  I feel my body is weak.  I want to gain back cardio strength, core strength and upper body strength.

It's so weird...I use to work out all the time.  In college, I skipped classes to go to the gym. Adult life, I always made time for the gym.  Due to all this I have always had strength. Sure, I may not have been the leanest of individuals, but I was a healthy, strong person.  More important than losing weight, I want to feel healthy, strong and energetic. I want to be the Energizer Bunny (my nickname after college).

How am I going to get there:

• Balance (family time: my loves, work:  productivity)
• Healthy diet (cut the sugar)
• Exercise (combine cardio and strength)
• Happiness (cut the negativity out in life)
• Sunshine (feel the rays on my skin) - I have always been a sun person!

How is this blog going to help me:
I want this blog to hold me accountable with the "How am I going to get there". I also hope to share my experiences. My ups and downs. Show people that this is what life is about...ups and downs. I want to share my exercises, foods, recipes and outdoor adventures.  For now...this is good. Baby steps with everything (no pun intended).

What I need to ask of myself:  Be patient.  If I can only lift 10 lbs of weight, it's OK. I'm starting. I will only get better. Just be patient.

What I ask of you: Sit back, relax and let's learn together!

Oh yeah,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

PS:  We got this...

Saturday Shenanigans

Hello Peoples!

I hope you all had a fun filled Saturday and are now relaxing on the last day of the weekend. My Saturday was packed with lots of healthy eats and fun!  Let's get this party started!

My morning began with a delicious waffle made of just oatmeal, water and banana. I topped this baby with some almond butter and sliced banana:

Yum!  

Official recipe coming soon!

After lazing around and then doing some cleaning I was hungry for lunch. Lunch was a quick bean taco. I heated up two corn tortillas over an open flame on the stove. I then topped each tortilla with beans, salsa and a little bit of guacamole. Roasted broccoli was had on the side:

Afterwards, I had some pineapple.  Of course I forgot to take a picture of that. 

In the afternoon I went to a friends place and enjoyed a snack of cheese, crackers and pound cake. My favorite combo was topping a cracker with a little bit of Brie and raspberry jam. 

Check out the spread:

 I feel like this jam was the star of the show. Straight from Paris!

After snacking a few more of our friends arrived and we all headed out into the city for dinner and jazz. 

Dinner was Italian at Via Della Pace, second avenue.  I felt my meal was just ok. I found my pasta and eggplant to be quite salty. I skipped on dessert and had a nice, hot cup of americano instead. 

After dinner it was off to listen to some jazz music. We went to Smalls Jazz Club and it was very nice! This was my first time at a jazz club and I loved it. The music was great, there was some singing and it was a very nice crowd. I would definitely go there again and even check out other jazz clubs to visit. 

And that, my friends, concluded my Saturday!

I hope you all had a great day!

Tuesday Eats...

Good Morning!

We are now mid way through the week. Hope you're week is going well. I'm excited for today because temperatures are suppose to tip into the 90's :-) This could be my last hot and humid day of the season to enjoy. 

Alright, lets get down to business. Yesterday I had a very clean eating day. Mainly because I was equipped with healthy snacks. 

I started my day off with a slice of ezekiel toast with almond butter, sliced peach, and a hard boiled egg. A perfect breakfast with fiber, produce, protein and healthy fats :-)

A few hours later I had a Larabar for a snack. This held me over because I wanted to go to the gym before eating lunch. 

For lunch I had leftovers. Curried chicken with kale and barley in a sesame oil dressing:

A few hours after lunch, another snack: hard boiled egg and almonds. 

Last but not least for dinner I made whole wheat pasta with broccoli tossed in a garlic chili oil dressing (recipe to come later).

I also managed to get a lot of exercise in. During the day I went to the gym and hot up the elliptical and weights. At night, I went to the pool and practiced swimming for an hour. Not bad!

All in all I'm very happy with how the day went yesterday. I just have to keep up with clean eating and exercise :-)

How was your day?

Finally Friday...

Good Morning & Happy Friday!!!

Ah, yes we've waited all week for this day! I've had a pretty good week with healthy eats and working out. I'm still pushing myself to complete a 5K on the elliptical in under 30 minutes. The closest I've come to is 2.87!! So close, yet so far! I've been working at it on a 10/10 level. Slowly but surely I will get there!

I've also been working extra hard to make sure I'm eating healthy. This means getting my prep work done for meals and snacks is essential. Hard boiled eggs hell ward off hunger before the gym and are still light enough for me to push myself during my workout. Carrot and celery sticks are a great way to satisfy crunch and some mixed nuts hold me over till dinner.

I have to say... Trader Joes has really been helping me out with quick and easy dinners. I will do a separate post on this, but their pre-seasoned meats are great. Lately, I've been getting the chicken, fish and sometimes lamb already pre-seasoned. I just come home and cook it up! This plus a side of veggies is awesome. Of course, left overs from the night is lunch the next day :-)

I hope you guys have a great weekend! Be sure to follow me on twitter to get my #onetweetrecipes. I now leave you with some food and exercise high lights from the week.

Something Good...Something Bad...

Good Morning!

Yay, it's Thursday!!! One more day till the weekend. My week has been filled with lots of healthy food and a little bit of not so healthy food. On the plus side, I've been doing really well with cardio workouts.

I wish the weather would warm up already. Seriously, we are in April now! Come on Mother Nature... get your act together! One of the things I'm looking forward to us holding outdoor group workouts in Jersey City. I did a few last year and its really nice working out outside along the river front or in the park.

Today I'm going to try to post pics of all my meals. I really would like to make more of an effort to keep most of my meals healthy and only indulge once or twice a week. Same thing for going out. I like to cook a lot of my meals at home and go out less. First of all, I like to view going out as a pleasure and not an every day kind of thing. Once it becomes an every day kind of thing I feel I enjoy going out less as an indulgence. Also, when I do cook at home I know exactly what is going in my food!

How do you guys feel about going out to eat? Do you prefer to cook your meals at home?

I now leave you with some healthy food pics and some not so healthy food eats :-)

And We Are Back...

Good Morning, Everyone!!!

How have you all been? I had a wonderful time in Paris. This is a city that is so beautiful and has so much history. It also has AMAZING food. There's so much flavor in all the food I ate. I'm not talking about food full of flavor from spices, I'm talking about food full of flavor from the main ingredients. The quality of food in Paris was unbelievable!

Well, I'm now back to healthy eats and exercising :-). I'm still on my smoothie kick. I even bought myself a nice 24 oz. Tervis to drink my smoothies out of. Every morning I have a smoothie which consists of yogurt, fruit, unsweetened almond milk, flax seeds and two cups of spinach. Trust me, the smoothie may turn green but you don't taste the spinach.

My lunches have been a lean protein (thank you, Trader Joe's) and veggies. Lately, I've been buying marinated meat from Trader Joe's and it has been delicious, convenient and healthy! More in this in another post.

Dinner again has been a lean protein and veggies. FYI... My lunches are usually left over dinner from the night before.

As far as the gym goes, I'm on a cardio kick. I try to do a 5K on the elliptical a few times a week. Also, thanks to my awesome brother in law, we now have a pull up bar. Every night the hubs and I TRY to do pull ups. I'm still in the "well, at least I can hold on" phase :-p

So, how have you guys been? I now leave you with some of my healthy eats :-)

March Madness...

Hello and Happy Monday! You know my motto, the quicker we get Monday started the quicker it's over. I love Mondays, can't you tell :-p

I cannot believe we are already in March. Whew... Time flies but I'm looking forward to warmer weather.

Last week I was letting my body rest after getting over a bad cold. I didn't go to the gym and my appetite was a never ending pit! This week I'm back in the game. I'm going Paleo with a few of my coworkers and I was able to get all my prep work done. Yes, I did my grocery shopping, made my breads, prepped my meat and cut up my veggies! I'm ready to dive into this week!

I have recipes coming up for Paleo bread and chipotle burgers so stay tuned:-)

Here are some highlights from the weekend:

Happy Hump Day and Eats

Hellooo and Happy Hump Day!

How are you all doing? I hope you're still keeping up with your resolutions? So far, in doing really good. I'm keeping up with work outs and making a great effort to eat right :-)

Yesterday, I made it to the gym and completed 30 minutes on the stair master, did 25 sit-ups and the following for strength:

Dumbbell curls: 12.5 lbs. 3 sets of 12 reps
Lat pull downs: 60 lbs. 3 sets of 12 reps
Arm fly:  50 lbs. 3 sets of 12 reps


My diet has been pretty clean as well. I'm on a vegan challenge with a coworker for the next two weeks and my meals have been loaded with veggies, healthy fats and complex carbs. Below you'll find a few pictures of my meals.

How are you guys doing with your resolutions?

Beans with wild rice and walnuts

Vegetarian tacos with guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese,beans

Breakfast lately: Ezekiel toast with almond butter

Wild rice, avocado,tomatoes, peas,onions, lentil

Shape Up in 2011: Week 2; Today's update

Hi Everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We are now in week two of Shape Up in 2011. Week two of the new year is when people usually let go of their healthy resolutions. You and I, however are not going to let this happen. No, we are going to continue to motivate each other! With that said, I thought I'd let you all know how my day went. I started my day off with a bowl of Cheerios, sliced banana, peanut butter and cinnamon. Later on, I had a snack of string cheese and an apple. Next, came lunch. Two slices of Spelt bread, three slices of organic turkey and one slice of cheese, all toasted up into a melty, warm, delicious sandwich. I also had a bowl of slightly steamed veggies. Later on, snack time again. Mmmm....this time I had a delicious Trader Joes yogurt. More on this tomorrow. Dinner time came and I had grilled tofu, sautéed in black bean sauce and chopped veggies. Delish! Ok, one thing that I did not do today was workout. I'll have to get a workout in tomorrow. So, that's my day in a nutshell. How was your day?

And It's Monday Again....

Good Morning All, How was your weekend? My weekend was pretty good. I was able to eat healthy with the exception of Friday night, but that's OK. I've learned to limit my bad eating days to one day of the week, for a meal. Friday it was Indian food night! Sure, there are healthy Indian foods to choose from, but I chose to indulge since it was just one night out of the whole week. This also did not put a dent in my weight loss efforts. Saturday I got right back on track and kept it lean, light and low cal since I was feeling a bit under the weather. Sunday I ate healthy all day. Had plenty of fruit! I've been eating a lot more fruit since Weight Watchers now has all fruits as 0 points. Sometimes I wonder if this is good. Fruits do contain lots of sugars! I think I should also increase my veggie consumption as well. I did get to the grocery store and bought lots of fruits and veggies. My top fruits for this week are golden delicious apples, anjou pears and kiwi. My veggies for the week are arugula, asparagus, broccoli, cucumbers and cauliflower. I also managed to make a couple of healthy dishes as my lunches and dinners for the week. I made a Tex-Mex Mac N Cheese dish. This was a recipe that I tweaked from Weight Watchers. I'll post this up later on. I also made a Cantonese Chicken dish, which turned out excellent! This morning I weighed myself and lost .2 pounds from last week. Not too much weight loss, but not weight gain either :-) One thing I did not do was get a work out in. I'll have to make sure I work out a little harder this week to make up. How was your weekend? I hope you ate healthy for the most part!

Healthy Foods To Take On A Trip

This afternoon I will be leaving for a trip to LA. As I was packing, I knew eating healthy may be a bit difficult, but then I thought, it does not have to be this way. In fact I can bring along some perfectly healthy things to eat. So, I comprised a list of packing healthy foods for a trip. I hope this helps you for your next trip! Breakfast, I've said it before and I'll say it again, is the most important meal of the day. DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON BREAKFAST!! At the same time, don't go for the all you can eat sausage and eggs buffet either. Pack yourself some packets of plain instant oatmeal. If you must go for something a little sweeter, buy Kashi instant oatmeal. You can easily make this in your hotel room! Always keep healthy, dry snacks in your bag. You may not know when the next time you will eat and instead of waiting until you are starving and eat a whole cow, carry healthy, dry snacks to tame your appetite. I love carrying my own trail mix: 1/4c of mini dark chocolate chips, 1/4c of raw almonds, 1/4c of sunflower seeds. Portion this out into four snack baggies and bring along! Another great snack to bring along is granola bars. Try to pick minimally processed granola bars which are low in sugar and high in fiber. I love Cliff and Kashi bars. Buy a couple of small, individual tuna cans, or tuna pouches that you can easily open. This may sound fishy (haha), but if you are running really late and don't have time for lunch, grab a can and you'll have a filling protein pick me up! When you get to your destination, see if you find a convenience store. If so, buy some whole grain bread, a small jar of peanut butter and all natural fruit jam. PB&J sandwiches are healthy for a breakfast or lunch! Make half a sandwich for a quick snack later on. Better yet, instead of buying plane food, make your self a couple of sandwiches and bring this along! Remember always grab an apple and keep in your bag for a quick snack. When eating out, stay away from simple carbs and get lots of fruits, veggies, lean protein and complex carbs. If you guys have any tips for eating healthy while on the road, please do share :-)

Keeping It Healthy For the Halloween Weekend...

Alright guys, the weekend is fast approaching and you can definitely keep up the healthy eating and snacking, even if it is Halloween weekend! You've worked hard all week and you do not want to blow your efforts in one day. Here are a few key points to get you through the weekend!

• Get your exercise on. If you can get a solid half hour of heart pumping cardio activity in, on Saturday AND Sunday,then that's great. If not commit to at least one weekend day of doing half an hour of cardio
• If you are going out, load your bag with healthy snacks such as apples, almonds, string cheese and a healthy granola bar (I like the ones by Kashi)
• If you are going to a party, have a bowl of low sodium vegetable soup. This will help curb your craving and hopefully keep you away from the trick or treat bowl
• If you are craving candy, then go for the small fun size pieces. These usually rank in at about 80 calories per piece
• Drink water and sip on tea through out your days
• Eat healthy throughout the day. The worst thing you can do is save your appetite for when going out. You will just go overboard from hunger and eat way too much! Nosh on fruits, veggies and lean protein throughout the day instead.

What are some of your tips and tricks for treating this year? image from: bambooandtikis.com

Getting my protein on...

This morning I wanted something different from my usual cereal or oatmeal. I wanted a sandwhich, but not a very sweet one like PB &J. This is how I came up with my Strawberry Ricotta Breakfast Morning Sandwhich!! Not only did I get my fiber from my bread (6 grams, thank you very much), but I also got my protein from the ricotta cheese -10 grams ppl!! Best of all, this filling breakfast sandwhich was only 4 WW points!!!

Here are the deets:

2 slices of whole wheat toast (try to pick one with atleast 3 grams of fiber/slice)

1TB of all natural strawberry jam

1/4c of fat free ricotta cheese (I used Polly-O)

Spread the cheese on slice of toast, and the jam on another. Bring the two together to form your sandwhich.

Enjoy!!!

Seriously Snacking Suggestions

Finding healthy snack options can be hard, especially if you need to grab and go quickly. Here are some snack suggestions that I found on thebiggestloser.com, that are easy to make, have 150 calories or less and are protein packed! 1. Edamame (1/2 cup), buy frozen and follow cooking instructions (80 calories) 2. 5 celery stalks (4" long) and 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (95 calories) 3. 1 large dill pickle and 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (125 calories) 4. WASA Rye Crispbread (1 cracker) with 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (115 calories) 5. Two slices turkey breast lunch meat rolled with 2 teaspoons cranberry jelly (100 calories) 6. Thinly sliced medium apple or pear with 1 ounce of cheese (150 calories) 7. Shrimp cocktail, 12 small shrimp with ¼ cup cocktail sauce (100 calories) 8. 1/4 can tuna with 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt and 1 miniature box of raisins (125 calories) 9. Cottage cheese, 1/2 cup low-fat + 1/3 cup canned pineapple (120 calories) 10. Veggie burger, soy-based, + 2 pickle slices and 1 tablespoon of mustard (110 calories)

Recipe Alert: Apple Bran Muffins

So, the oatmeal really didn't do it for you? Well, maybe my Apple Bran Muffins will be a better option. Not only are these muffins a great grab and go snack, but they also make a wonderful breakfast. Not too sweet, yet light and doughy, they are nutritionally packed full of vitamins and fiber. Now this will blow your mind, these portable muffins are only 1.75WW pts!!! Seriously, you can have TWO of these for under 4pts. and call it a great breakfast. Here are the deets: 2 1/4 c. oat bran 1 apple, diced 1 medium zucchini, shredded 1 tbsp. baking powder 1/4 c. agave nectar 1 1/4 c. skim milk 2 egg whites 1TB. vegetable oil 1TB of cinnamon Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Line muffin pans with paper baking cups and fill with batter. Bake 15-17 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Makes 12 muffins. Total points: 1.75 Enjoy!!!

Are you getting the most nutritional bang for your points?

One of the great things that I love about WW is that you can have your cake and eat it too. This is great for those instances when we have a party to go or if there is a special occasion. However, what nutritional value is there in a slice a cake? Like most commercial cakes out there, probably not much but a bunch of sugar. Which leads me to ask -are you getting the most nutritional bang for your points?

This got me thinking the other day. Lately, I've been bringing a sandwhich made with deli meat and whole wheat bread for a total of 5WW points. Yes, my sandwhich did fill me up, but WW is not just about being full. Although my sandwhich tasted great, did I really get any nutritional value out of it? At most, 4 grams of fiber and some protein, but that's about it. So, I thought, if I'm giving myself 5 points for lunch, I'm sure I can come up with just a filling lunch but much more nutrient dense for 5 points. That's exactly what I did last night and had a wonderful lunch today!

Last night, I came up with a Whole Wheat Pasta Medley. This wonderful meal consisted of whole wheat pasta, broccoli, bell pepper, garlic and grape tomatoes, all for 5WW points! In this one meal, I was able to get my fiber, vitamin C and lycopene. Yes, a totally filling meal, with a big nutritional bang.

I hope you enjoy my recipe for my Whole Wheat Pasta Medley. Next time you are eating something, really ask yourself, does this have any nutrition benefit for me?...

Ingredients:

• 13oz. of whole wheat rotini pasta, cooked
• 1TB. of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 head of broccoli florets
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes
• 1TB. of fresh oregano
• 2TB. of balsamic vinegar
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Shredded pecorino romano, to top

Preparation:

In a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and place on medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic slices, bell pepper and broccoli. Let the vegetables brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, oregano, balsamic vinegar and stir for about a minute. Add the pasta and toss. Top with the Pecorino Romano cheese.

Servings: 7

This recipe and article is also posted on TheAjnabee.com!

Raw fooding it...Day 1

Yesterday I used up all my points in my raw food diet!! Seriously, the use of nuts and oils definitely takes a toll on your points. Atleast this is balanced out with eating a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. I started my day off with breakfast, which consisted of raisins, groats, chopped almonds, flax seeds and almond mylk - all for 5.5 points. This actually held me over til lunch time, where I prepared a salad of chopped butternut squash, cranberries, onions, almonds and jalapeno pepper. I seasoned this with cumin seeds and coriander powder. All of this had a points value of 4, but seriously, I couldn't help but think how this would have been much better with some crumbled goat cheese! I got hungry about an hour later and had a snack of an apple and some almonds. This little snack was 4points!!! I do think I'm getting almonded out though. By the time I made it home for dinner, I was starving. Thanks to my quick, handy dandy vidalia chopper, I made myself a quick mexican mix which consisted of diced avocado, mushrooms, celery, onion and corn. I mixed all of this up with taco seasoning(I'm guessing this is raw?!?). Now this was delicious and filling and worth 7 points! Ill be honest, in between meals I was a bit hungry, but not starving. I was good enough to just make it to my next meal. All in all, I made it through my first day, and I'm now onto day 2! How did your day go?

Week Two...Tryin Somethin New...

Good Morning Everyone, We are now into week 2 of the New Year. This week I've decided to try something different, something that I've been wanting to do for a while, and that is a raw foods diet. At work, I found Ani Phyo's book: Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I LOVE this book because number one, most of the recipes are very simple, number two the fancy schmancy equipment that other raw foods recipes ask for, are optional in this book! Surprisingly, being on the raw foods diet has worked out well in conjuntion to weight watchers. Although there are a lot of nuts and EVOO used in recipes, with proper portion control I stay within my points. So, what have I noticed thus far being on a raw foods diet? Well, I do have more energy. I've also realized that a raw food diet does not mean eating bland fruits and veggies. When the right foods are combined, this is really delicious! You can make everything from burgers to wraps, to decadent desserts!! Ani is amazing when it comes to this!! Last night I made a whole 3 course raw food meal which consisted of: Lemon Fennel EVOO soup Cabbage slaw with thyme and apple cider vinegar Delicious Dolmas stuffed with dill, raisins, pine nuts and sun dried tomatos!!! Yum..all this was around 9 points!!! So good and delicious!!! Go ahead and try something new and healthy this week!!! How have you guys been doing this week?

Recipe: Lemon Ginger Scallops

Good Morning Everyone, I am fortunate enough to be able to write a weekly column for TheAjnabee.com. This week I wrote a recipe for Lemon Ginger Scallops. The full recipe and article can be found on www.theajnabee.com. Here are the deets: Ingredients: 1lb. sea scallops 1TB. of canola oil 2 c. of fresh lemon juice Zest of one lemon 2 inch piece of ginger, grated 1 tsp. of honey Salt/pepper PREPARATION: In a large bowl combine one cup of the lemon juice and all ingredients except for oil and scallops. Once thoroughly combined, add the scallops and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Add the canola oil to a sauté pan and turn stove on to medium heat. Once the oil is hot place the scallops and allow to cook and sizzle, browning each side approximately one minute on each side. Once you place the scallops in the pan, do not move them, to properly brown. When scallops have browned on both sides take out of pan, and use the remainder one cup of lemon juice to deglaze the pan and make a thick pan sauce. Drizzle this sauce on top of the scallops. Enjoy!!

***Recipe Alert: Smoky Bean Stew***

The original recipe for this stew is on my weekly column for The Ajnabee, www.theajnabee.com. This recipe is awesome and I decided to try it out by using pinto beans and adding spinach! Ah, so delicious and hearty, I really suggest you try this out! Here are the deets:

INGREDIENTS:

· 2 15.5oz. can of pinto beans, partially drained

· 1TB. of EVOO

· 1/2 onion, diced

· 2TB. of cumin seeds

· 2 cloves of garlic, sliced

· 1TB. of freshly grated ginger

· 1 tomato, diced

· 2tsp. of chopped chipotle peppers

One bag of baby spinach

· 1/4c. freshly chopped cilantro

· Juice of half a lemon

· Salt/pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

In a saucepan, add the oil and place the pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the onions, cumin and salt. Saute until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, saute for another minute.

Add the tomato and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the chipotle peppers and stir. Add the spinach, beans and lemon juice

Add the cilantro and season with salt/pepper to taste. Allow this to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.